Week 5

I. What is an Allegory?
An allegory is a story within a story. It has a “surface story” and another story hidden underneath.
For example, the surface story might be about two neighbors throwing rocks at each other’s homes,
but the hidden story would be about war between countries. Some allegories are very subtle, while
others (like the rock-throwing example) can be more obvious.
In most allegories, the hidden story has something to do with politics, religion, or morality —
complex subjects that are difficult to understand directly. Many authors find it easier to think
through these issues by translating them into allegories, which are easier to understand (and more
fun to read) than dense philosophical arguments.

II. Examples of Allegory

Example 1
George Orwell’s Animal Farm is one of literature’s most famous allegories. The surface story is
about a group of farm animals who rise up, kick out the humans, and try to run the farm themselves.
The hidden story, however, is about the Russian Revolution, and each of the characters represents
some figure from that revolution.
Example 2
Seuss wrote The Sneetches as an allegory for racism and other forms of prejudice. The story is all
about creatures who are treated as inferior because they don’t have stars on their bellies. Like all
Dr. Seuss stories, it’s written in a child-friendly, playful style, but it still contains an important
political message.

III. The Importance of Allegory

Allegories deliver difficult messages in easy-to-read stories. That makes them extremely useful
and expressive tools. So, for centuries, human beings have used allegories to say things they
couldn’t say any other way. Some scholars believe that myths and religious stories originated as
allegories for the deep secrets of the universe and the human mind — secrets that humans cannot
comprehend without the help of an allegorical story. On this interpretation, the allegory is the
oldest form of story in the world.
People often use allegories in order to understand the world around them — whether it’s the world
of politics, new technology, or the many ethical problems that challenge us today.

VI. Related Terms

Symbolism

Allegories are always rich in symbolism. That is, nearly everything in them stands for something
else: each character can represent a historical figure, a philosophical idea, or an aspect of human
psychology, etc. Most stories have this kind of symbolism here and there, but it is extremely used
in allegories.

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Parable
A parable is a story with a moral meaning, for example “The Boy Who Cried Wolf” (about lying)
or the story of the Good Samaritan (about generosity). Both allegories and parables contain
messages, but allegories express them through symbolism, while parables illustrate the messages.
In other words, the characters and situations in an allegory each symbolize some specific aspect of
the moral story. In a parable, there isn’t so much symbolism; the story as a whole expresses an
overall moral point. It’s a tricky distinction.

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Nature & Objectives

The fate of allegory, in all its many variations, is tied to the development of myth and mythology.
Every culture embodies its basic assumptions in stories whose mythic structures reflect the
society’s prevailing attitudes toward life. If the attitudes are disengaged from the structure, then
the allegorical meaning implicit in the structure is revealed. The systematic discipline of
interpreting the real meaning of a text (called the hermeneutic process) plays a major role in the
teaching and defense of sacred wisdom, since religions have traditionally preserved and handed
down the old beliefs by telling exemplary stories; these sometimes appear to conflict with a system
of morality that has in the meantime developed, and so their “correct” meaning can only be
something other than the literal narration of events. Every culture puts pressure on its authors to
assert its central beliefs, which are often reflected in literature without the author’s necessarily
being aware that he is an allegorist. Equally, determined critics may sometimes find allegorical
meaning in texts with less than total justification.000214229-wtfvid007-109

The allegorical mode

The range of allegorical literature is so wide that to consider allegory as a fixed literary genre is
less useful than to regard it as a dimension, or mode, of controlled indirectness and double meaning
(which, in fact, all literature possesses to some degree). Critics usually reserve the term allegory
itself for works of considerable length, complexity, or unique shape. Thus, the following varied
works might be called allegories: the biblical parable of the sower; Everyman,
the medieval morality play; The Pilgrim’s Progress, by John Bunyan; Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver’s
Travels; The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne; William Wordsworth’s “Ode: Intimations of
Immortality”; The Picture of Dorian Gray, by Oscar Wilde; and the plays Six Characters in Search
of an Author, by Luigi Pirandello; Waiting for Godot, by Samuel Beckett; and Who’s Afraid of
Virginia Woolf?, by Edward Albee. No one genre can take in such modal range.

Fable

Fable and parable are short, simple forms of naive allegory. The fable is usually a tale about
animals who are personified and behave as though they were humans. The device of

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personification is also extended to trees, winds, streams, stones, and other natural objects. The
earliest of these tales also included humans and gods as characters, but fable tends to concentrate
on animating the inanimate. A feature that isolates fable from the ordinary folktale, which it
resembles, is that a moral—a rule of behaviour—is woven into the story.

Limestone ostracon with a drawing of a cat bringing a boy before a mouse magistrate, New
Kingdom Egypt, 20th dynasty (1200–1085 BC); in the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago.
Courtesy of The Oriental Institute of The University of Chicago
Parable

Like fable, the parable also tells a simple story. But, whereas fables tend to personify animal
characters—often giving the same impression as does an animated cartoon—the typical parable
uses human agents. Parables generally show less interest in the storytelling and more in
the analogy they draw between a particular instance of human behavior (the true neighbourly
kindness shown by the good Samaritan in the Bible story, for example) and human behaviour at
large. Parable and fable have their roots in preliterate oral cultures, and both are means of handing
down traditional folk wisdom. Their styles differ, however. Fables tend toward detailed, sharply
observed social realism (which eventually leads to satire), while the simpler narrative surface of
parables gives them a mysterious tone and makes them especially useful for teaching spiritual
values.

Derivation of the terms

The original meanings of these critical terms themselves suggest the direction of their
development. Fable (from the Latin fabula, “a telling”) puts the emphasis on narrative (and in the
medieval and Renaissance periods was often used when speaking of “the plot” of a narrative).
Parable (from Greek parabolē, a “setting beside”) suggests a juxtaposition that compares and
contrasts this story with that idea. Allegory (from Greek allos and agoreuein, an “other-speaking”)
suggests a more expanded use of deceptive and oblique language. (In early Greek, though, the term
allegory itself was not used. Instead, the idea of a hidden, underlying meaning is indicated by the
word hyponoia—literally, “underthought”—and this term is used of the allegorical interpretation
of the Greek poet Homer.)

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Diverse objectives

Fables
Fables teach a general principle of conduct by presenting a specific example of behaviour. Thus,
to define the moral that “People who rush into things without using judgment run into strange and
unexpected dangers,” Aesop- the traditional “father” of the fable form-told the following story:

There was a dog who was fond of eating eggs. Mistaking a shell-fish for an egg one day, he opened
his mouth wide and swallowed it down in one gulp. The weight of it in his stomach caused him
intense pain. “Serve me right,” he said, “for thinking that anything round must be an egg.”
By a slight change of emphasis, the fabulist could have been able to draw a moral about the
dangerous effects of gluttony.

Because the moral is embodied in the plot of the fable, an explicit statement of the moral need not
be given, though it usually is. Many of these moral tag lines have taken on the status of
proverbs because they so clearly express commonly held social attitudes.

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In a nutshell:

Allegory is a literary device used to express large, complex ideas in an approachable manner.
Allegory allows writers to create some distance between themselves and the issues they are
discussing, especially when those issues are strong critiques of political or societal realities.

The word “allegory” comes from the Latin “allegoria,” meaning speaking to imply something
else. An allegory is a simple story that represents a larger point about society or human nature,
whose different characters may represent real-life figures. Sometimes, situations in the story
may echo stories from history or modern-day life, without ever explicitly stating this
connection.

Allegories are similar to metaphors in that both illustrate an idea by making a comparison to
something else. However, allegories are complete stories with characters, while metaphors are
brief figures of speech.

Allegory is used in writing to express large, sometimes abstract ideas, or to comment on society.
In some cases, such as in the classic political allegory novel Animal Farm, by George Orwell,
allegory gives the author cover to talk about controversial ideas that otherwise might be too
dangerous to talk about explicitly.

Different Types of Allegory

There are several different types of allegory, each serving a different purpose. They include:

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 • Biblical allegory. Biblical allegory invokes themes from the Bible, and often explores
the struggle between good and evil. One example of Biblical allegory is C.S. Lewis’ The
Chronicles of Narnia. The lion, Aslan, represents a Christ character, who is the rightful
ruler of the kingdom of Narnia. Aslan sacrifices himself for Edmund, the Judas figure,
and is resurrected to rule over Narnia once again. Biblical allegory can also refer to
allegorical interpretations of the Bible, which differ from literal interpretations, and
were popular in the Middle Ages.
• Classical allegory. One of the bestknown allegories in classical literature is
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave. In this story, Plato imagines people living in a cave, only
ever seeing objects as shadows reflected on the wall from the light of a fire—rather than
seeing the objects directly. Plato used the cave as a symbolic representation of how
humans live in the world, contrasting reality versus our interpretation of it.
• Modern allegory. Modern allegory includes many instances of a phenomenon called
“allegoresis,” which refers to the interpretation of works as allegorial without them
necessarily being intended that way. For example, there is an ongoing debate among
readers about J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings series, and whether or not the
books were written as an allegory for World War I.

Some Examples of Allegory in Literature

Allegory has been used in literature over hundreds of years. Here are some prominent allegory
examples.

• George Orwell, Animal Farm.

• Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene.
• Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter.
• Aesop’s Fables.

The Allegory of Young Goodman Brown

In Hawthorne s Young Goodman Brown, the characters and settings are used to show allegory.
The characters and setting are used in metaphor to represent something else. The whole story
of Young Goodman Brown, represents the journey of everyman. Its path that everyone follows,
or so Hawthorne seems to believe.

The main character, Young Goodman Brown represents the sense of everyone. His last name,
Brown, is a common name and therefore could be taken to mean everyone because it is so
common. Young could mean someone who is innocent and inexperienced. He is newly married
and starting his new life or journey down that path we call fate. Goodman represents just that, a
good man.

Faith, Goodman Brown’s wife, represents faith. She stands for Brown’s faith in god or a greater
power than himself. There was a scream, drowned immediately in a louder murmur of voices,
fading into far-off laughter, as the dark cloud swept away, leaving the clear and silent sky above
Goodman Brown. But something fluttered down through the air, and caught on the branch of a
tree. The young man seized it and beheld a pink ribbon. My Faith is gone! cried he, after one

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stupefied moment. There is no good on earth; and sin so but a name. Come devil! for to thee is
this world given. (Y.G.B, 196) The ribbon Brown seized from the branch was one of the things
Hawthorne had used to describe Faith in the beginning of the story. Brown apparently lost Faith
when he lost his faith in god represented by the ribbon falling through the air.

The traveler represents the devil. But the only thing about him, that could be fixed upon as
remarkable was his staff, which bore the likeness of a great black snake, so curiously wrought,
that it might almost be seen to twist and wriggle itself, like a living serpent. This of course, must
have been an ocular deception, assisted by the uncertain light. The traveler tricked Brown into
proceeding with the journey without knowing he was continuing. The traveler acted as the devil
or a serpent by being sneaky and got him to continue the journey.

The setting of the dark forest represents the devil’s home. It’s a place where one would picture
the devil living because of the darkness. It is a place where very few would normally travel very
deep into. The forest is like sin. The farther Goodman Brown goes into the forest, the more he is
apt to losing his faith.

Hawthorne’s story of Young Goodman Brown represents the path of life and how everyone that
travels down this path meets evil along the way.

“My father never went into the woods on such an errand, nor his father before him. We
have been a race of honest men and good Christians, since the days of the martyrs. And
shall I be the first of the name Brown, that ever took this path, and kept – Such company,
thou wouldst say, observed the elder person, interpreting his pause. Good, Goodman
Brown! I have been as well acquainted with your family as with ever a one among the
Puritans; and that’s no trifle to say. I helped your grandfather, the constable, when he
lashed the Quaker woman so smartly through the streets of Salem. And it was I that
brought your father a pitch-pine knot, kindled at my own hearth, to set fire to an Indian
village, in king Phillip s war. They were my good friends, both; and many a pleasant walk
have we had along this path and returned merrily after midnight. I would fain be friends
with you, for their sake” (Y.G.B, 192).

The reference to Brown’s ancestors shows that he is not the only one who has taken this path. It
shows that even the people he would never have suspected to take the same path as him actually
have to his surprise. These people are just the everyday individuals that take the journey of life
and all will be tempted by evil. But even though some might lose their faith, they can still get it
back. This is shown in reference to where Hawthorne threw in that it might have just been a
dream. “Had Goodman Brown fallen asleep in the forest, and only dreamed a wild dream of a
witch-meeting?” (Y.G.B, 199)

Works Cited

Hawthorne, Natheniel. Young Goodman Brown. The Norton Introduction to Literature. 7th ed.
Eds. Jorome Beaty and J. Paul Hunter. New York: Norton, 1998.