The Slippery Slope - Cultural References & Literary Allusions

Cultural References & Literary Allusions

• The mechanical instructor C. M. Kornbluth is named after the science fiction writer Cyril M. Kornbluth.
• There is a reference to Samuel Beckett's play Waiting for Godot, when Sunny utters "Godot". The literal translation provided by Snicket is "We don't know where to go, and we don't know how to get there.", much like the central plot in Waiting for Godot where the characters are unaware of the time that Godot will arrive.
• There is a reference to Monty Python's Flying Circus, specifically to the Self Defence Against Fresh Fruit sketch, in which John Cleese is telling his class about how to defend themselves from someone armed with a "piece of fresh fruit", throughout which, a student requests to learn how to defend themselves from someone armed with a "pointed stick." This is referenced in The Slippery Slope when Violet, Klaus and Quigley search the refrigerator in order to find out if there is anything important. Lemony says that a fridge would hold a bunch of strawberries, which would be important if a man said "If you don't give me a bunch of strawberries right now, I'm going to attack you with this large pointed stick."
• Violet uses a Sumac knot when slowing the caravan, and states that she named the knot after a singer she likes. It is likely to be a reference to Peruvian singer Yma Sumac.
• As Violet, Klaus, and Quigley are climbing up the Vertical Flame Diversion, Snicket mentions that the pipes once found there were removed by a man he knew in order to build a submarine. This may be a reference to the next book in the series The Grim Grotto, in which the children reside in a submarine described as being made of different pipes.
• When the Baudelaires and Quigley are trying to find a way to escape from the top of Mount Fraught, Sunny says "Rosebud", prompting them to use the toboggan. This is a reference to the movie Citizen Kane. "Rosebud" is the first and last word in the movie, and the name of a sled that Kane owned when he was a child.
• At one point, Sunny uses the word "Busheney", which in the story means an evil, despicable man. The word is a reference to George W. Bush and Dick Cheney.
• On several occasions, Sunny uses the term "Matahari" to refer to her spying on Count Olaf and his troupe. Mata Hari was a Dutch spy during World War I.
• At one point, Sunny uses the word "Babganoush", which literally means,"I concocted an escape plan with the eggplant that turned out to be even handier than I thought." This is a reference to the Arabic dish Baba Ghanoush, in which eggplant is one of the ingredients.