The Allegory Elements In Animal Farm And Little Prince

First use of the word 'allegory 'in English was in 1382, the origin of this word is taken from Latin 'allegoria', the latinisation of the Greek ἀλληγορία (allegoría), 'veiled language, figurative' (Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott). Allegory is considered as a literary device; allegory is a figure of speech called “metaphor” in which a particular character, place, time or event is used to convey a broader meaning about the matters or problems in the real-world. Allegory (in terms the use or apply of allegorical devices) can be applied generally throughout history in the most forms of art, mostly because it can easily explain and express a lot of complex ideas and thoughts in different methods to be more understandable or remarkable to its readers, viewers, or listeners (Stephen A. Barney, 1989).

In general, a lot of authors or speakers applied allegories in their works, to be as literary or metaphorical devices, which can mean hidden or complicated meanings by using symbolic events, figures, imagery, or simile, that can work together to produce the moral, spiritual, or political sense the author wants to convey (Wheeler, L. Kip, 2018).

The article in Center for Hellenic Studies in Harvard University (2018) writes that for many centuries, allegories have been applied in different works from different cultures. Authors used them to teach lessons, clarify the concepts of morality, and sometimes to express their views about a specific issue.

An allegory is considered a special type of any story, because it should reflect truth to the meaning for the whole of the story. Therefore, allegories can be difficult to master, as they can be pedantic when done poorly. Although, some literary works that can be read allegorically get much strength from their deeper meanings.

To make any work more effective and able to add a lot on the meaning, the writer needs to convey particular idea or concept, allegory achieves this purpose. Allegory does not only give lessons, it also illustrates the state of mind. In this stage, the mind can understand our different thoughts or feelings that are facing each other such as love against hate and passion against reason. Allegorical literary text means a story inside another story. It shows two stories, but one of them is a “surface” and another one is “hidden underside”. For example, if the surface story talks about two neighbours throwing rocks at each other’s homes, there is another meaning in the hidden story, which talks about war between two countries. Some writers used very subtle allegories in their works, while there are a lot of allegories (like the rock-throwing) can be easy understandable and more obvious to the readers.

Most of literary texts that contain allegory, its hidden story related to something political, religious, or morality, and the majority of them are complex issues and difficult to be understood directly. Several authors suppose that these issues can be easier to think about them through transferring them into allegorical form, which make them easier to understand and fun to read than complicated philosophical arguments. Allegory in literary texts is extremely helpful and expressive device, because it is used to deliver secret messages easily and to say things that writers could not say them any other way (Glossary of Literary Terms).

According to Kirszner and Mandell (2016), they said: Allegory in literary texts used to communicate a set of guidelines, messages, ethical or moral principles through combining it in the narrative in which the characters, events and places symbolize particular ideas, values, traits and other abstractions. In other words, we can say it is one literary work, novel or story, but it has two similar and consistent types of meaning – one of them will be literal and the other one is figurative. Literary texts can contain two types of allegory:

• Allegorical figure: when the author uses a character, object, place, or event to reflect the allegory. For example: the character Faith reflects religion in “Young Goodman Brown”.
• Allegorical framework: when the author use set of ideas in his work to convey the allegory’s message.

Allegory texts are complete stories that include characters and events to stand for an abstract idea or an event (Davis, 2014). Situations of these allegories normally have been used to show how objects, persons, and actions can represent deeper purpose that writer wants to convey in a story. Such a lot of early authors as Plato, Apuleius, Cicero and Augustine added allegories in their works (James, J. 2016). Examples of novels that are allegorical:

Animal Farm novel

Animal Farm is considered one of popular allegorical novels which describe the history of the Soviet Union from 1917, it was written By George Orwell during World War II. Through this fictional story, the events represent real ones, but on a smaller scale. Orwell has portrayed the original ideals of the revolution, gave a close example of domination and submission, and he also exposes the main idea of political corruption.

Allegory is reflected in the novel obviously. Firstly, Animal Farm represents Russia/USSR, and the other characters (pigs, animals and people) represent leaders, commands, kings, etc. For example, Old Major is the oldest boar in the farm; his dream to make all animals equal and do not live to serve humans. Old Major represents Karl Marx and his dream presents the evils of capitalism and communism. Snowball is a leader pig and wanted to spread the word 'Animal Farm' to the neighboring farms. Snowball represents Leon Trotsky and he had the same function, to spread the word 'communism' to other nations. Finally, Squealer is the pig who spreads messages to support the leader's goals. It is not a symbol for a particular person, but an embodiment of hypocrisy in general.

Next, humans in this novel such as, Mr. and Mrs. Jones are the cruel and incompetent owners of the farm; they represent the czar of Russia and his wife, Nicholas II and Alexandra, who were unpopular. Mr. Pilkington, the neighboring gentleman farmer, is a symbol for the U.S. and the U.K. Mr. Frederick, the shrewd neighboring farmer represents Hitler. Mr. Whymper acts as a mediator between Animal Farm and the humans to get money. He represents the naive westerners who spread the communist message for personal profit.

Also, all events of the revolution in the farm describe the beginning of the revolution in Russian, the ousting of the humans after the farmers forget to feed the animals is an allusion to the Russian Revolution that led to the removal of the Czar. The sequence of events in the novel continue as the stages of that revolution, the argument between Napoleon and Snowball about the rule in Animal Farm, it is similar to Stalin wanting 'Socialism in one country' and Trotsky's theory of 'Permanent Revolution.'

The Pilgrim’s Progress.

The Pilgrim’s Progress is a book written by John Bunyan, it was published in 1678. This book talks about a journey executed by its main character, Christian from the City of Destruction to Celestial City which stands for heaven. The Pilgrim’s Progress includes allegories in all aspects of the plot, the names of the characters, events, objects, and even its circumstances.

The Pilgrim’s Progress is allegorical story consists of two meanings, surface meaning and hidden meaning. The surface is seen as an adventure of Christian salted with different actions scenes. Its hidden meaning express an important and essential message, and conveys moral values about the sedulity of a human being in seeking his soul’s salvation to get God’s grace. Christian’s journey is not like any normal adventurous in story, but it is also considered a reflection of one’s spiritual journey since he is born until death comes and takes his soul to an eternal life.

Bunyan has put as an allegory name of the central character, Christian. A burden in his back used to represent his sins and fault, and the book in his hand which refers to Bible. Events contain a lot important allegories. For example, allegory lies in the town of Vanity where Christian and his pilgrim refuse to be interested in the merchandise displayed and they decide to buy truth. This scene is seen as a representation of worldly and carnal desires which are successfully defeated by Christian and Faithful.

Allegories are applied everywhere in the Pilgrim’s Progress story. Bunyan intended to provide a lot of allegories in order to show some important matters and issues through the use of personification, metaphors, and allegories so that the reader can recognize the moral values and general conceptions which are related to one’s spiritual journey to gain soul’s salvation.

The Little Prince

The Little Prince is written by Saint-Exupéry during World War II, after Germany’s invasion of France when it had forced him to leave his homeland to flee to New York and give up aviation, his childhood dream. These events which affected the writer make him use allegory in 'The Little Prince' to express his torturous thoughts and memories of the war in Europe, having to leave his dream and homeland. The novel’s nostalgia for childhood indicates both Saint-Exupéry’s homesick desire to return to France and his hope of returning to a time of peace.

The clearest allegory in this novel is its glorification of childhood like innocence, and an indictment of the spiritual decay Saint-Exupéry. Other allegories appeared gradually because some events of the story of The Little Prince used to represent events taken from Saint-Exupéry’s own life and the circumstances of the war in his childhood, and because Saint-Exupéry may have seen himself in his characters of both the narrator and the little prince. Like his narrator, Saint-Exupéry was a pilot, crashed in the Sahara, and experienced there a kind of mystical revelation. The prince, however, represents aspects of Saint-Exupéry as well, and he very definitely embodies Saint-Exupéry’s philosophy and aspirations. Also, the prince is an explorer and traveler of the skies—it is one of the first things that the prince and the narrator share in common.

Allegory can appear in The prince’s relationship with the rose because it could be a reflection of Saint-Exupéry’s relationship with his wife. Seen in this light, The Little Prince can be read as a allegory of the process of introspection itself, wherein two halves of the same person meet and learn from each other. The prevalence of allegories of death and evil in The Little Prince are often interpreted as references to Nazi Germany, which undoubtedly was influenced this story by the tenor of World War II.

The Faerie Queene

The Faerie Queene is one of most important English epics, which is written by Edmund Spenser. First published in 1590, and then republished in 1596. In The Faerie Queene, Spenser applies an allegory: The characters of his far-off, fanciful 'Faerie Land' are meant to have an allegorical meaning reflected in the real world.

The characters and events in this poetic have two meanings. For example, the poet talks about the journeys of two knights, they called Redcrosse and Britomart, and in doing so he examines the two virtues which are considered very essential and important to Christian life, Holiness and Chastity.

Redcrosse, the knight of Holiness, he is allegorical character in the poem because he represents the Apostle Peter: In his eagerness to serve his Lord. In the other side, Britomart, he is also another allegorical character which progresses in her virtue of chastity. She already has the strength to resist lust, which is what Spenser thinks as true Christian love: moderation.

Spenser has a high list of evils is the Catholic Church, and this enmity contains allegory because it represents political overtone to the poem, since the religious conflicts of the time were inextricably tied to politics. This epic relies deeply on Italian romantic sources, and classical works. When Spenser blended diverse sources with allegory, he makes the poem unique and remarkable. He is able to take images from superficial romances, courtly love stories, and tragic epics alike, and give them real significance in the context of the poem.