The Allegory Of The Cave

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.

The Allegory of the Cave means that, people do not see things as they really are. That mankind assumes concepts but they do not have the full picture; One reason is because we only have five senses. For example, in Allegory of the Cave, Socrates explains that the chained men see the shadows and assume that they are being cast from the real item. However the shadows did not come from the real things they were just illusions and models. It also means that as humans, we tend to believe what is in front of us and not dig deeper to make sure we are correct.

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.

My first reaction to this reading was, "What in the world did I just read?". I honestly didn't comprehend anything that was said in this reading other than the fact that two men were having a very intense conversation. I'm honestly not used to reading older books or books that use older versions of the English language. I took me a few rereads to finally understand what the story was about. Furthermore, the story is indeed based on two men having a conversation but the conversation was based on how a man named Socrates starts questioning his friend about the workings of the world.

The metaphor behind Plato's "allegory of the cave" is simple: comfort causes ignorance. In the story, the prisoners have been held captive in the cave their entire lives. In only being able to view the shadows made by the puppeteers, the prisons have accepted this as reality. They have found comfort in this "reality" and refuse to accept the outside world causing ignorance. The allegory and the metaphor behind it can be found in all aspects of our lives. When we leave high school and head off to college or begin our lives, we must move away from relying on others or be left behind in the state of kidulthood. History also speaks on this metaphor in the case of Galileo. Galileo found evidence that contrary to popular belief the earth is not

The events of the allegory can be represented by the characters and events the film “Force Majeure”. The unenlightened cave dweller is represented by Tomas, the cave is represented by Tomas and Ebba’s life before the avalanche, the enlightenment or the

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

Additionally escaping from the cave of ignorance and error is the central message of the allegory. Yet the metaphorical aspects of the parable are less comprehensible and like all narratives are subject to interpretation. Yet despite this upon examining the symbolism from the perspective of Platonic philosophy it is can be speculated that the cave is the day to day world of perceptual experience. While the other features of the allegory such as the journey out of the cave and seeing the sun being respectively representing insight and enlightenment into the true nature of reality.

The metaphor behind Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" is simple isolation causes ignorance. In the story, the prisoners have been held captive their entire lives. Through only being ab;e to view the flickering images made on the wall by puppeteers they believe these are in fact reality and are not willing to accept anything else causing ignorance towards the outside world. The allegory can be found all throughout history and present day. An example of this in the past is when humans believed the earth was flat and if they were to travel towards the edge they would fall off. Once Galileo claimed the earth was round the catholic church excommunicated him because they refused to acknowledge anything but the bible and have their comfort shifted.

‘’The Allegory of the cave’’ makes me think about perspective. Perspective through one’s eyes may not be the same for a pair of other eyes. This means everyone has a different view. The story also refers to closed mindedness. I have been closed minded and has bit me in the butt later on.

He’s taken to the real side of things and soons finds out that the earth in which he thought was living on, is actually destroyed. While going through painful infusions, he finally is capable of grasping the reality that’s actually taking place. Even though both pieces are fully competent in relating to the story line, they also differentiate. They do so by their differences in their truth. The Allegory of the Cave is a story to introduce ignorance and how to get passed it.

Response: Republic In Republic VII, the allegory of the cave is an elegant metaphor for the effect that education can have on an individual. The metaphor highlights the strife that one feels as the veil of ignorance is lifted. As stated in the name the metaphor uses a cave with prisoners shackled to a world made deceit and ignorant. An individual is released from the chains and dragged into what is actually true (the sun) and not what is perceived as truth (the shadows).

The "Allegory of The Cave" is a story that describes life and how the physical world we live in is not the reflection of the real world. It suggests that life is similar to being chained up in a cave forced to watch shadows on a stone wall behind you. You cannot turn around and all you can do is spectate the shadows on the wall which are representative of things in the real world, that of which you have no knowledge of.

Similar to The Symposium, the cave allegory also has a reference to a Form. At the last stage of the prisoner's climb to the top of the cave, he sees the sun and observes the Form of Good. Since he was recently unaware of the Form of Good, he has reached a higher understanding, just like the boy from The Symposium.

This portion of the story is about endurance. When one choses to better himself and go against the normal flow, he doesn’t go about it without reaching a low point. During this low point an individual might be convinced that what he or she is doing is a waste of time, and that bettering ones self is not worth the pain and exclusion. But like Jonathan, a person must shake off those thoughts and remember the true reason for bettering themselves. Only once someone has achieved victory over an aspect of their life will they experience the freedom that Jonathan did.