1. Allusion, Metaphors and Symbolism
Trying to understand Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban

2. Allusion
A reference to a person, object or event that occurred or existed outside the context of the book
It is usually a reference to something historical or literary
Be prepared to look up allusions you do not know, if necessary

3. Allusions can be difficult…
A writer has to assume the reader will recognize the allusion.
Ex. “It had rained for more than a week. She hoped that the rain would stop before she had to begin constructing an Ark.”
- Clearly this is an allusion to Noah’s Ark and the Biblical Flood, but the reader has to recognize it for it to have meaning.

4. Grotesque, without solution With the sadness of Cyrano And Quixote.
WEEPING
I go down the street
Grotesque, without solution
With the sadness of Cyrano
And Quixote.
Redeeming
Infinite impossibilities
With the rhythm of the clock. Federico García Lorca
In this poem, there are allusions to Cyrano de Bergerac and Don Quixote. Both are references to literary characters who fail at their goals. In this poem, the speaker is comparing himself to these two tragic and sad characters.

5. Example from the novel…
“Celia returns to her post and adjusts the binoculars. The sides of her breasts ache under her arms. There are three fishing boats in the distance- the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. She remembers the singsong way she used to recite their names.” (4)
What is the author alluding to in this example?
What is her purpose?

6. Metaphor A direct comparison between two seemingly unrelated subjects
ex. My father is a bear in the morning.
Here, “father” and “bear” seem to be unrelated…
The first object is described as BEING the second object
The first object is “my father”. He is described as BEING the second object, a “bear”

7. There are lots of types of metaphors…
Similes (use “like” or “as” to make the comparison)
Ex. “Your eyes are like the sun.”
Extended Metaphors (A metaphor that continues with more comparisons that relate to the original)
Ex. “All the world’s a stage/ And all the men and women merely players/ They have their exits and their entrances.”
Mixed Metaphors (mixing up of two metaphors)
Ex. “Casey stepped up to the plate and grabbed the bull by the horns.”

8. Example from the novel…
“Celia passes by a theater in Old Havana and recognizes two of her half brothers standing by the entrance. … She stares at them, twin ghosts, and nervously pats her throat. A fluttering like a steady motor whirs in her breast.” (91)
What is the metaphor and what is the simile?
What meaning is created from each one?

9. Symbolism
A symbol is an object, image or sign that is related to the thing it represents- a symbol means more than what it is.

10. What is the difference between an image, a metaphor and a symbol?
Image: “A shaggy brown dog was rubbing his back against a white picket fence.”
The dog is no more than it is
Metaphor: “Some dirty dog stole my wallet at the party.”
The dog is not what it is
Symbol: “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.”
The dog is what it is, and MORE

11. An example from the novel…
“Felicia volunteers again for night duty. In the dark, in the moonless jungle, the fissures are not so visible, the hypocrisies and lies less disturbing. Her eyes, she decides, could get accustomed to this darkness. Perhaps she should have lived in the night all along, with the owls and bats and other nocturnal creatures. Herminia told her once of the gods that rule the night, but Felicia cannot remember their names. It was to these gods that the slaves had prayed to preserve a shred of their souls. It had strengthened them for the indignities of their days.” (109)
What is the symbol?
Explain how it is more than what it is.

12. Works Cited
“Allusion.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 30 Nov 2005 <
Garcia, Cristina. Dreaming in Cuban. Ballantine Books: New York, 1992.
“Metaphor.” Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 30 Nov 2005 <
Perrine, Laurence. Sound and Sense: An Introduction to Poetry. 6th Ed. Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc.: New York, 1982.
Garcia Lorca, Federico. “Weeping.” Federico Garcia Lorca: Poems. Classic Poetry Series. PoemHunter.com - The World’s Poetry Archive <