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Exploring Red Dead Redemption II’s literary allusions and influences.

  • Table of Contents
  • Most Recent
  • Index & TL;DR
  • Works & People
  • Resources
  • About
  • On Interpretation
  • Table of Contents
  • Most Recent
  • Index & TL;DR
  • Works & People
  • Resources
  • About
  • On Interpretation
  • VI. The Bible

    Prophets & Saints: 30+ Allusions to the Bible in RDR2

    January 22, 2025 /

    The relationship between RDR2 and the Bible is an odd one. The game seems thoroughly secular on the surface, but its ideas about sin and redemption are not unchristian — perhaps because it relies so much on Paradise Lost to shape it. But the use of that text doesn't entirely account for the use of Biblical material in the game, which indicates a broad familiarity with that body of work.

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  • John Marston galloping on a dapple gray pinto Missouri Fox Trotter under a stormy gray sky.
    III. Arthurian Legend

    Love Kills: Arthurian Characters in Red Dead Redemption 2

    October 16, 2024 /

    Many characters from the legends surrounding the Knights of the Round Table inspired counterparts in Red Dead Redemption 2. This post discusses Molly O'Shea, Susan Grimshaw, Kieran Duffy, and more.

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  • Arthur Morgan riding a blue roan Nokota horse in the swamp. Golden sunlight pours through the trees and the light mist in the air. Arthur and the horse are somewhat silhouetted against the light.
    I. Paradise Lost

    Knowing: Red Dead Redemption and the Inversion of Paradise Lost

    July 31, 2024 /

    Paradise Lost, as one of the most essential influences of Red Dead Redemption 2, naturally contributes more than characters to the game’s narrative. Like the poem, one of RDR2’s central themes involves the gaining of knowledge. However, the game and the poem come to divergent conclusions about that concept. What Milton condemns, RDR2 declares imperative.

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Categories

  • 0. The Past is Prologue: Sontag & Evans
  • i. Meta
  • I. Paradise Lost
  • II. Paradise Regained
  • III. Arthurian Legend
  • IV. Interlude: Desperado
  • V. Wuthering Heights
  • VI. The Bible
  • VII. The Inferno
  • VIII. Shakespeare
  • IX. Various Works
  • X. Warlock

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