Applicability Vs. Allegory

In a foreword to The Fellowship of the Ring, J.R.R. Tolkien states that, “But I cordially dislike allegory in all it’s manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history, true or feigned, with it’s varied applicability to the thought and experience of the readers.” A common misconception is that applicability and allegory are the same concept. As Tolkien references throughout his foreword, applicability is the freedom of the reader to make connections, whereas allegory is a forced parallel created by the author when writing the book. Applicability provides more value to the reader because it allows the reader to form their own connections to events in their own life. Allegories, …show more content…
When applying the readers own experiences, or world history, to a story, there are multiple potential answers that can be found. Regardless of whether or not the applicability is to history or a personal connection, it still becomes the reader’s choice rather than that of the author. In the novel Life of Pi, the main character, Pi, states, “So tell me, since it makes no factual difference to you and you can't prove the question either way, which story do you prefer? Which is the better story, the story with animals or the story without animals?” (Martel 3.99). In the story, Pi leaves the ending in the hands of the readers, and the Japanese officials. Martel is recognizing that while the one story is more reasonable, the story with the animals is still explanatory and does not change the ending. Martel is leaving the ending up to the reader to be applied to different parts of the more realistic part of the story. While he provides some guidance, Martel allows the reader to make their own connections to religion and history, as a method of increasing the appeal of the ending. Martel recognizes that making the story more applicable for the reader is more powerful than forcing the reader to see premade connections. As Tolkien says, “One resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author.” Tolkien is referring to …show more content…
When allegory is used, connections are made to more general topics such as religion, major historical events, etc. When applicability is used, every reader can find a different connection that applies to themselves, giving a feeling of personal connection to the author’s story. A common theme in Homer’s The Odyssey, is the idea of overcoming any obstacles in your path to reach your goal. This theme of The Odyssey makes it applicable to anybody travelling through the general paths of life, and experiencing adversity in an attempt to reach goals. As Odysseus travels from Troy at the end of the Trojan war towards Ithaca, and is knocked off course and forced to make his way back for ten years (Homer), his journeys are not directly paralleled in any other concepts, but instead serve as a psychological map for people travelling through their lives. While the film O’ Brother Where Art Thou? is a direct allegory to the events of the Odyssey it no longer applicable to the lives of the viewers since the film now possesses the forced allegory to the Odyssey. Where the Odyssey is applicable to personal experiences of the reader, the film allegory of it is only allegorical to the Odyssey and therefore not as applicable to daily life. This is a clear representation of why applicability is more powerful than allegory. The very applicable story The Odyssey loses its