What is Allegory?

Objective: define the term allegory apply the meaning of allegory to short texts explain how the symbols in The Lord of the Flies contribute to allegorical themes or meaning

What is Allegory? For a story to be an allegory, it must be appreciated on two levels. The surface level (the story itself) The abstract level (the underlying meaning)

How do allegories work? Allegories use SYMBOLS that work together to develop a deeper meaning, Allegories are often intended to teach a moral lesson or make a comment about goodness and depravity (evil-ness) or society.

Why allegories work: Allegory does not become dated by the passage of years. Although the context may be difficult to understand, the underlying commentary on the world is timeless. An allegorical story can be applied to different times, people, or situations in the course of history.

Fables are Simple Allegory Fable Type of ALLEGORY, usually has animals Used to teach moral lessons to children Animals/characters represent Virtues=good human qualities Vices=bad human qualities **Fables teach lessons about life** Example: The Tortoise and the Hare Represents arrogance Represents perseverance

Allegorical Literature The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe The Wizard of Oz (the original novel, not the movie) Animal Farm The Pearl

Allegory in Popular Culture X-Men: mutants symbolize minorities, those with a handicap, and those who do not fit in with popular society

Allegory in Popular Culture District 9: Aliens are symbolic for minorities forced into ghettos under European rule in Africa It can be allegorical to any large scale discrimination of people – slavery and segregation, the Holocaust and concentration camps, Japanese internment camps

Up This is a THEORY…. Carl dies after being told he has to move to a nursing home. The rest of the movie is his symbolic journey through the afterlife. Russell is his spirit guide/guardian angel to help Carl (a child to remind him of his happiest times with his wife) through his transition. His house represents his attachment to the physical world, which he lets go of at the end of the movie when he has fully moved on into heaven.

Why Use Allegory? Writers use allegory to add different layers of meanings to their works. Allegory makes their stories and characters multidimensional, so that they stand for something larger in meaning than what they literally stand for. Allegory allows writers to put forward their moral and political point of views. The functions of allegory pop up more often than we realize. If we can understand how allegory works, we can see that allegory, especially in satire, is one of the most commonly used and effective means of making social commentary for a wide audience and affecting change. Can you think of any additional examples?

The Toy Story 3 THEORY Although denied by its creators, the is a theory floating around that Toy Story 3 is an allegory for the Holocaust. We are going to look at the possible symbols as a good EXAMPLE of allegory, although it is not intended as one. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yfhXamAFFQU

Additional Symbolism The toys are sent to their final destruction – THE INCINERATOR

Additional Symbolism They are finally saved by the ALIENS, which is all to similar to the term ALLIES…. ****Look. Their little minds are blown.

IF Toy Story 3 was meant as an allegory, what do you think the creators’ overall message is? What may it be teaching a younger audience?

Let’s Look at Allegory Dr. Seuss Allegories: The Lorax – Sustainable Agriculture and Corporate Greed The Sneeches – World War II and Racial Equality Yertle the Turtle – Dictatorship, World War II, and Hitler Dr. Seuss has confirmed the meanings in his allegories and has blatantly claimed that he did not write for children. Today, we are going to look at The Butter Battle Book. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AK027qfwyd4

What symbols did you find? The Butter Battle Book Yooks and Zooks = Americans and Soviets in the Cold War Von Itch = eastern is an European name Slingshots and other weapons = Nuclear arms race Bitsy Big Boy Boomeroo = Fat Man – Government Pride/Nationalism Moo-kla-moo = plutonium Yookeries = fall-out shelters Glowing egg = radioactivity

Why did Seuss write this? What is the overall message that Seuss has for his audience? How do the symbols add up to develop a deeper meaning, man? Why would Seuss choose to use such a simple, silly, children’s book format?

Application of Allegory to The Lord of the Flies The Lord of the Flies can be read under three ALLEGORICAL constructs: Religious – including the ongoing battle of good vs. evil, temptation towards sin, salvation Socio-political- commenting on types of governments, WWII, and the Cold War Human Nature – Are we essentially savage animals or a more civilized form of existence?

Literature Circle Group Extension In your literature groups, you will begin to make a connection between your characters and symbols and what Golding may be saying about our world, society, culture, human nature by exploring the connected symbolism and what it might mean for Golding’s overall message. Each group has a shared Google document to work on. For each of your symbols, you should be discussing and documenting how each of the symbols fits into each of the constructs. Not every symbol will be used for every construct.

Share Out Each group will share out the meanings of their symbols for each construct, explaining how the symbols fit and what that might be showing. We will then make some predictions about what may happen later in the book, based on each construct separately. We will also begin making some inferences about what Golding may be saying for his theme.