Chapter 5: "Now Where Have I Seen Her Before?"

Ever notice how books seem to be connected to other books in some way? Congratulations! You have unlocked one of the oldest tricks authors use while writing a work of literature. This is known as intertextuality, intertextuality is the ongoing interaction between poems and stories. Intertextuality also can mean the relationships that are shared with novels and real life occurrences as well.

One example of the form of intertextuality that novels and real life share can be found in the book Animal Farm by George Orwell. Parallels between Animal Farm and Communism can be drawn immediately. The animals are tired of being ruled by the oppressive Mr. Jones and from that moment on begin to develop their own set of rules that are very similar to communist ideals. For example, one of the Seven Commandments, the list of set rules in Animal Farm that every animal must obey, is "all animals are equal." This can be tied to one, if not the, crucial ideal of a communist society. In a communist society the idea "everyone is equal" is president.

An example of intertextuality between novels is quite common, one that stands out to me is William Golding's Lord of the Flies and the parallels from Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. In the Lord of the Flies the common ideas of adventure and youthfulness associated with exploration is similar to that of Treasure Island. While differences are shown when it comes to the struggles the main characters have to face in Lord of the Flies compared to Treasure Island the main idea of exploring something that is foreign and unknown is the same.

The last example I can draw with two novels sharing intertextuality is between The Perks of Being a Wallflower and The Catcher in the Rye. A common element in both deals with coming of age, both of the main characters go through substantial changes on the path of finding themselves. Holden goes on a trip by himself through New Your and grows every step of the way. Charlie, in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, goes through the loss of his friend and not felling like he is fitting in. As the novel progresses, Charlie grows like Holden and both become closer to finding himself.