Charlie: A Prisoner of the Cave

Originally published in 1959 as a science fiction short story for The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, the novel Flowers for Algernon by an American writer Daniel Keyes is more relevant today than at that time. With more than five million copies in print, this book with its great depth of meaning is still considered to be the most acclaimed author‘s work.

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).

Imagery used by Plato as part of his writing style of allegory examines the shadows of the cave as ideas offered at surface level. Plato is showing people are there to believe what is given to them because they do not know anything else to be true. The shadows are explained, as “truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images” (Plato 450). Shadows are a brilliant use of imagery because they resemble something dark, indescribable, and hard to recognize. This helps support Plato’s argument because the truth can only be seen at the basic level without any complex details; it is just known to be true. His philosophy is that people can only see beyond the surface if they have to capability to do so and believe, what others think is crazy.

In Plato's “The Cave” shows us a group of prisoners chained to face a wall. A fire behind them casts shadows on the wall their facing of a variety of different things however they can not see what they truly are. The prisoners only reality is the shadows and the sound they associate with these shadows. They truly have no understanding of what happening other than what they see on the wall and what they hear. This distorted view of the world

Form of the Good. It is this Form of the Good that gives us the true

Humankind is filled with individuals testing each other and competing with one another to be the greatest, ignoring the reality of life. In the “Allegory of the Cave,” Plato justifies this by displaying a parable that serves as a metaphor for life. This parable teaches the reader how people wish to remain in their comfort zones and disregard the truth. It portrays the struggle of facing different realities that alter the illusion of one's life. In the story, he described a group of prisoners chained inside a dark cave; their only source of light comes from a burning fire that is used to create shadows. These shadows display images that the prisoners each interpret as the reality; however, once one is released and is struck by the light, he

In The Allegory of the Cave, Socrates and Glaucon are conversing. Socrates asks Glaucon to image a cave, where prisoners are kept and have been kept since their childhood. They are each tied up so they cannot move, not even their necks to look behind them. They are forced to look at the wall in front of them. Behind them are a fire and a walk way behind the fire where people can walk on. The people on the walk way are making shadows of human and animal forms, including others objects as well. The prisoners have no idea that what is behind them is only an illusion. One of the prisoners is released from the chains and the fire blinds his eyes when he turns around. Once they adjust, he notices that the shadows are not real. He is then brought outside and the sun burns his eyes worse than the fire did. The prisoner’s eyes adjust and what he sees is unbelievable to him. He sees outside, the sun, the clouds, the grass, his reflection and so much more. When he returns to tell

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 essay, “Allegory of The Cave” Plato creates a story about three prisoners in a cave, through this he further makes his point that without knowledge our view of the truth is askew. Plato explains that the three hostages have been shackled in the dark cave their whole lives unable to see the real world. The only piece of actuality they can see are shadows of people crossing in front of the opening of the cave. These figures can drive anyone insane without having any real truth to what the images could be. Without any awareness of the real world just outside of the cave they are forced to adapt and therefore accept their own reality. Plato goes on to say that, “the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images” (122). The obscurities are significant because they are the only apprehension the prisoners have, they have nothing to compare it to. The actuality of it to the captives is something other than the truth would be outside of the cave. The forms on the wall are only just shadows, but to them that is everything they have ever known. Plato through his legend portrays

In the story, “Allegory of the cave,” by Plato, it explains how there were human beings living in a cave chained up facing the wall since they were children. As they grew older all they were able to see were the shadows of people crossing animals, tools, statues etc. on a bridge behind them. Since they could not turn their heads to look, their mind couldn't wrap around what they were really looking at. As if they weren't looking into reality. They had no knowledge of the outside world what so ever. This passage focuses more on justice, truth, and beauty. When a prisoner is released into the real world, the concept of reality is disorienting. The way we can reflect off this in the new world and society today, is the fact that most people are

Imagine growing up and being told you will never amount to anything, by your parents, your friends, or people who see you on the street. The book Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes is a story from the point of view of Charlie Gordon a 32 year old man with an extremely low IQ. He is given an opportunity to become smart and takes it in order to fit in. He becomes the first human test subject for a surgery that raises intelligence. He navigates troubles of family, relationships, work and bad news in a journey to find the real Charlie Gordon. Through “progris riports” Charlie documents his life before and after surgery and the charge that happen when he is shown a little kindness.

As Plato explained in the Allegory that these prisoners were there since childhood with their heads chained, without being able to move their head only seeing the shadows created by the fire inside the cave. Plato states,” Like ourselves , I replied they see only their own shadows, or the shadows of one another, which the fire throws on the opposite wall of the cave?”(2). Plato is stating how these prisoners believe that the shadows that are projected in the opposite wall are what they perceive what reality is. Similar in the Truman show, Truman has been living his whole life in a constructed reality in where he thinks is reality, without knowing he is being broadcasted for a show. For instance, Truman perceived what was real because he lived in this constructed society that he woke up everyday and went to work like a regular person of the community. He has been living in Seahaven in where he has lived his life since a baby and had no choice on perceiving what he saw was real. Truman never questioned his life until, he started realizing that everyday it was the same routine in his neighborhood. Both the “Allegory of the Cave” and the truman show, demonstrate how these individuals perceive is true only on what they

“The Allegory of Caves”, written by Plato, was a piece of work made to give determination to the people, so they can go above and beyond what they originally thought was true. It influenced their ideas, so they can understand what it truly means to be a philosopher. He makes emotional bonds with the reader and the paper to help them understand his point. He does this through his use of diction, analogies, and metaphors, and helps people change how they interpret the

In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, the prisoners would be restrain in the bottom of the cave where they cannot see or talk to each other. In the opening of the cave there is a light of fire, a screen, and a road. Travelling on the road is merchants with their animals and cargo. The prisoner in the cave can see the shadow of anything that passes the opening. One of these prison was able to venture above and see the objects portray by that shadow as they are seen in real life. The cave is a representation of darkness and ignorance because the prisoner know no better or are capable of understanding. The prisoner that got free emerge into light where he is free to learn whatever he pleases and can find the truth of the shadows seen in the cave

In Daniel Keyes’ compelling novel, Flowers for Algernon, the main character undergoes both important emotional and physical changes. The book has an interesting twist, as it is described in the characters “progress reports”. This book has a science fiction undertone, and takes place in exciting New York City. As the novel begins, the main character, Charlie Jordan is thirty-two years old, but cannot remember anything from his childhood.