1. Alexander Academy English Language Arts Grades 9 &10
Unit 1:
Classic Novels
Allegory and Symbolism

2. Classic Novels Grade 9 Grade 10 The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
Lord of the Flies by William Golding
Grade 9
The Chrysalids by John Wyndham
Published in 1955
Set thousands of years in the future after a nuclear holocaust
Concerns a group of children with special abilities
Published in 1954
Set in present day (1954) during a nuclear war
Concerns a group of young boys crash-landed on an island

3. Literary Terms Allegory
Dictionary Definition: the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existence
What does that really mean?
When a story is meant to represent a larger truth.
For example?

4. Examples of Allegory Avatar (2009)
The Na’vi are meant to represent the First Nations people, Pandora is America and the soldiers represent the colonizers
The Na’vi and Pandora can also represent the Middle East and unobtanium is oil
The film as a whole can also represent war throughout history

5. Examples of Allegory
District 9 (2009) (I guess 2009 was a really allegorical year!)
This film is set in South Africa where all the aliens are separated from the humans in slums
The allegory here is very obviously about the history of segregation in South Africa

6. Literary Terms Symbolism
Dictionary Definition: “the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character.
What does that mean?
When a person, object or thing is meant to represent something else
For example?

7. Examples of Symbolism Symbolism in Film
This video allows us to see symbolism in the movies we watch, but what about in books?

8. Symbolism in Books Harry Potter Twilight
All the names in the Harry Potter books hold symbolic meaning. For example, Lucius Malfoy: ‘Mal’ means bad in several languages and the first name ‘Lucius’ is similar to ‘Lucifer’ as in The Devil. Also Sirius Black and Remus Lupin’s names both refer to the animals they transform into.
Twilight
There are many symbols in the Twilight books, but let’s just focus on one: cars. Each member of the Cullen family has a fancy car that tells us something about their personality. For example, Edward’s Volvo is sleek and beautiful, but incredibly safe; Rosalie’s BMW is hot and flashy, just like her

9. While you are reading…
Try to pay attention for allegory and symbolism within these books
The most common references tend to be toward The Bible because it is the most famous book in the western world
Question everything. Try to figure out the deeper meaning behind everyone’s motivation and choices
Remember: Everything means something!