The Facts on File Dictionary of Allusions - Green Valley High School

heart of darkness
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causing the person to realize the wrongdoing and
experience pangs of remorse. <strong>The</strong> expression
appears in the Bible in Proverbs 25:22 in the form:
“If thine enemy be hungry, give him bread to eat;
and if be thirsty, give him water to drink: For thou
shalt heap coals of fi re upon his head, and the
LORD shall reward thee.” <strong>The</strong> same illustration is
referred to in Romans 12:20: “. . . for in so doing
thou shalt heap coals of fi re on his head. Be not
overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”
<strong>The</strong>se generous compliments were almost more than she
could bear, each new expression of admiration heaping
further coals of fi re upon her head.
heart of darkness <strong>The</strong> remotest depths of something,
typically a place of death, horror, and
depravity. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the short novel Heart
of Darkness (1902) by Joseph Conrad (1857–
1924), which concerns a nightmarish journey
made into the deepest jungles of the Congo by a
man named Marlow in a bid to rescue a mysterious
ailing ivory trader known as Mr. Kurtz, whom
he eventually locates surrounded by horror and
violence. <strong>The</strong> novel later provided the basis for the
1979 fi lm Apocalypse Now. I have looked into the heart
of darkness that is the contemporary medical establishment,
and I do not like what I found there. See also
horror, the horror!, the.
hearts and fl owers Sentimentality. <strong>The</strong> allusion
is to a heart- jerking tune of the same title written
by Mary C. Brine in 1891, which was subsequently
much used by pianists as an accompaniment for
silent movies of the early 20th century. She loved
the show, but her husband hated it and said it was all
hearts and fl owers.
Heathcliff (heethklif ) Archetype of a brooding,
passionate romantic hero. <strong>The</strong> allusion is to the
fi ctional Heathcliff in Emily Brontë’s novel
wuthering heights (1847), an unruly orphan
whose obsessive love for the haughty Cathy Earnshaw
ends in tragedy for all concerned. In modern
usage, comparisons to the fi ctional Heathcliff and
his unrealistic romantic ambitions are often disparaging
in tone. <strong>The</strong>y may, however, also be
prompt ed by no more than a fancied physical resemblance
to Emily Brontë’s dark-complexioned,
wild- haired hero. He stood on the edge of the cliff and
yelled his defi ance like some demented Heathcliff.
Heath Robinson (heeth robinsbn) Cobbled
together in a makeshift, unnecessarily complicated
fashion. <strong>The</strong> reference is to the British cartoonist
William Heath Robinson (1872–1944) who was
well known for his humorous pictures of absurd,
intricate machines designed to carry out the simplest
of tasks. “Ironically this Heath Robinson
make- do also ended up contributing to the Dalek
myth” (J. Bentham, Doctor Who: <strong>The</strong> Early Years,
1986).
heaven <strong>The</strong> Christian paradise; any ideal place
or situation. <strong>The</strong> biblical heaven is depicted as the
throne of God, accompanied by hosts of angels (as
in Isaiah 6:1 and Revelation 4:1–11). <strong>The</strong> term is
also used more widely to refer to the sky above or
to the night sky with its stars and planets. “<strong>The</strong>
Brahmin legends assert that this city is built on the
site of the ancient Casi, which, like Mahomet’s
tomb, was once suspended between heaven and
earth” (Jules Verne, Around the World in Eighty
Days, 1873).
heaven’s gate A place or situation in which a
person faces the possibility of imminent death.
<strong>The</strong> phrase alludes to the story of Jacob, who on
waking from his dream about a ladder ascending