Literary Device -- Allusion

Allusion => a casual reference to something or someone famous in history, literature, or event.

When P. Martin thinks of the Laws of Motion when describing Mrs. Whimbrel's running of the class, he is making an allusion to Sir Isaac Newton (1642-1727) and one of his scientific theories, known as the Laws of Motion, of which there are three.  

The first is the Law of Inertia:  an object remains still (or inert) until some outside force pushes it.  So, if P. Martin were calmly standing in the lunch line waiting for his turn to buy milk or chocolate-covered insects, he would not be moving (and obeying school rules).  

But life in a lunch line is never that simple.  Enter Jaeger, the biggest in the class, who cuts in line (against school rules) and pushes P. Martin who, once shoved, flies forward. 

The moment P. Martin is shoved and flies forward, he is accelerating; that is, he's moving at a given speed. 

Newton's second law of motion is about acceleration and how an object, once set in motion by a constant force (i.e., Jaeger), will move in constant acceleration in the same direction the outside force (that being Jaeger) is moving.  Mathematically, this law is written in the following equation:  force = mass (the amount of matter in an object) x acceleration (the change in velocity, which measures both speed and direction).

In such a scenario (scene/event), P. Martin's acceleration forward could lead to a series of disastrous consequences.  P. Martin, who had been minding his own business until Jaeger swept in, could then shove into Bob White, who could then fall into Phoebe, who could then . . .  and so on and so forth.  Let's hope, if this were to happen, that Mrs. Whimbrel would see that Jaeger was the instigator of all the commotion and not P. Martin!

Newton's third law says that for every action of one object there is an opposite and equal reaction by another object.  When Jaeger and Kestrel are shoving their desks against one another with equal force, neither are moving. 

Let's return to the lunch line:  let's say Jaeger pushes P. Martin, only P. Martin shoves back.  If they both push/shove with the equal amount of force, they will move the same distance but in the opposite direction.  This could start a shoving match, and both boys would, most likely, be spending lunch time in the office.

Now, let's leave Sir Isaac Newton and move to our own times:  If P. Martin referred to Mrs. Whimbrel's as Katrina, while she whipped through the class rearranging desks before anyone had the chance to remove books and pencils, he would be alluding to Hurricane Katrina, the most destructive hurricane along the Atlantic coast in 2005, an event that most people are familiar with.