Intertextuality in Kavalier and Clay
Answer the following for your blog post: Compare this novel to those you've read previously. What appears here that appears in others? For example, Chabon was asked if he purposefully referenced the opening of Moby Dick when two unlikely bedmates are forced together to share a bed unwillingly with the opening of Kavalier and Clay. Make connections in the first 12 chapters to other works of literature in a similar way.
Opening "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" with a reference to Moby Dick, and similarly referring to The Iliad, Chabon incorporates ideas from outside works to demonstrate his understanding of literature as a whole and to exemplify the motif of storytelling. With a reference to The Iliad in chapter one, Chabon relates the heroic nature of Odysseus to Sam himself. Though not a connection to another work of literature in terms of content, this reference helps characterize Sam and give further insight to his view on life and himself. The reference and connection to The Iliad demonstrates the contrasting nature between Sam and Joe; Sam viewing life with endless and heroic possibilities, finding himself to be the invincible protagonist of life, while Joe takes a more realistic and critical view, understanding the pressure that rides on him to save and make his family proud. A similar reference to outside literature is Joe's escape through a coffin. Though not an exact parallel to The Diary of Anne Frank, the relationship can be connected between these two works. With Frank being forced into hiding from Nazi forces in an attic, small and dark, her experience is similar to that of Joe's. Though actually escaping his country, Joe was forced into hiding in a small and dark setting like that of Frank's to escape Nazi forces. Like most literature that was a commentary on World War II and its effects, no matter how insignificant it may seem to plot, Kavalier and Clay and The Diary of Anne Frank show the difficult setting in which the Jewish population were forced into.
Opening "The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay" with a reference to Moby Dick, and similarly referring to The Iliad, Chabon incorporates ideas from outside works to demonstrate his understanding of literature as a whole and to exemplify the motif of storytelling. With a reference to The Iliad in chapter one, Chabon relates the heroic nature of Odysseus to Sam himself. Though not a connection to another work of literature in terms of content, this reference helps characterize Sam and give further insight to his view on life and himself. The reference and connection to The Iliad demonstrates the contrasting nature between Sam and Joe; Sam viewing life with endless and heroic possibilities, finding himself to be the invincible protagonist of life, while Joe takes a more realistic and critical view, understanding the pressure that rides on him to save and make his family proud. A similar reference to outside literature is Joe's escape through a coffin. Though not an exact parallel to The Diary of Anne Frank, the relationship can be connected between these two works. With Frank being forced into hiding from Nazi forces in an attic, small and dark, her experience is similar to that of Joe's. Though actually escaping his country, Joe was forced into hiding in a small and dark setting like that of Frank's to escape Nazi forces. Like most literature that was a commentary on World War II and its effects, no matter how insignificant it may seem to plot, Kavalier and Clay and The Diary of Anne Frank show the difficult setting in which the Jewish population were forced into.
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