Literary Gem: "Allegory"
When is a fish not a fish? A pig not a pig? And a tortoise not a tortoise?
When it shows up in an Allegory.
Hi … I’m Jim Lamb—let’s get started.
The word allegory comes from a Latinized version of the Greek word “Allegoria”— which means “veiled language.”
One of the best examples is Plato's “Allegory of the Cave,” in which a group of people chained inside a cave spend their lives watching shadows projected on a wall.
(That sounds boring.)
Even when someone tells these cave-dwellers that there’s more to life than shadows, they don’t believe it.
Sad. Sad. Sad.
Like all allegories, the cave story works on two levels: First, on the surface; then, behind the scenes.
Want more examples?
The fish in Ernest Hemmingway’s “Old Man and the Sea” is much more than the catch of the day. It represents struggle, failure, determination, and (in a strange way) success.
In “Animal Farm,” the writer George Orwell uses farm animals to portray how the 1917 Revolution transformed Russia into the Soviet Union. … Two pigs in the story stand in for Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. (In this book, Orwell shows how an allegory can take on a controversial—and complicated—topic.)
Allegories can also create “teachable moments.”
For example, “The Tortoise and the Hare” isn’t about a race between a reptile and a rabbit. It’s a life-lesson even a child can understand. That’s one reason why allegories are so popular—and memorable.
Plus, they can be found everywhere:
• In the Bible, with “The Prodigal Son.”
• In fables, like … “The Little Red Hen.”
• In novels like … “Lord of the Flies”
• And in movies like … “Wizard of Oz.”
“Fight Club” is an allegory, too—but we can’t talk about that, can we?
I’m Jim Lamb—and you just learned a little Somethin’-Somethin’ about Allegories.
Copyright 2021