Brent has a Ph.D. in American Culture from the University of Michigan and works as a freelance writer. In this essay, Brent discusses Johnson's story as an allegory for Christian faith in a modern world.

Johnson's "Menagerie, a Child's Fable," while an allegory for social conflict in a diverse global community, is also an allegory for the nature of Christian faith in a modern world. Interpreting the story allegorically, one can see that Mr. Tilford, the pet shoppe owner, represents God, and Berkeley, the watchdog, represents a Christ-like figure. Tilford's absence from the shoppe thus represents the apparent absence of God in a modern world, where evil and destruction seem to reign free and many people have renounced their faith. Berkeley represents a figure akin to Jesus Christ, who remains faithful to God, despite His apparent cruelties, and maintains blind faith in Him, even in His...