Allegory and Symbolism

Allegory and Symbolism

By Nakiya Beaman

Multiple Choice

An allegory is...

• ...a story that represents something beyond itself.
• ...when the characters or story represent historical events.
• ...represent abstract or moral ideas.
• ...All of the above.

Multiple Choice

Allegory must include

• symbolism

• irony

• allusion

• hyperbole

Multiple Choice

Symbols allow writers to...

• ...convey layers of meaning.
• ...take a break from typing so much.
• ...turn on their headphones while they type.
• ...play Solitaire.

Multiple Choice

An allegory is a story in which:

• Characters, setting and actions stand for something beyond their literal meaning

• a story in which characters, settings, and symbols have new definitions

• a story in which characters, settings, and symbols have magical powers

• a story in which characters, settings, and symbols know one another

Summary on Allegory and Symbolism

Some text here about the topic of discussion

• Allegories mimic events in real life and actions in real relationships.

• These actions are supposed to educate or warn us in some way​

• Allegories have more depth and dimension than symbols

• Symbols stand alone and don't need interaction to have meaning.

• Allegories have symbols and those symbols interact​ in a meaninful way.

Multiple Select

Read the following analysis for the movie Encanto on why it is an allegory:

The big conflict of the movie is between Mirabel and Abuela, although you might say everyone in the family is in conflict with Abuela. Abuela represents the baby Boomer generation - hard working & sees value through work/contributions, but also prefers to ignore problems rather than confront them. Also, she's still the one in charge and makes the rules.

The parents are Gen X. They grew up in a single parent household like a lot of Gen X/latchkey kids. They recognize the problems in the current system but feel powerless to change them, so they tend to be pragmatic, work with what they've got, and DIY a workaround.

The grandkids represent the end of the millennial generation and the beginning of Gen Z. They're more willing to challenge the status quo, place more value on work conditions and mental health of the workers, etc.

In one sense, Encanto is a story about family dysfunction, but a lot of it feels like it mirrors the current struggle to improve the lives of the working class - raising the minimum wage, paid family leave, things like that. Abuela blaming everything on Mirabel is reflective of how all these dying industries were blamed on millennials. Telling Mirabel to stop trying to fix the magic is like how alternative solutions to fix the economy/environment/etc. get dismissed as "impractical" or would only make things worse.

Most of the work of fixing things is put on Mirabel/millennials, but it also requires her/them to understand the other generations, and it requires the older generation to be flexible and to allow the younger generation help steer the ship.

According to the text, What makes this story an allegory? Choose all that apply.

• The characters are symbols of trauma in families

• The characters are symbols of their generation.

• The characters actions symbolize the relationships that generations have with each other especially in families

• The characters represent political figures and their interactions with the public

Multiple Select

Read the following passage and answer the following question about Zootopia at the end?

Zootopia addresses prejudice by discussing the predator-versus-prey hierarchy that exists within the animal kingdom. Zootopia takes place in a utopian animal society in which predators and prey are able to suppress their natural animal urges, reminiscent of Freud's idea that civilization exists as a result of the repression of human desire. Since the animals are so evolved, all of them are able to live in harmony, but there remains prejudices between predator and prey.

For example, Judy Hops (a bunny) has a bad experience with a fox from childhood, thus Judy unknowingly brings anti-fox sentiment to her early interactions with Nick Wilde. Judy had prejudices against people that look like Nick from her childhood experiences. Over time and getting to know Nick, Judy learns to separate the individual person from a group they may be a part of. Nick, a fox and thus a predator, has experienced prejudice his whole life. He struggles to get certain jobs, join social groups, and even participate in normal activities on a daily basis. Due to these experiences, Nick can often be jaded when it comes to helping others. However, through understanding one another more clearly, Judy and Nick help to better each other and allow themselves to accept how they are and how others are without prejudice. .

How Zootopia Succeeded

Zootopia is able to very successfully address personal biases/prejudices and how one can repair those prejudices. The character of Judy Hops reveals how past traumas and distant memories can continue to shape present perceptions, coloring them with bias of all kinds. However, through her gradual development of exposure, compassion, patience, and listening regarding Nick, she is able to remove these biases from her mind and learn to know individuals as specific, unique subjects rather than as an entire species like 'fox' or supposed race like 'white' or Black.'

The film also addresses how stereotypes can hurt everyone involved, how the stereotypes of one group not only affects those in the group but also those who do the stereotyping. Nick has been stereotyped all his life because he is a predator; not only does this hurt him, but it hurts those who could have been close with Nick had they not stereotyped him as well. It prevents whole swaths of people from experiencing the rich, beautiful diversity and wonderful differences that life has to offer. The stereotypes that affect Judy affect those that hold them as well. Judy is offended when she is called cute by a cheetah, because when others see Judy as cute, they do not take her seriously. This is the kind of microaggression and racial profiling that conditions people to mistrust others and avoid certain language and situations. This unwittingly offensive terminology also hurts the cheetah who said it, because that cheetah never be able to build a beneficial relationship with a bunny since they only see them as cute (and consequently inferior, perhaps) and are blinded to all the aspects which actually make up that individual rabbit.

According to this passage, how does Zootopia show allegory? Check all that apply.

• The characters are all symbolic of different kind of participants in the system

• The movie demonstrates larger issues of prejudice and systemic racism

• The movie uses animals instead of people

• The movie shows how animals act on different chains in the animal kingdom

Multiple Choice

Read the following passage on "Inside Out"

What makes this movie an allegory?

On a macro level, the story focuses on a young girl named Riley (Kaitlyn Dias) who must adjust to the challenges of life in a new city after moving from Minnesota to San Francisco. But the majority of the film takes place inside of Riley’s mind at the microscopic scale, exploring the interactions between five anthropomorphized feelings that control her actions: the golden, relentlessly optimistic Joy (Amy Poehler), the blue, Eeyore-like Sadness (Phyllis Smith), the red, literally explosive Anger (Lewis Black), the purple, perpetually paranoid Fear (Bill Hader), and the green, casually cool Disgust (Mindy Kaling). From inside a quite literal Headquarters, the five emotions collectively oversee Riley’s life—managing everything from dream production to long-term memory conversion.

Screenplay writers Meg LeFauve, Josh Cooley, and Peter Docter (who directed as well as wrote) push the boundaries of imagination with the incredibly colorful world inside Riley’s head: memories are stored as swirling, color-coded orbs in large, sprawling bookshelves that resemble folded brain tissue, a literal train of thought travels throughout the mind, and fading memories are dumped into a dark abyss where they are forgotten forever. Core memories—those fundamental to Riley’s identity—are stored in a special location at Headquarters, and they each provide power to an island that represents a different personality facet, such as honesty.

When a conflict between Joy and Sadness results in the inadvertent loss of both emotions and several core memories deep in the recesses of Riley’s mind, the emotions must work together to restore Riley back to normal. What follows is a literal mindtrip through Riley’s head—through the infinite mazes of Long Term Memory, the unbounded chaos of Imagination Land, and the Hollywood-like studios of Dream Productions. The film is carried by compelling voice performances from Poehler and Smith, whose characters serve as obvious foils symbolizing the two sides of the emotional spectrum. Joy strongly resembles Poehler’s character Leslie Knope from “Parks and Recreation,” and her controlling, emphatic cheerfulness constantly seeks to marginalize the seemingly superfluous Sadness.

Through the lens of emotion, the film emphasizes the value of change—the audience sees Joy struggle to reconcile the existence of Sadness and futilely hold onto happy memories of the past, but ultimately even she must accept that things will be different after the move. Happy memories of playing hockey in Minnesota can also become sad memories of a former home without ruining the memory’s significance. It is a simple lesson, but one that is presented with tenderness and nuance.

At times capable of evoking a profound sense of childlike wonder and loss, “Inside Out” does what Pixar does best—and the result is a thoughtful coming-of-age film that will leave children wide-eyed and adults wistful.

• Each character symbolizes an emotion and reflects how they affect us in real life

• The movie is about how symbols affect us everyday

• This story reflects a major historic event.