Allegory Of The Cave

In the Allegory of the Cave there are chained prisoners in cave who can only stare at the cave wall in front of them. At the back there is a long entrance with a staircase the width of the cave and a fire burning in the distance. They see only shadows projected in front of them from a raised platform and hear an echo that they attribute to what they observe. They talk about and name the shadows of objects they see before them. To them the truth are the shadows. Then one day one of the prisoners is released. He is told that what he saw before was an illusion. Once he is outside it takes a while for his eyes to adjust to the sun. First he observed the shadows of thing then their reflection and finally the actual object. Remembering his previous state he goes back to the cave and tries to explain that everything is an illusion but they laugh at him and think he’s crazy. They believe it best not to ascend and they choose to remain as they are. The cave represented opinion. The shadows that are cast on to the wall represented physical objects. The prisoners represented the common people (Welles).

I had an experience that each represents the symbol towards the Allegory of the Cave. My childhood was mostly in Jamaica where I lived with my father for two to three years. I can relate to the symbols from the "Allegory of the Cave".

The allegory of the cave is about education, about leading the soul from darkness into light, by stages. The ideological chains that bind and subdue human kind are stronger than any chain forged from steel. These shackles are freedom inhibiting and only belief and Truth can liberate humankind. Finding the Truth, leads to complete self-conquering and in turn brings Justice.

An allegory is a kind of story in which writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface story. One of the most important allegories ever to be gifted to humankind is Allegory of the Cave. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is one of the most potent and pregnant of allegories that describe human condition in both its fallen and risen states. The Allegory of the Cave is Plato's explanation of the education of the soul toward enlightenment. It is also known as the Analogy of the Cave, Plato's Cave, or the Parable of the Cave. It is written as a fictional dialogue between Plato's teacher Socrates and Plato's brother Glaucon at the beginning of Book VII of The Republic.

In Plato's Republic, the great philosopher describes what is needed to achieve a perfect society. He addresses several subjects still debated in today's society, such as justice, gender roles, and the proper form of education. He discusses these issues through his main character, Socrates. Socrates, another well-known philosopher for his time, happens upon a group of men, and what begins as a modest question, leads into a series of debates, metaphors, and allegories. Perhaps the most discussed allegory in today's popular culture is the Allegory of the Cave. Over the past decade, several movies have mimicked the fantasy, the most profitable being the Matrix Trilogy. But what makes this story so fascinating? Through it, Plato attempts to map

Has someone ever looked at you and immediately disregard you for you are just because of your ethnicity? Have you ever done it someone? Racism is a huge culture issue that we have not only in America, but in other parts of the world, but it does not matter the color of one’s. What really matters is the character they have withheld inside but are not given a chance to express because someone didn’t even bother to give them a chance. This is idea comes from the book written by Plato, “The Allegory of the Cave” where in the book Socrates speaks of man being in a dark cave all their lives not realizing the truth until once they reach the end of the cave to see that the light is the truth. The truth is the reality of life.

2395 years ago Plato said, “Anyone who has common sense will remember that the bewilderments of the eyes are of two kinds, and arise from two causes, either from coming out of the light or from going into the light” (The Allegory of the Cave). Ever since, whether it be 2023 years ago or 9 years ago, Plato’s wise words still ring true. Enter Iron Age Greece, the Trojan war has finally come to an end and the victorious are more than ready to return home to their families with fame and fortune. Ready to see his wife, Penelope, and son, Telemachus, the meritorious warrior Odysseus, the protagonist of Homer’s The Odyssey, sets out for Ithaca. Yet, his victorious adventure goes awry on his journey home and he must conquer 20 years of the gods’ wrath, vicious creatures, oddly hospitable hosts, and conniving suitors before he can finally have his peace. Flash forward and enter modern-day New York City, the home of Andrea “Andy” Sachs, Northwestern graduate, aspiring journalist, and a girl in much need of some fashion advice. Until, she gets a job at the most prestigious, couture magazine in New York, Runway. With the job comes Miranda Priestly, the Editor in Chief of Runway, and the creator of the impossible tasks and crazy requests, that require unwavering dedication from Andy. But, before she can achieve her dream, her life turns upside down and backwards, in the sinfully funny movie, The Devil Wears Prada. Although these two stories seem different, at the heart of both lies a

“Allegory of the Cave”, written by Plato, is story that contrasts the differences between what is real and what is perceived. He opens with Glaucon talking to Socrates. He has Glaucon imagine what it would be like to be chained down in a cave, not able to see anything other than what is in front of him. He tells a story of men that were trapped in a cave and were prisoners to the truth. These prisoners have only seen shadows. But because of their ignorance, these slaves to the cave believe that the shadows are real. The story goes on to say that one of the men has been dragged out of the cave. He is not happy to see the real world, yet upset because he is being taken

There exists a place in one’s mind that determines what is real, and what is not. One could argue this distant concept as being linked to the subconscious; others, such as Neil Gaiman, provide a template for existence on the other side. The children’s story Coraline reveals the truth of darkness and confusion in a supposed replicated dimension. The Allegory of the Cave is an essay written by philosopher Plato that explains the analogy of prisoners kept facing a wall in a cave to those who experience a perfectly formed enlightenment of the mind. Those who break free are unveiled into this bright and amazing world and are initially overwhelmed, for everything that they once thought to be is instantly proved to be wrong, or more to say, altered. The theory of forms, applied to this story, assumes the existence of some distant reality, with the perfect “forms”. This idea provides for all things in the real world that we physically and mentally live in. The forms are theoretically donated into the real world, but lose their perfection along the way, and instead inherit a base for numerous opinions: these are the objects that human’s perceive every day. The forms in Coraline are displayed, with all child appeal, as within a physical small door, leading to the “other side” of the flat. In the world, objects are beautiful and wondrous, but confusion of course sets in, as the new view is so astray from the normal source of opinions. The captured sense is new, and truly; horrific.

In his allegory of the cave, Plato describes a scenario in which chained-up prisoners in a cave understand the reality of their world by observing the shadows on a cave wall. Unable to turn around, what seems to be reality are but cast shadows of puppets meant to deceive the prisoners. In the allegory, a prisoner is released from his chains and allowed to leave the cave. On his way out, he sees the fire, he sees the puppets, and then he sees the sun. Blinded by the sunlight, he could only stare down to view the shadows cast onto the floor. He gradually looks up to see the reflections of objects and people in the water and then the objects and people themselves. Angered and aware of reality, the freed prisoner begins to understand illusion

In Plato’s voyage to determine what a philosopher king is, he presents us with the Allegory of the Cave. He explains how leaders should be educated, versus the society as a whole, and he leaves us with a significant message. Aside from The Allegory of the Cave being a primary puzzle piece of Plato’s ideal city, it can also be interpreted in many different ways. The predominant one being that human beings, especially the young, get easily manipulated by persuasive people who are looking to divert one’s attention from real life problems, and who in return fail to think for themselves.

In “Allegory of the Cave” the main protagonist is a prisoner who is held hostage in a dark cave. This prison is chained up from neck and feet, only allowing him to see straight in front of him. Along with the other prisoners who were also in the cave where the only light that could be seen was that of the fire behind them. Given to us that the only visible object they may see are those of the shadows from the objects carried by those outside of the cave. The prisoners were able to imagine the animals and figures that would pass by allowing them to create an infallible image of what was of the outside world. As time passed the prisoners continue to only visually see shadows passing by. When one of the prisoners was led free and was finally

The Wachowski Brother’s film, The Matrix, and “The Allegory of the Cave” from Plato’s Republic are both centered on the concept of how reality is perceived. In both works, there is someone who is trapped in a false reality but then comes to know true reality. In Neo’s case, he was escaping from a computer generated reality, while in Plato’s work, the prisoner was escaping from inside a cave. Both works share the common theme of the acceptance of actual reality in order to know truth.

Once one of the prisoner’s is released, he is forced to look at the fire and the objects that once made up his perceived reality, and realizes that the new images he is made to acknowledge are now the accepted forms of reality.

At the beginning of the VII Book of the Republic Plato narrates the famous allegory of the Cave. The story begins by describing an underground cave where some people sit chained with their back towards the entrance. Being stuck in that position, everything men and women can see is just the wall in front of them. Also in the chave with the prisoners are others, Plato calls them the “puppeteers.” They are the ones holding the others captive. However, the people do not know that they are captive since that existence is the only one they have experienced. The puppeteers are behind the people. A fire burning at the entrance of the cave illuminates objects and persons with a flickering light. People can see themselves and objects as distorted and