Similarities Between The Matrix And The Allegory Of The Cave

The Matrix ( Wachowski, Andy, and Lana Wachowski 1999 ), is a story that presents a dilemma. Is virtual reality just for fun, or is it being used to imprison you? That is the question Neo faces as he is manning his computer doing some hacking on the side. It is through his computer work that he meets with Morpheus who presents Neo

The Matrix and the Allegory of the Cave focus on one central idea: What is real?. They engage the audience in a fictional world where people live in false realities without knowing it. They make us question our own knowledge. Their storylines connect in that the protagonist discovers that everything he knows is a big lie and now he must discover the truth. The protagonist is thrown all of the sudden into the real world and then, he continues to seek the absolute truth. Neo and the prisoner inquire whether knowing the truth is a blessing or a curse.

3.6. Frankenstein – Neo as the Monster In the trilogy, we can find some ideas that are similar to the ones present in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. This English novel tells the story of Victor Frankenstein, a young scientist who creates a sapient creature. In his work Frankenstein dodges bullets in The Matrix, Sam Hartman tries to find analogies between the film and Shelley’s novel.

Once they are outside the cave, they see a whole new world in front of them and it is up to the prisoners if they want to further explore the world and become enlightened or go back to the cave and live in ignorance. As Morpheus said, there is a difference between knowing that there is a world outside the cave and living in the real world. In The Matrix, Morpheus keeps telling Neo that he is the one and can save the world. Neo knows that he has the capability to save the world but what is holding him is his belief that he is not the one. In The Allegory of the Cave, Plato says “Then if he called to mind his fellow prisoners and what passed for wisdom in his former dwelling-place, he would surely think himself happy in the change and be sorry for them.” (Plato 230). Once one of the prisoners is out of the cave and got a glimpse of the real world, he will feel pity for the remaining of the prisoners. The released prisoner knows he can enlighten the prisoners in the cave, but his disbelief in himself that he can bring the prisoners out of the cave and knowing that the prisoners will not listen to him is holding him back. The difference between knowing the right thing to do, which is bringing the prisoners out of the cave and going against the resistance he will face while bringing the prisoners out of the cave is what makes the prisoner “The

The one prisoner that Plato refers to reflects Neo in The Matrix when he is being released from his pod that the machines have created. Once the prisoner of the cave has broken free he can now look all around him and see the objects as they really are. While in the movie The Matrix, Neo is using is own eyes for the first time and sees that he is actually living in a human factory. In Plato's "Allegory of the Cave," he states that the freed prisoner would be shocked and not used to the outside world. The prisoner would try to think that what he saw and experienced before was truer than what is he sees now.

The prisoners have been in these conditions since their earliest stages of life. The cave, the wall, and the chains are all the prisoners have ever known. Behind the prisoners, there was a raised path. Above the walkway was a platform, where there was a fire burning, and in front of the fire, was a parapet, which as Plato described it , was like that of the screens Puppeteers use to hide themselves and have the puppets be visible . Each and every day, the prisoners see nothing, but the shadows of the objects and people passing between them and the fire. For their entire lives, the prisoners are exposed to nothing but those images and the sounds made by those walking around. These shadows are all they have ever known, in essence; these shadows are their only “reality”. As time passed, the prisoners would grow accustomed to these sights, later on the prisoners would match the objects with names and the familiar sounds to the images of the shadows (514; Appendix A). In discussing the allegory with Glaucon, Socrates toys around the concept of what could happen to a prisoner should they be released after having lived their lives in the cave, with the only knowledge the possess of the world, are the images and sounds by the wall.

In “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato also stated that eventually one of the prisoners, who Plato would say was the philosopher or intellectual, would break free from the cave and into the outside world. The one prisoner that Plato refers to, would also reflect Neo in “The Matrix” when he in being released from his pod that the machines have created. Once the prisoner of the cave has broken free he can now look all around him, and see the objects as they really are and the people carrying them as well. While in the movie “The Matrix”, Neo is using is own eyes for the first time and sees that he is actually living in a human factory. In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” he states that the freed prisoner would be shocked by the outside world, he would not be able to see the realities that he was used to deep in the shadows of the cave. The prisoner would try to think that what he saw and experienced before was truer than what is he sees now. When Neo is revived from being detached from the pod, Morpheus tells him what state the world is in now and Neo is in a state of disarray and denial. This new knowledge of the truth, overwhelmed Neo so much that he vomited and passed out. The released prisoner in “The Allegory of the Cave” might feel that what he is seeing was the illusion and shadows on the wall

After the early 21st century, humans built these machines, which are now held in a nuclear-winter-like setting. Being deprived of sunlight as an energy source, they have enslaved the human race and are farming people as a source of bioelectrical energy. The humans are kept in an unconscious state in podlike containers in a vast holding field, plugged in to a central computer. In the scenario of The Matrix, everything in the world; cars, buildings, cities, and countries are part of a complex computer-generated virtual reality, which within the humans interact. Everything they see, smell and hear is part of this virtual construct and does not really exist. A computer merely stimulates their brains and deceives them into believing that they are all living normal 20th-century lives, eating sleeping, working and interacting together. They are all blinded to the truth about how and why they exist. After a handful of people have escaped from the nightmarish world of the Matrix, they find out the truth and reach out to those still consumed with the falsities of this world. One of these, a man named Morpheus, hacks into the Matrix and contacts Neo, telling him,

This first paragraph that begins the story is perfect in showing The Matrix ideas. Humans live in pods in large fields were they are grown. So like in the story they are prisoners even as children and they are plugged into the matrix or "chained so they cannot move." The fire behind the prisoners is like the matrix program it self, it's there to make illusions and make the prisoners think what they see is "real." Lastly there are the puppeteers who make shadows using the fire and create illusions. The puppeteers can easily be linked to the machines that hold the humans as prisoners and make what happens in the matrix happen. Such as the puppeteers make shadows in the fire to trick the humans, the machines do the same thing in The Matrix, it's just in a more advanced and complicated way. The machines create

y. The similarities between them are that they all questioned if reality experienced through your senses is real of it is an illusion. In The Matrix, your brains are connected to a simulated computer that is telling you what to do. In The Republic, they saw object in the shadows. Descartes explained that in life we are capable of being deceived and he even asks what reality is.

Plato once said that, “Ignorance [is] the root and stem of all evil”. Ignorance is the cause of everything that is wrong and bad in the world since people are unable to see the truth. If people start breaking free from ignorance, mankind will become happier and more transparent. In the short story, “Allegory of The Cave” by Plato and The Matrix by the Wachowskis, they portray the idea that in order to gain enlightenment, one must break free from ignorance; which opens himself to knowledge; this new truth must then be shared with others for the good of mankind.

What is real? A thought in both The Matrix and Allegory of the Cave. The Matrix, written by Lana Wachowski illustrates many questions throughout. The main character, Neo, tries finding Morpheus in need of an answer to his question. What is the Matrix? Considering, Morpheus is the most dangerous man alive, he does all that he can to find him. Neo is approached by Trinity and led to the underworld to meet Morpheus. They soon realize that Neo is “The One” who can defeat the Matrix. Similarly,The Allegory of the Cave,which took place in ancient time, humans were living in an underground den with their necks and legs chained only seeing their shadows in front of them. The people trapped in the den are like the people in the matrix, not knowing

“ The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge.” ~ Stephen Hawking. The message that Stephen Hawking is trying to portray in this quote is that of, it is not the people that are in fact ignorant who are a threat to what we know, they in fact are still open minded to learning new things and new possibilities. The people that we should be most afraid of are those who think they know it all or who think they have all the answers. Those who have mindsets like this are more prone to being closed off to learning about different possibilities and points of view. This greatly ties in with the thought of: whether living is reality or living in pure ignorance is the best option. While living

When the film The Matrix debuted in 1999, it was an instant box office success that captivated many viewers. However throughout the featured famed actors, costumes, special effects and fight scenes, many viewers failed to notice the philosophical issues. Plato and Descartes, just like the characters in the movie are faced and driven to extreme measures to understand the world around them. They are compelled to seek knowledge in understanding what is real, evaluating the mind-body problem, and are left wondering if there is any good. These philosophical features of the movie have raised questions and have made it an interesting film to watch. While many viewers can agree that The Matrix is highly action packed, not all can truly appreciate

Its dazzling light was painful like he was exposed to the danger. The sunlight represents the new reality and knowledge. First, the prisoner is thrown into confusion, and bewilder with his first look toward the world. Though, he soon realizes what is reality. Shadows and echo that he believed as truth were reflections of real objects. He was just looking at part of the world. Like prisoners, people can believe in illusion since our experiences and point of view are limited. However, when the illusion is shattered and reality is revealed, people typically face unfavorable circumstances. They are thrown into confusion, question themselves, and conflicts take place among different groups. When something exist and that’s what we see everyday, it’s reasonable to accept it as a truth without doubting it. It is a natural human instinct that we believe what we see as the truth and