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Literary Devices
Definition of Allegory
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The Tortoise and The Hare" is... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and events. The story of "The... read full definition
An allegory is a work that conveys a hidden meaning—usually moral, spiritual, or political—through the use of symbolic characters and... read full definition
Key Examples in House Made of Dawn
8. The Priest of the Sun, January 26
Explanation and Analysis—Abel and Cain:
Abel's name is an allusion to the biblical story of Cain and Abel, the sons of Adam and Eve. In Chapter 8, Milly's account of her childhood helps demonstrate the significance of the allusion, turning the entire novel into an allegory:
The earth where we lived was hard and dry and brick red, and Daddy plowed and planted and watered the land, but in the end there was only a little yield. And it was the same year after year; it was always the same, and at last Daddy began to hate the land, began to think of it as some kind of enemy, his own very personal and deadly enemy.
Related Themes:
11. The Dawn Runner, February 27
Explanation and Analysis—Francisco's Vision:
In Chapter 11, as Francisco dies, he remembers racing when he was younger. His memory gives way to an allegorical vision:
Unlock with LitCharts A+He [...] had seen the man come almost at once to the top of his strength [...]. [...H]e had taken up the bait [... His lungs] were burning with pain and the pain had crowded out the last and least element of his breath, and he should stumble and fall. But the moment passed. The moment passed, and the next and the next, and he was running still, and still he could see the dark shape of the man running away in the swirling mist, like a motionless shadow. And he held on to the shadow and ran beyond his pain.
Related Themes:
