Specifically, the narrator makes allusions to the crucifixion of Christ to portray the betrayal of God in "The Waste Land." For example, an allusion to the Bible which Eliot uses to portray the lack of spirituality in "The Waste Land" occurs in the section entitled "What the Thunder Said." In this section, there is an allusion to the events which led up to the crucifixion of Christ. The reader is informed:.
After the torchlight red on sweaty faces.
After the frosty silence in the gardens.
After the agony in stony places.
The shouting and the crying.
Prison and palace and reverberation.
Of thunder of spring over distant mountains. 322-27.
The passage starts out with an allusion to John 18:3, which describes the soldiers who came to arrest Jesus. The soldiers who were, of course, led by Judas Iscariot were carrying "torches" (John 18:3). This allusion is significant because it directly alludes to Judas, who betrayed Christ. Eliot uses this reference to signify the betrayal of God by the people of "The Waste Land." In addition, in the passage above, the words "frosty silence" symbolize the moment when Jesus" disciples fell asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane. This also represents a betrayal of Christ, which correlates to the betrayal of spirituality of the people of "The Waste Land." Eliot explicitly indicates that there is a betrayal of God in "The Waste Land." The people who live in "The Wasteland," and more importantly, the readers of "The Waste Land" are Judas Iscariot and the sleeping disciples, because they too have betrayed God. Furthermore, the words "Agony in stony places" and "shouting and the crying" relate to the actual crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Eliot uses this reference to reveal that in the modern world, the pain of Christ's sacrifice does not matter to the spiritually dead people of "The Waste Land." The narrator must point out the pain of Christ because no one notices "agony" that he endures, even though the pain is a sacrifice for all people (324).
