In "Desire Under the Elms", by Eugene O"Neill, many uses of both biblical and mythological allusions can be seen. These allusions help add depth to the plot of the play by linking the play to other similar, well-known stories. Three of the best allusions are seen in Cabot's talk about how God is a strong god, his talk about God being in the stones, and his telling Eben that he is blind as a mole.
Cabot's talk about God being a strong god is important to the story. He tells about how hard he had to work to make the farm a good place to live. "When yew kin make corn sprout out o" stones, God's livin" in yew." This quote is an allusion to how if you work hard and believe in God you can do whatever you want. The quote is important to the story because it helps develop the character of Cabot and it tells the reader what kind of man Cabot is. It shows that he is strong, tough, and has a strong belief in God.
Another important allusion can be seen when in the same part of the story as the previous one. Now, he is talking about how the farm is his and how he worked so hard to make it what it is. He then gives an allusion to the story of Peter building his church on the rock in the Bible. He says "God's hard, not easy! God's in the stones! Build my church on a rock - out o" stones an" I"ll be in them! That's what he meant t" Peter." This quote refers to Peter's story in the Bible. Peter first built his church on the sand but then the water came and washed it away so he then rebuilt it on the rock to keep the water from getting to it. Building it on the rock was a much harder job so the moral of the story is that you have to work hard for what you want. This story fits what Cabot is saying well because he is talking about how hard he had work to build his house. He had to remove all of the stones from the ground and then use them to build his house. The point of this quote is to show that Cabot is a hard worker.
