Tropic of Orange by Karen Tei Yamashita is a magical realism novel that takes place primarily in Los Angeles and Mexico. The story begins on the longest day of the year and spans the course of a week, covering a magical event that begins in Mexico on the Tropic of Cancer and spreads north to …
Examples of Allegories
Wisdom is one of the earliest surviving medieval morality plays. It is part of a collection of early English moralities known as “The Macro Plays,” which also includes Mankind and The Castle of Perseverance. As an allegory, Wisdom enacts the struggle between good and evil, depicting Christ personified in the character of Wisdom. The play …
Jean Sibelius’ The Maiden in the Tower is a one-act opera that was written in 1896. The piece was a collaboration with the Finnish author Rafael Hertzberg, who wrote the Swedish-language libretto. The opera tells a simple tale of chivalry, where the Bailiff abducts and imprisons the Maiden in a tower. The opera is known …
“The Night Land” is a novel written by William Hope Hodgson that was first published in 1912. The novel is a work of fantasy that belongs to the subgenre of Dying Earth. The plot of the novel is set in the far future, where the sun has died, and the world is covered in darkness. …
Karel Čapek’s “War with the Newts” is a satirical science fiction novel that explores themes of exploitation, colonization, and the consequences of unchecked technological progress. First published in 1936, the book is a biting commentary on various political and social issues, using the premise of an unlikely war between humans and a race of intelligent …
Frans Masereel’s “The Idea” is a wordless novel that tells an allegory of a man’s idea, which takes the form of a naked woman who goes out into the world. The book is composed of eighty-three woodcut prints that offer a profound exploration of the human experience. The story is told through the power of …
The Iron Dream by Norman Spinrad is a science fiction novel that tells the story of a post-apocalyptic adventure tale entitled Lord of the Swastika. The novel was published in 1972 and has a nested narrative that tells a story within a story. On the surface, it presents an alternate-history Adolf Hitler who wrote the …
White Acre vs. Black Acre is an allegorical novel written by William M. Burwell in 1856. The novel is set in the United States and presents the history of slavery in North America as a trial between the North and South. The North is represented by White Acre, while the South is represented by Black …
Hot House Flowers is a children’s book written by John H. Wilson, a Brooklyn criminal court judge. The book is an allegory that compares illegal immigration to dandelions that overrun a greenhouse. Wilson self-published the book and illustrated it with Marina Tsesarkaya’s drawings. The plot of the book revolves around a dandelion from outside a …
The Vegetarian, written by Han Kang, is a novel that has captured the attention of readers worldwide. The book, published in 2007, is a story of a woman named Yeong-hye who decides to become a vegetarian. The novel is divided into three parts, each narrated by a different character, and explores themes such as mental …