Allusions Quiz

For each allusion, provide a brief explanation connecting the allusion to its modern reference. Write enough to show your
complete understanding of the allusion. Do not rely upon WikiPedia as an accurate source by itself – use it in conjunction
with at least one other resource. Here is an example:

Why would Oprah Winfrey be considered a modern-day Ruth? Oprah would be like Ruth because like Ruth, she provides
guidance and encouragement to others. In the Bible, Ruth provided help to her daughter-in-law and Oprah has provided
help for people on her talk show.

BIBLICAL ALLUSIONS

1. Senator Barak Obama was a Doubting Thomas when Colin Powell presented information to the United Nations
about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.

2. Some people say that Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld acted as the Trinity at the beginning of Mr. Bush’s first term in
office.

3. Going into our principal, Mr. Holsten’s, office is like Daniel going into the lion’s den.

4. Like worshipers dancing around the Golden Calf, Seahawks fans celebrated wildly when their team made it to the
Super Bowl. Too bad they lost…..

5. The actors Luke and Owen Wilson seem to have a relationship quite different from that of Jacob and Esau.

6. Butchart Gardens in Victoria, BC is an absolute Eden.

7. Las Vegas is often considered to be a modern-day Sodom and Gomorrah.

8. Judge Judy often has to make decisions like Solomon in her courtroom.

9. The citizens of New Orleans must feel like Job two years after the hurricane destroyed their lives and they are still
living in FEMA trailers.

10. When my runaway dog came home after three weeks missing, we called him the “Prodigal Son.”

MYTHOLOGICAL ALLUSIONS

11. Brad Pitt is often called a Greek Adonis.

12. The mythological king of Las Vegas is Baucus

13. Linday Lohan, the troubled movie star, showed that alcohol and drugs are her Achilles’ Heel when she got a DUI
after leaving rehab.

14. Hacking into the Apple iPhone after one month proved not to be a Sisyphean task after all for a savvy 17-year-old
student.

15. The symbol for the city of Rome, Italy is the she-wolf suckling Romulus and Remus. What does this symbol mean?

16. Bill Gates certainly has the Midas Touch.

17. Senator Hillary Clinton opened a Pandora’s Box when she suggested a universal health care plan.

18. The gangster Clyde Barrow ran off with his girl Bonnie like Hades ran off with Persephone.

19. Why would the psychiatrist say that my brother is suffering from an Oedipus Complex? It’s not like he is my
mother’s favorite child.

20. Frankenstein, the classic novel by Mary Shelley, is subtitled “A Modern Day Prometheus.” To what was she
referring?