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Literary Allusions


Washington Irving

His bio.

Washington Irving--wrote the LEGEND OF SLEEPY HOLLOW--with its character THE HEADLESS HORSEMAN and the sleeping Rip Van Winkle. These men represented in CATCH-22 by the Soldier in White, Soldier Who Saw Everything Twice, Mudd and Snowden. Dunbar and Yossarian try to make existential choices but they have no role models except Orr who cant tell them what to think for if he does--it takes away from their own existential life and responsibility.


T.S.Eliot

T.S. Eliot--Wrote the WASTELAND--which he saw as life itself and holds the lines "April is the cruelest month..." because it is springtime and holds out hope for all of us to assume that things will get better, life will get better and we will function better.

Then we're faced with the same world, same selfishness, and our non-assertive, non-thinking selves that we were last year.

A chapter from the WASTELAND--called THE HOLLOW MEN--refers to "hollow men, heads full of straw." Straight out of the WIZARD OF OZ and Dorothy looking for meaning and purpose and self.

Read "The Hollow Men".

His bio and links to other sites that contain his work.


Crime and Punishment

Raskolnikov is a character in CRIME AND PUNISHMENT--who thinks because he is special he has the right to kill the penurious old ugly pawnbroker lady. Clevinger mistakenly sees Yoss' battle for control of his own life as like that of Raskolnikov's battle for control of his life and the lives of others.