Allusion: a reference to something that all people will know, such as a person, place, thing or event
Example: the reference to Hopalong Cassidy in The Great Gatsby
Purpose: to help the reader better understand a message without being provided a lot of detail
Pg 40: “The last swimmers…”
In the text, Fitzgerald alludes to the Kingdom of Castile, a kingdom from the Middle Ages located in today’s Spain. This Kingdom is known for its power, and Fitzgerald connected it to one of Gatsby’s famous parties. For example, Fitzgerald writes, “shawls beyond the dreams of Castile”. This means that some partygoers’ attire is elegant and extravagant like the kingdom of Castile. This shows that Gatsby’s partygoers are very elite and their superior clothing makes them appear like the elitists of the Castile Kingdom. Fitzgerald describes the shawls as beyond Castile’s dreams, implying that these partygoers are even better than the people of Castile because of their wealth and what their wealth can buy. Therefore, the allusion proves that those that attend Gatsby’s parties are on a royal level of wealthy. Another example of this allusion is Fitzgerald says “the bars are in full swing”, meaning that the parties began in the blink of an eye, and the money that these people possess kicks the party into high gear. This relates back to Castile because those people made things happen, just like Gatsby’s partygoers. The partygoers’ wealth