Allegory
Pattern
Sustained A=B narrative — entire story as extended metaphor
Definition
An extended metaphor in which characters, events, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities, creating a parallel narrative.
Examples
Example 1
All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.
George Orwell, Animal Farm
The entire novel is an allegory for the Russian Revolution — every animal represents a political figure or class
Example 2
The prisoners in the cave see only shadows on the wall and mistake them for reality.
Plato, Republic (Allegory of the Cave)
The cave, shadows, and sunlight represent ignorance, illusion, and philosophical enlightenment
Example 3
A story about a tortoise and a hare who race, where the tortoise wins through persistence.
Aesop's Fables
The animals represent human qualities — the hare is arrogance, the tortoise is diligence
AI Detection Note
AI can produce surface-level allegory but tends to make the symbolic mapping too explicit and consistent. Human allegory allows for ambiguity, contradiction, and moments where the literal story asserts its own reality.
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