In Dubious Battle Allusions & Cultural References

When authors refer to other great works, people, and events, it’s usually not accidental. Put on your super-sleuth hat and figure out why.

Literary and Philosophical References

  • Karl Marx, Das Kapital (9)
  • John Milton, Paradise Lost (epigraph, 139). The epigraph is taken from PL I.101-109. On page 139, Sam tells another picketer that he is "king of hell, now" which refers to Satan's declaration that it is "Better to reign in hell, than serve in heaven." (I.263)
  • Thomas More, Utopia (9)
  • The New Masses magazine (17)
  • Plato, Republic (9)
  • Henry David Thoreau, Civil Disobedience (197-198)
  • Who Killed Cock Robin? (135)

Historical References