Allusion

" 'My son go west with this face and grow up with the country.' (pg 108)"

This quote is an allusion to a controversial phrase used alongside Manifest Destiny. The origin of this phrase has not been agreed upon by historians, but its connection to Manifest Destiny is undeniable. Some say it derived from an editiorial in the New York Tribune in which Horace Greeley wrote, "Washington is not a place to live in. The rents are high, the food is bad, the dust is disgusting and the morals are deplorable. Go West, young man, go West and grow up with the country." Still, others say it came from a book called Hints Toward Reform by the same man. Either way, I don't really see what difference it makes considering he probably wrote similar statements in both seeing as they came from the same man. Anyway, this allusion was recorded to add a humorous effect to the piece. A man comparing his face to the working of Manifest Destiny is a humorous idea.