ALLEGORY
Surface Meaning + Symbolic Meaning…It’s like Inception for stories.
What is an Allegory?
• An allegory is a story with two levels of meaning.
• First, there's the surface level of the story: the characters and plot
• Then there's the symbolic level, or the deeper meaning that all the
surface level elements represent.
Example
• The Lord of the Flies by William Golding
• The island represents the whole world.
• Ralph's conch-led Parliament represents democratic
government.
• Jack's tribalism represents autocratic government.
• Piggy represents the forces of rationalism, science, and
intellect—which get ignored at society's peril.
• Simon represents a kind of natural morality.
“The Tortoise and the Hare”
The Hare was once boasting of his speed before the other animals.
“I have never yet been beaten,” said he, “when I put forth my full speed. I challenge any one here to
race with me.”
The Tortoise said quietly, “I accept your challenge.”
“That is a good joke,” said the Hare; “I could dance round you all the way.”
“Keep your boasting till you’ve beaten,” answered the Tortoise. “Shall we race?”
So a course was fixed and a start was made. The Hare darted almost out of sight at once, but soon
stopped and, to show his contempt for the Tortoise, lay down to have a nap. The Tortoise plodded on
and plodded on, and when the Hare awoke from his nap, he saw the Tortoise just near the winningpost and could not run up in time to save the race.
Then said the Tortoise: ‘Plodding wins the race.’
Allegorical Elements
• The hidden meaning or moral:
• Some people are born with natural talents but waste them to idleness or
laziness: the hare.
• The tortoise's character is meant to show how despite natural talents,
perseverance, hard work, and focus can win the day.
• The race can be seen as life itself. People decide whether to use their
talents by working hard or waste them.
“The Sneetches” by Dr. Seuss
• Surface Level
• Characters: The Star-Belly Sneetches, The Plain-Belly Sneetches, Sylvester
McMonkey McBean
• Plot: The Star-Belly Sneetches are proud of their stars while the Plain-Belly
Sneetches want stars to feel accepted. Sylvester McMonkey McBean has a
machine that puts stars on Plain-Belly Sneetches, so they decide to partake
(at a price of course). The Star-Belly Sneetches now feel ordinary so they
have their stars removed. Eventually, it turns into a confusing mess and none
of the Sneetches know which group they belonged to first.
“The Sneetches” by Dr. Seuss
• Symbolic Level
• Stars: represent difference and discrimination; prejudice
• McBean’s Machines: represent Capitalism; the need for material things or conformity
• Allegorical Moral: People need to look past appearance or race and realize that working
together creates societal harmony. The real issue is the negative affect society can have on the
individual.
• Fun Fact: “The Sneetches” was published in 1961 during The Civil Rights Movement
“Young Goodman Brown”
• Young Goodman Brown-The common Christian man; the name “Goodman” itself says “good
man”
• He begins as an innocent, naïve man. By the end of the story, he’s been tainted and corrupted by evil and is
left hopeless.
• Faith, his wife-represents Brown’s spiritual faith
• She converts to a witch in the forest and falls from grace. Brown loses his faith.
• The Forest- the world outside: outside the village, outside the normal boundaries of right and wrong,
outside of Brown's comfort zone.
• The Snake Staff-The Devil, temptation
• Goody Cloyse, Deacon Gookin, The Minister-people of the church who turned to sin.
• Represent that idea that no man can avoid evil.
The Allegorical Lesson
• Everyone is faced with temptation; it’s realizing that this temptation is around
us and that we need to avoid us which can better prepare us for life’s
challenges.
• The Devil tempts Goodman Brown who follows him through the forest and
encounters realizations for which he is not prepared.
• Evil lies within all people; no person is free from the capacity to commit evil
acts, but we have the power to choose good.
• Goodman Brown progresses through life thinking this concept doesn’t exist.
Due to his naivete, he loses all hope in humanity when he sees his wife and
members of the church partake in witchcraft in the forest.