The Color Purple is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Alice Walker that explores the lives of African American women in the early 20th century. The novel follows the story of Celie, an uneducated and oppressed woman, who writes letters to God and later to her sister Nettie. Through her journey, she discovers the power of …
Examples of Allegories
The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao is a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by Junot Díaz that was published in 2007. The book is a work of fiction but is set in New Jersey, where Díaz was raised, and deals with the Dominican Republic’s experience under dictator Rafael Trujillo. The novel chronicles the life of Oscar …
“The Road to Wigan Pier” is a nonfiction book by George Orwell that was first published in 1937. The book is divided into two parts: the first part is a sociological investigation of the living conditions of the working class in Lancashire and Yorkshire in the industrial north of England before World War II, while …
“The Girl with All the Gifts” is a science fiction novel by M.R. Carey that was published in June 2014 by Orbit Books. The book is set in a dystopian future where humanity has been almost entirely wiped out by a zombie-like fungal infection. The story follows a young girl named Melanie, who is one …
The Memory of Water by Emmi Itäranta is a captivating speculative fiction novel that explores a world where water is scarce and controlled by the government. The story follows Noria, a tea master’s daughter who is tasked with guarding a secret freshwater spring that has been passed down through generations of tea masters. However, when …
The Girl Who Owned a City is a post-apocalyptic novel that was first published in 1975 by O.T. Nelson. The story is set in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, and follows a 10-year-old girl named Lisa who is struggling to survive in a world where a deadly plague has killed all the adults. The novel is considered …
Mary Doria Russell’s The Sparrow is a novel that tells the story of a group of Jesuit priests who embark on a mission to make the first contact with an alien race. The novel won several awards, including the Arthur C. Clarke Award, and has become a classic in the science fiction genre. The title …
A Clockwork Orange, a dystopian novel by Anthony Burgess, was published in 1962. The novel is set in a near-future society that has a youth subculture of extreme violence. The teenage protagonist, Alex, narrates his violent exploits and his experiences with state authorities intent on reforming him. The novel explores themes of violence, free will, …
Never Let Me Go is a science fiction novel written by Kazuo Ishiguro. The book tells the story of Kathy, Ruth, and Tommy, who grow up in an elite boarding school called Hailsham. The novel is set in an alternate England where human cloning is used to prolong the lives of ordinary citizens through state-sanctioned …
“The House of the Scorpion” is a young adult science fiction novel written by Nancy Farmer. The story takes place in a dystopian future where clones are created for the sole purpose of providing spare parts to their original counterparts. The protagonist, Matteo Alacrán, is a young clone of a powerful drug lord named El …