Allusions In The Hot Zone Essay

Allusions can bring history into many types of literature. They compare and illustrate situations, people, and many other parts of a story to better the audience’s understanding of the connotation being presented. For example, the book The Hot Zone, portrays many examples of allusion. In this novel, scientists from all over the world research to find the natural host and the end to the Ebola virus and its sister, the Marburg virus. Many people and events in history are used to describe the way the Ebola virus behaves in humans and monkeys. Richard Preston uses allusion in his book, The Hot Zone. Preston uses allusion when explaining the effects of the Ebola virus. On page 137, Preston writes, “They were like white cobras tangled among themselves,

On page 158, Preston writes, “Once the virus enters the cell, it becomes a Trojan horse”. Ebola is described as a very dangerous virus. The scientists try to find an end to this virus but know that it is unstoppable. Allusion is used when describing how Ebola invades the body. The Ebola virus enters the body and kills the host from the inside out. This is much like how the Greeks took the city of Troy from the Trojans. When believing they had won, the Trojans accept a large horse as a gift from the Greeks and bring it into the town gates. The Trojans were oblivious that the Greeks would jump out of the horse and attack the sleeping and unprepared Trojans. Much like the Greeks, Ebola can come inside one cell in an organism. The symptoms of Ebola can sneak into an organism’s body without much warning and begin to destroy the insides until symptoms like headaches are reported. Once the cell is inside, it spreads and doesn’t cease destruction until the host is dead. The way in which the Trojan horse and the Ebola virus attack are very similar: brutal, clever and inconspicuous. Preston compares the historical story of legend of the Trojan horse to the Ebola virus, hence allusion is portrayed in his