Allegory Criticism

Allegory Criticism

Allegory criticism is an extended metaphor in which a person, abstract idea, or event stands for itself and for something else. Usually involves moral or spiritual concepts that are more significant than the actual narrative. In the fiction reading, “The man In the Black Suit” by Stephen King, the main character Gary a young boy at the age of nine has found himself coming face to face with someone he believes is the devil. While out for a day of fishing Gary is approached by a man mysterious looking man. In the reading, the author describes this mysterious man, “His face was very long and pale. His black hair was combed tight against his skull and parted with rigorous care on the light side of his narrow head. He was very tall. He was wearing a black three-piece suit, and I knew right away that he was not a human being, because his eyes were the orangey-red of flames in a woodstove. I don’t mean just the irises, because he had no irises, and no pupils, and certainly no whites. His eyes were completely orange-an orange that shifted and flickered. And it’s really too late not to say exactly what I mean, isn’t it? He was on fire inside, and his eyes were like the little isinglass portholes you sometimes see in stove doors.

Something that he has never witnessed just has always heard about in church and from what his parents always taught him when growing up. His innocence is threatened. Stephen King uses everyday events and objects to represent spiritual references, including the characters. The man in the black suit represents the devil and the young boy represents purity and innocents. The setting also sets the mood, where King sets the majority of the reading in the woods, a place that is usually looked at as a place that kids are not allowed to go by themselves. The woods were usually looked at as the forbidden part of the yard. As Gary goes further in the woods is when Gary comes in contact with the man in the black suit which is referred to as the devil himself and also the bee; which Gary believes it is the same exact bee that killed his brother. Gary is forced with facing impure spiritual desires; such as the fear of possible death, embarrassment (when he peed on himself), shame, and also the possibility of being deprived of the ones closest to him. When finally able o get himself together, Gary snaps into action and is able to run for his life and shake the devil off. Gary does not believe that he was dreaming, but that the evil he has encountered is reality and that they actually took place. Also when the father goes looking for Gary, the look on his face and actions shows that he too has also encountered it once before. Gary is just lucky that he has been able to live to tell the tale.

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Reference

1. "The Man in the Black Suit. " Analysis. N. p. , n. d. Web. 03 Nov. 2012.
2. http://wp.stockton.du/lawlerkc/analysis/>.
3. Mulverhill, Gisele. "Short Story Reviews: The Man in the Black Suit, by Steven King. "Helium. Helium, 19 Aug. 2010. Web. 03 Nov. 2012.
4. http://www.helium.com/items/1926945-Stephen-king-the-man-in-the-black-suit-Stephen King, Fiction, “The Man in the Black Suit,” The New Yorker, October 31, 1994, p. 92 Stephen King, Fiction, “The Man in the Black Suit,” The New Yorker, October 31, 1994, p. 92.
5. http://www.newyorker.com/archive/1994/10/31/1994_10_31_092_TNY_CARDS_000367702.

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