When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.
Literary and Philosophical References
- "Eheu, fugaces laburuntur anni," Latin quote from Horace: "Alas, our fleeting years pass away" (1.9.1)
- Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds, Charles Mackay (1.12.1)
- Dresden, History, Stage, and Gallery, Mary Endell (1.12.10)
- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1.12.14)
- Words for the Wind, Theodore Roethke (1.20.1)
- Céline and His Vision, Erika Ostrovsky (1.20.1-3)
- Death on the Installment Plan, Louis Ferdinand Céline (1.20.3)
- The Gideon Bible (1.21.1-5)
- Martin Luther (2.12.1)
- The Three Musketeers (2.24.3, 2.31.10, 2.32.2)
- The Execution of Private Slovik, William Bradford Huie (2.27.2)
- Valley of the Dolls, Jacqueline Susann (5.2.1)
- Red Badge of Courage, Stephen Crane (5.18.2)
- The Brother's Karamazov, Fyodor Dostoevsky (5.21.1)
- The New Testament (5.30.5)
- Scheherazade, from One Thousand and One Arabian Nights (5.49.1)
- Kin Hubbard, playwright (5.56.2)
- The land of Oz from The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (6.17.3)
- Ivanhoe, Sir Walter Scott (8.11.3)
- The Destruction of Dresden, David Irving (9.5.1)
- George Jean Nathan, critic (9.24.1)
- Norman Mailer, author and playwright (9.33.1)
- Uncle Tom's Cabin, Harriet Beecher Stowe (9.33.1)
Historical References
- The firebombing of Dresden
- The atomic bombing of Hiroshima (1.6.3, 9.4.4, 9.4.8-13)
- Nazi concentration camps (1.6.3)
- The Children's Crusade (1.11.2, 5.27.9)
- George Washington (1.13.1)
- The Civil War (2.27.2)
- Earl Warren (3.5.2)
- Green Berets, Vietnam (3.14.1, 5.45.9, 5.46.1, 5.51.9, 9.8.2)
- Sir Isaac Newton and the Third Law of Motion (4.12.1)
- Battle of Dunkirk (5.27.1)
- Queen Elizabeth I of England (5.45.10)
- Christopher Columbus (5.45.10)
- President John F. Kennedy (5.49.2)
- Napoleonic times (1803-1815) (5.57.2)
- Hill 875 near Dakto, Vietnam (5.65.2)
- Ronald Reagan (9.1.3)
- Ira C. Eaker, Lieutenant General, U.S.A.F. (9.5.1)
- British Air Marshal Sir Robert Saundby (9.5.1)
- Charles Darwin, British naturalist (10.2.1)
Cultural and Pop Culture References
- "My name is Yon Yonson" children's song (1.2.4)
- Harrison Starr, director (1.2.7-12)
- Mutt and Jeff, comic strip (1.3.16)
- New York World's Fair (1.9.1, 1.13.1)
- John Wayne (1.10.18)
- Frank Sinatra (1.10.18)
- Walt Disney (1.13.1)
- "A Mighty Fortress Is Our God," hymn (2.12.1)
- Johann Sebastian Bach (2.12.1)
- The Iron Maiden of Nuremberg (2.17.4)
- Louis Daguerre (2.23.2)
- André Le Fèvre (2.23.2-4)
- Mona Lisa, painted by Leonardo da Vinci (3.8.1)
- "Hail, Hail, the Gang's All Here," Pirates of Penzance, Gilbert and Sullivan (5.11.7)
- Cinderella (5.15.2, 5.53.4, 5.55.2, 6.11)
- The Spirit of '76, American painting by Archibald MacNeal Willard (6.9.1)
- "Wait Till the Sun Shines, Nelly," popular song (7.4.1)
- "That Old Gang of Mine," popular song (8.14.1)
- "'Leven Cent Cotton, Forty Cent Meat," popular song (8.19.2)