So That's Where I Know You From

  On page 30, Foster states, "Once you establish that a book- a man's book at that, a war book- is borrowing a situation from Lewis Carroll's Alice books, anything is possible."

All great stories borrow ideas from multiple other great stories and ideas. It is how these ideas are interpreted and challenged, or sometimes supported, that makes a story great. Recognizing an assortment of important ideas and how they relate and affect a story are important skills that all great writers have. Great ideas have no set boundaries, and ideas are meant to be passed on from person to person so that new thoughts and interpretations can be made about already existing ideas. From a seemingly innocent (yet realistically drug induced) children story to a gory macho war, the same values and ideas and morals are often employed.

http://jerz.setonhill.edu/EL267/2009/02/foster_how_to_read_literature_1/