Prometheus Allusion

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Additionally, the author utilizes two distinct imagery in forms of allusions. The first allusion refers to Prometheus, which foreshadows Allie’s rebellion against Mack’s words. In the story, Mack explains that Prometheus is a titan god “who stole god’s fire and gave it to man” which parallel Allie’s acquirement of the ability to fly and gleefully showing it to her daughter (Miller 2, 4). Prometheus becomes Allie’s counterpart because her desire to revive the euphoric feeling of flying entails her to share the joy to her daughter, resembling Prometheus determination to “better the lives of his creation” (Miller 4; “Prometheus”). The next allusion refers to Icarus, who disobeyed his father’s words to not soar too close to the sun. Allie’s counterpart …show more content…

The simile, “the act seem as natural as humming” illustrates the ease Allie felt when she took flight for the first time (Miller 1). This is critical to Allie’s conflict because the experience initiates a sense of confidence she had when she flew. The confidence in flight wavers as she matures because as an adult, she rationalizes her memory, whereas as a child, she was very accepting of any possibility like all children. In the same setting, the author uses an oxymoron in the statement “The microscopic world below her struck her as laughable” to heighten the adrenaline rush Allie experienced as she ascended from the ground, (Miller 1). “Microscopic world” compares the situation that she as a child felt, limitless grounds to discover and conquer, whereas in her adult world, her world is narrow, too vast to explore because there’s little time as a result of repetitive behaviors to sustain life (Miller 1). The transitioning simile at the climax of the story, in which she took the conviction to take flight once more as an adult, reestablishes her confidence to the extent that she discovers that “if she lets the wind take her, she can float through air like a swimmer in water” (Miller 3). The simile portrays Allie successfully reconnecting with the event that delighted her when she was a child as an adult, thereby portraying that childish pleasure can carry despite

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