1. Inquiry : This Reminds Me Of… : Allusions By Sara Parker
Whirligig
Inquiry : This Reminds Me Of… : Allusions
By Sara Parker

2. INQUIRY– How can we train ourselves to look past the superficial?
BRENT: Distances himself from society…

3. Brent “He was no longer of their kind and never would be,” (p. 36)
“By now, he was accustomed to feeling separate from the other passengers. For them, the bus was an interlude. For him, it was home.” (p. 64)
“He preferred the less demanding social life of the bus and restaurants and motels. He’d have rather been out in the country as well, waking to the ocean instead of to the garbage truck below his window.” (p. 116)

4. Stephanie (Weeksboro, Maine)
“Had her words lured a mate already? Impossible. I was still five-foot-one. But what else would bring someone to the point in that weather? Disbelieving, fearful, hopeful, I slowly turned my head and stared.” (p. 32)
“Power of the wind” (p. 26)
Kyle (p. 32)
Note: It’s difficult to find an image showing “unseen forces”. So, wind turbines. It’ll make sense in a minute.

5. Text-to-world, text-to-self
STEPS TO LOOKING PAST THE SUPERFICIAL:
1. Go through a life-changing experience.
2. That’s it. CHANGE YOUR VIEW OF THE WORLD.
Examples of this…
Self-help books (seriously. Have you ever read one?)
Yours truly… ish.
HOPE
SEPARATION
PEOPLE
What else?

6. THIS REMINDS ME OF… Brent took this guy’s advice.
He went out to nature after the crash, with no where else to turn to.
Finally begins LIVING.
Connects to the inquiry…?
(Everything is connected if you try hard enough.)
Typewriter Series #1487

7. ALLUSIONS “Brent felt he gained a glimpse of Olympus.” (p. 9) VS
“… settled on the peak the cyclist had told him was Mount Olympus. The home of the Greek gods, mused Brent. Hadn’t Hercules likewise performed his labours to cleanse himself of a crime?” (p. 52)
Cue: Muses (singing), Dionysus (drunken bellowing)

8. ALLUSIONS (cont.)
“… then confirmed this astonishing fact by naming every city he could remember on the four bus trips that brought him there, his geographical Genesis.” (p. 118)
Note: God creating Adam – Brent creating himself, his identity.
God = circumstance, Adam = Brent

9. ALLUSIONS (cont.)
“He claimed one of the rockers, took out his harmonica, and began work on memorizing ‘My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean’. He now saw it for the lament it was.” (p. 75)
Note: I am obsessed with this photo.
It’s an etching by Nicholas Nicola, as searches for “My Bonnie Lies Over the Ocean” gave me nothing of use. I think this image does the allusion justice, though.

10. FINAL THOUGHTS
Whirligig is a book comprising almost entirely of themes and allusions. It was practically written for this class. Doesn’t mean I’d read it again, but I’d teach it.
I’d like to say I learned more about myself whilst reading, and I have in the time period we were reading the novel, but it didn’t really have anything to do with the book. The book helped me articulate it.
I still think Brent got off easy.
Thanks for listening!