Allegory & X-Men

1. What do the two have in common? Allegory & X-Men

2. Allegory: a story behind the story • An allegory is a narrative that is really a double story. • One story takes place on the surface. • Under the surface, the story’s characters and events represent abstract ideas, things like love or freedom, evil or goodness, hell or heaven.

3. An Allegory must operate on two levels • On the level of storytelling, an allegory must hold our attention. Its characters must seem believable and interesting enough for us to care about them. • On the allegorical level the ideas in the story must be accessible to us. As you read, you should find that the allegorical level of the story gradually begins to strike you.

4. X-Men Comics • Created in the 1960’s by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, X-Men are outcast from society because they are different. • The comics were aimed at groups who feel that they don’t belong or fit into society • Based on the idea that everyone wants to be “normal” • For example, people with disabilities… • The point: different is okay!

5. Mutants vs. Disabilities: realization & acceptance • When mutants first realize they have a mutation, acceptance for both the mutant and the family is difficult: • Archangel’s father takes him to special scientists to try to “fix” him, and Rogue runs away from home because she doesn’t understand why she hurts everyone she touches.

6. Mutants vs. Disabilities: realization & acceptance • Similarly, it can be difficult for individuals and families to accept that a loved one has a disability. • Families search for the best doctors in the country for surgeries to “fix” the disabled. • Heather Whitestone, who is deaf, was crowned Miss American 1995.

7. Mutations vs. Disabilities • Mutants and those with disabilities are sometimes alienated from society because they do not “fit in.” • A parent of a mutant child asks Dr. Xavier to “cure” or fix the child, but he responds, “mutation is not a disease.” • Mutations & Disabilities are not things that need to be “fixed” because there is nothing wrong with being a mutant or disabled

8. Mutations vs. Disabilities • Unlike some superheroes, Superman & Spiderman, who can assume alter-egos and hide their abilities, X-Men and those with disabilities do not have that luxury • Both struggle to understand themselves and how they fit into society, unlike the Super-guys who can easily assimilate into “normal” society

9. Stereotypes & Prejudice • Families and communities have a hard time dealing with perceived mutations and disabilities • Thus, mutants attend a school that teaches them “to survive…peacefully in a world that fears them.” • The same could be said of people with disabilities, that they live in a world that does not understand them. • This is due to lack of information and understanding

10. Nightcrawler & Prejudice • This character is persecuted as a demon based solely on how he looks. • He actually has a deep religious faith that allows him to find rest and peace. yellow eyes blue skin tail three-fingered hands

11. Stereotypes & Prejudice • Professor Xavier urges mutants & humanity to live together peacefully, with understanding, no matter how different they may be. • The same is true for society and those with disabilities

12. Allegory in “The Masque of the Red Death” • As you read “The Masque of the Red Death,” look for allegory working on two levels. • To realize the allegory, ask yourself, • What is the main story about? • What abstract ideas are being represented? • What is the deeper story the author is trying to convey?