Intro to Allegory

Intro to Allegory

Open Ended

Who/what does the hare represent? And the tortoise?

Open Ended

What is the 'moral' of the story?

Open Ended

Why tell a story like this? Why not just explain the 'moral' to people?

Allegory

A story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, usually a moral or political one. It is a form of an extended metaphor often using animals to represent human characters or qualities of human nature.

-Thus an allegory is a story with two meanings; a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.

Examples of Allegories

• Avatar - Pandora Woods represents the Amazon rainforest, a sanctuary from industry and development, which has no regard for nature but to pillage it for its bankable resources

• WALL-E

• Wizard of Oz

Animals & Allegory

As stated before, animals are often used as the character's in allegorical stories because their characteristics are used to show/simplify human nature

Example: Snake

Open Ended

What type of person might a snake represent? What stereotypical characteristics or qualities would you associate with a snake?