Allegory

1. Allegory English 10 Honors

2. Allegory • Allegory: • A specific type of symbolism…. • A genre of writing in which the objects, persons, and actions in a narrative have a symbolic meaning beyond the facts of the narrative (What does this mean? • The story as a whole has a meaning beyond the literal interpretation.

3. Allegory vs Symbol • They are similar but an allegory is sustained longer and is more fully detailed. • Example: In LOTF, Piggy’s glasses symbolize intellect and knowledge • Example: In LOTF, the allegory of Piggy’s glasses the eventual and unavoidable decline of mankind when faced with terms of survival.

4. Allegory • To understand Allegory, you must first understand the difference between a literal interpretation and a figurative interpretation. • Literal interpretation: looking only at the words and plot…not looking at the symbolic nature of anything. • Figurative interpretation: looking at how the characters, plot, setting etc can be taken in a different context (metaphorically).

5. Allegory—A dying breed • Allegories were often the method of choice in education many years ago. Why? • As a form of entertainment—through children’s stories, fables, myths, legends, media, etc. • They were easy to remember = Easy to pass on • Underlying principles were used for teaching lessons

6. Why the decline of the allegory? • We are a LITERALISTIC CULTURE grounded in an era of INSTANT GRATIFICATION. We are tired of figuring out “the message”; instead, we want it clearly delivered upfront. • Remember when we talked about whether or not we liked the ending of LOTF and TKAM based on not knowing what happens and wanting to be slapped in the face with the message or any missing information • This proves why allegories are becoming more difficult to comprehend • LOTF is one of the last novels to have substantial allegories

7. Let’s use an example that may be familiar to you: • "There are obvious layers of allegory [in the movie Avatar]. The Pandora woods is a lot like the Amazon rainforest (the movie stops in its tracks for a heavy ecological speech or two), and the attempt to get the Na'vi to 'cooperate' carries overtones of the U.S. involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan." • The movie also connects to Pocahontas and her involvement with the colonization of Virginia and John Smith

8. The Boy Who Cried Wolf • This children’s tale is an allegory for children who do not tell the truth and are not believed in the end.

9. Allegory within a Novel Lord of the Flies • Read literally: • These boys are stuck on an island • Ralph is the leader • Jack is always fighting Ralph for power • Simon is kind of strange…

10. Lord of the Flies • Can also be read as an allegory: • Religious Allegory • Political Allegory • Moral Allegory • Social Allegory • Psychological Allegory

11. Religious Allegory Jack: Evil Simon: Christ Figure Ralph: Everyman Supports: Ralph struggles to find his place between Simon (who is always good) and Jack (who is usually evil). Simon is tempted in the forest by the Lord of the Flies (Beelzebub) just as Jesus was tempted by the devil Simon is killed by the tribe as he returns with the truth about the “beast” just as Jesus is crucified for spreading the “truth”.

12. Religious Allegory Ralph (Everyman), with hope of salvation, demeans Piggy (intellect) and cannot understand Simon (spiritual truth); in fact, Ralph helps to kill Simon because of his physical appetites and his desire to consort with violence and thrill seeking, which he has allowed to flourish by letting Jack (unreasoning carnality) corrupt the choir. Ralph cringes hopelessly and helplessly, a fallen creature, as hell fires advance.

13. Religious Allegory • PIGGY = the “fall” of mankind • LORD OF THE FLIES = Satan/ evil (living inside mankind) • SIMON = quiet/observer; always does “good” to benefit others (littluns); used as the sacrificial lamb. His encounter with the LOTF is important because it represents something pure/good VS. evil in its worst form (Satan)

14. Simon as Christ Figure • Simon is different: he is laughed at, derided, rejected • Simon is the original name of the apostle Peter – Greek Petros meaning rock. Simon’s little chapel is a rock – he gives Ralph faith he will be saved while standing on a rock • Simon supports Ralph not Jack. He helps, he builds • Simon is not afraid because he knows the “beast” does not exist as a physical manifestation. He has no evil in him therefore does not fear the “beast.”

15. Simon stands between Ralph and Jack, between good and evil, yet he does not interfere – Free will • When Ralph says, “Oh God, Oh God,” Simon answers him. He later answers Ralph’s thoughts when Simon says “You’ll get back.” • He feeds the children • He is tempted, as if by the devil, to forget the truth and join the others. • He climbs the mountain to get the truth (Moses may come to mind here) • He returns with the truth but is killed by the boys • He ascends to heaven (Pay attention to Golding’s imagery)—Reread the passage following Simon’s death

16. Religious Allegory • The Garden of Eden = the island • Describes the perfect living condition with food/water, good weather, etc. Favorable details and “somewhat happy life” show its “perfect” state : UTOPIA • Golding portrays this “Eden” with a sense of evil at the same time to create a foreboding of something terrible. The island ends up in a state of misery: DYSTOPIA

17. Comic Strip Interpretation

18. Political Allegory JACK: HITLER PIGGY: CHURCHILL RALPH: FDR Think about it in respect to WWII… Jack commands his choir (and eventually his tribe) as a dictator Jack constantly attacks Piggy, and Ralph constantly stands up for Piggy Ralph attempts to be a peacemaker, but he fails.

19. Political Allegory—Another Look • Think about the Cold War • The world in the novel was divided into two “camps.” • Free World vs Soviet Union • Which characters represent these two camps? • The Cold War brought about fears of atomic destruction – those of which were materialized in LOTF

20. Moral Allegory RALPH = COMMON SENSE JACK = EMOTIONS PIGGY = INTELLECT SIMON = SOUL

21. Moral Allegory Ralph (common sense) attempts to balance Piggy (intellect), Jack (emotions), and Simon (soul) and fails, plunging into a world of chaos. How does this explanation fit with the actual plot of the story?

22. Social Allegory Social Allegory: Ralph (government) tries to balance Jack (power), Piggy (technology), and Simon (soul) and fails as power warps technology, destroys humanism, and attempts to abolish government. How does this fit with the plot of the story?

23. Social Allegory JACK PIGGY SIMON RALPH

24. Allegory • Other examples of allegories include: • The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis • Animal Farm by George Orwell • “Young Goodman Brown” by Hawthorne

25. Importance of Names Used in the Novel • RALPH = Anglo-Saxon word meaning “council” • PIGGY = vulnerability comparable to vulnerability of pigs on the island—how much the others have disliked him because of his intelligence (pigs=smart) • JACK = Hebrew word “Yakov” meaning “one who deceives” or “one who takes over” • SIMON = Hebrew word “one who listens” ; “one who observes” was the original name for Christ’s disciple Peter • SATAN = Translated to Beelzebub (name of Satan) = translated to “Lord of the Flies” (the pig’s head surrounded by flies)

26. The island and the real world • Examine the microcosm • The island is a representation of what is happening in the outside world. Destruction and chaos are imitated within the “society” set up by the boys. • Isn’t it ironic: • Without realizing it, the boys have created the same society from which they were being protected.

27. Major Themes in LOTF • Darkness of the heart is an innate human trait • Anarchy and savagery are direct results of man’s inability to follow society’s set rules • Our morals are a direct result of our surrounding—If our environment fails, our morals fail and the human race/civilization ultimately fails