The Cone Gathers - allegory

The Novel As Allegory

Three different levels of meaning:

v A simple story about two innocent brothers persecuted by an evil gamekeeper

v A serious treatment of class-division; attitudes towards violence and war etc.

v An allegory of evil and redemption by sacrifice

Allegory:

v a description of one thing under the guise of another suggestively similar

v ‘the employment of a set of agents and images to convey in disguise a moral meaning’

Allegorical elements in the novel:

v The portrayal of the wood as the Garden of Eden

v ‘It was a morning that seemed to beguile the mind with recollections of a time of innocence before evil and unhappiness were born.’

The portrayal of Calum as innocent:

v Like St Francis of Assisi – ‘Chaffinches fluttered round him, ignoring his brother; now and then one would alight on his head or shoulder. .. his sunburnt face beautiful with trust.’

v ‘he knew that what Calum represented, pity…