The Carnivorous Carnival - Cultural References & Literary Allusions

Cultural References & Literary Allusions

  • "Elliot" and "Beverly", the aliases Violet and Klaus use when disguised as weird freaks are those of twin brothers, both played by Jeremy Irons, in the David Cronenberg film Dead Ringers.
  • Klaus refers to Joseph Merrick (incorrectly naming him "John Merrick") when discussing the cruelty of freak shows.
  • The Caligari Carnival is an allusion to the German expressionist film The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.
  • The Hunchback named Hugo is an allusion to The Hunchback of Notre Dame written by Victor Hugo.
  • At one point, Sunny uses the word "Dragnet" to refer to the police. Dragnet is the name of an old police-based show.
  • The image for Chapter Seven depicting Madame Lulu's broken crystal ball shows several darkened images, presumably of Lemony Snicket (one is on a cover page of The Daily Punctilio, with a headline beginning with "Snicket"), a topographic map of Mortmain Mountains, a menu from CafĂ© Salmonella, a boarding pass for The Prospero, and a document featuring the V.F.D. logo.
  • "Plath Pass" in the map of the mountains may allude to poet Sylvia Plath.

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