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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 7
Explanation and Analysis—The Fig Tree:
In a famous passage, Esther employs allegory, imagining the various possible lives she might live as fruits dangling from a fig-tree:
I saw my life branching out before me like the green fig tree in the story. From the tip of every branch, like a fat purple fig, a wonderful future beckoned and winked. One fig was a husband and a happy home and children, and another fig was a famous poet and another fig was a brilliant professor [...] I wanted each and every one of them [...] and, as I sat there, unable to decide, the figs began to wrinkle and go black [...]
In Esther’s allegory, she imagines her own life as a large fig tree, each fig representing the various options available to her. While one fig represents “a husband and a happy home and children,” another represents “a famous poet” and another “a brilliant professor.” Because she wants all of the figs, she cannot decide which to pick. However, in her hesitation, the figs begin to “wrinkle and go black,” falling at her feet. This allegorical passage reflects Esther’s own feeling that she must commit to a goal quickly. Because she wants to explore every avenue of life, she risks delaying and having these options taken from her. Throughout the novel, Esther suffers from indecision, as she feels that she wants to enjoy all that life has to offer even though she knows she cannot achieve mutually exclusive goals.
Related Themes:
