This paper investigates the meanings of allegory and symbols of dreams in Coetzee`s Waiting for the Barbarians. Dante Alighieri who is considered the first allegory theorist insisted that allegory is "a truth hidden under the beautiful fiction." This concept of allegory matches the narrator, Magistrate`s statement, "I was the lie that Empire tells itself when times are easy, he the truth that Empire tells when harsh winds blow." Therefore it would be possible to insist that Coetzee tried to reveal the truth hidden under the imperialism, using allegory. Waiting for the Barbarians consists of 6 chapters in which Magistrate dreams many dreams with crucial metaphors such as: a red flag, a snowcastle, a body, a swarm of bees, and a desert. In fact, if we focus on the consciousness of Magistrate, these chapters are organically linked through the dreams which are an unconscious narrative of Magistrate. Finally, this unconscious narrative of dreams is related to the endeavor of Magistrate who wants to gain the identity of selfhood.