Multiple Allusions In Old School By Tobias Wolff

Old School The novel Old School was written by Tobias Wolff and published in 2003 after three portions of the novel were published in The New Yorker as short stories. Wolff was born on June 19, 1945, in Birmingham, Alabama. He had a rough life growing up and bounced around from state to state with his mother who eventually remarried. The man she married was very abusive to Wolff both physically and mentally. Over time, Wolff was able to meet with his long lost brother who is also a novelist today. Tobias Wolff was never able to finish high school and dropped out. As a young man not sure of what to do, he joined the army and traveled Vietnam. He later went to England and enrolled at Oxford University. When he graduated, he earned high honors along with his degree. He also attended Stanford University and received an M.A. Tobias has taught at Stanford University and written many short stories and memoirs. Inside his stories and memoirs, Wolff includes autobiographical life lessons …show more content…
As the narrator imagines returning to the school, he envisions his “talk and [that] faculty members would make haste to welcome the prodigal home” (Wolff 169). The allusion to the Bible is seen through the narrator’s envisioning of going back home much like the Bible story involving the prodigal son being welcomed back home by his father. Another allusion to the prodigal son occurs when Dean Makepeace ends the story with his final thoughts. Dean Makepeace depicted that “surely the most beautiful words ever written or said: His father, when he saw him coming, ran to meet him” (Wolff 195). These allusions portrayed in the book reference the same Bible story while connecting to different characters. A connection is shown by the allusions and represents how alike Dean Makepeace and the narrator are. The connection further develops the plot and helps to increase the novel’s quality of