An allusion is a reference to one literary or historical person or event from another text to explain details or information. What other piece of...

In A Christmas Carol, author Charles Dickens alludes to a few literary works.  In Stave II, when the Ghost of Christmas Past visits Ebenezer Scrooge, he takes him on a journey to Scrooge's younger life. Together, they visit Scrooge's boarding school, where the young Ebenezer is left all alone at Christmas. His classmates have all gone home, but Scrooge has nowhere to go. Elder Scrooge finds his younger self at a desk, reading, and as...

In A Christmas Carol, author Charles Dickens alludes to a few literary works.  In Stave II, when the Ghost of Christmas Past visits Ebenezer Scrooge, he takes him on a journey to Scrooge's younger life. Together, they visit Scrooge's boarding school, where the young Ebenezer is left all alone at Christmas. His classmates have all gone home, but Scrooge has nowhere to go. Elder Scrooge finds his younger self at a desk, reading, and as the present day Scrooge watches himself, he sees the character Ali Baba first. Young Ebenezer's imagination made the books and stories he read come alive. He also mentions "Valentine and Orson," the story of twin boys who were abandoned in the forest as infants. Valentine is raised in King Pepin's court as a knight, and his "wild brother Orson" is brought up with bears. Finally, Dickens refers to Robinson Crusoe and his parrot. All of these stories had kept Ebenezer company when he was a young boy. The Ghost brings them back to him to help him remember that he was once a very different person, full of imagination and longing for friendship--very unlike the person he has become.