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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
Chapter 3
Explanation and Analysis—Jazz:
Throughout the novel, jazz operates as a versatile allegory for freedom, living in the moment, desire, self-expression, processing trauma, reading, writing, and more. Often, the fluidity of this allegory is the point: it should be interpretable from a variety of angles to match the way jazz is improvisational, the way histories depend on how they are interpreted, and how people are "original, complicated, [and] changeable."
Related Themes:
Chapter 7
Explanation and Analysis—The Wild:
Throughout the second half of Jazz, Morrison uses the wilderness to articulate and allegorize various aspects of Black identity in America. Near the end of Chapter 7, as Joe recalls the time he tried to find Wild, Morrison writes:
Unlock with LitCharts A+The third time Joe had tried to find her (he was a married man by then) he had searched the hillside for the tree—the one whose roots grew backward as though, having gone obediently into earth and found it barren, retreating to the trunk for what was needed. Defiant and against logic its roots climbed. Toward leaves, light, wind. Below that tree was the river whites called Treason where fish raced to the line, and swimming among them could be riotous or serene. But to get there you risked treachery by the very ground you walked on. The slopes and low hills that fell gently toward the river only appeared welcoming; underneath vines, carpet grass, wild grape, hibiscus and wood sorrel, the ground was as porous as a sieve. A step could swallow your foot or your whole self.
Related Themes:
