In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato describes how some people only see shadows of reality. Plato believes knowledge can only be true, if people gain it through philosophical reasoning. Marcus in, Freedom Writers, attends a school that feels like a prison to him and other students. His language arts teacher, Mrs.Gruwell, tries to understand how the students feel. Marcus becomes inflamed by this and says, “stop trying to understand us.” He says, “when you die for your own you die with respect.” Then his teacher says, ”when you are dead nobody will care about you.” These words sank into Marcus heart. Then Mrs.Gruwell makes the class play a game called the line game. Close to the end of the game, Marcus realizes how much he has in common with his classmates. He also realizes what Mrs.Gruwell was trying to teach him. …show more content…
He used to think if you die for your own, then you die with respect. Then his Mrs.Gruwell brought him out of the cave and into the light. Mrs.Gruwell took the whole class to the Holocaust museum and they learned how sad and cruel the Nazis were. They felt sorry for the jews, especially the jewish kids who died at a young age. Afterwards, Mrs.Gruwell brought the class to the Marriott hotel to talk to real Jewish survivors. Many were inspired and Marcus wanted Miep Gies, the woman who helped shelter Anne Frank, to come to Long Beach, California to talk to the class. Eventually, they raised enough money to bring her over. Marcus was excited that he helped her walk over to the chair where she told the class “anyone can turn on a small light in a dark room.” After the visit with Miep Gies, Marcus left the square shed he lived in and went to his mom’s house. He waited for her to come back from shopping and said, “I changed Ma.” He wanted to come back home and prove to his mom how much he
“The Allegory of the cave” designed by Plato, one of the utmost eminent Western philosophers. Not only, he constructed an arch that in time will set a luminous path for the western theories to flourish in the future. Additionally, Plato viewed the world as a replica of the celestial world, which turned him to realize there is one divine being or one divine truth that humans should attempt to find. Therefore, this essay will discuss the implications of Plato’s Cave allegory in reflection on how humans might be blind to the truth, as a result of the unseen shackles that restrain them distant from the real truth, and how they might eventually feel and become more human without them.
The Allegory of the Cave Plato, is recognized as one of the reputable and admired philosophers of his time and of all time. Dating back from ancient Greece, Plato and philosophers of the like, attempted to answer life’s deepest questions like “what is reality” and “where are we going.” Through deep thought and debate, these philosophers were able to formulate opinions and theories; opinions and theories that are still discussed in today’s modern society. One such example to discuss life and the truth is The Allegory of the Cave, a portion of one of Plato’s most famous works, The Republic. Through The Allegory of the Cave, Plato is able to explain the “The Forms” and knowledge in a context that people of ancient Greece were able to comprehend.
“…human beings living in a underground cave, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the cave; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets.” (Plato) This entire passage is a dialogue between Socrates and Glaucon. Glaucon was the older brother of Plato, and Socrates was the teacher of Plato and Glaucon at his academy. This is a conversation that is fictional but the fact that it is a conversation between a teacher and his student shows that the teacher is trying to tell his student an analogous tale to teach him a lesson and that is the purpose behind the way the paragraph is written, but the exact lesson being taught by Socrates isn’t revealed until later in the passage. This is also the reason the diction in these paragraphs is so formal, because the teacher is giving a formal lesson and at the same time trying to speak in terms his student will understand, and to engage thought in the mind of his student because he is
“The Allegory of the Cave “is a theory put forward by Plato concerning human perception. People who are unenlightened have limited self- knowledge as this is illustrated by the three prisoners who live in a darkened cave without ever questioning what may exist outside their dwellings. The prisoners are chained in a particular way such that they can only see the wall they are facing. Emerging from the wall are passerby shadows created by the effect of the fire and the people walking with various objects behind them. To the restrained prisoners, the shadows are what encompassed their reality therefore making their lives a complete illusion. As a result, Plato distinguishes between people who mistake
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".
Continuing the analogy between mind and sight, Plato explains that the vision of a clever, wicked man might be just as sharp as that of a philosopher. The problem lies in what he turns his sharp vision toward the overarching goal of the city is to educate those with the right natures, so that they can turn their minds sharply toward the Form of the Good. Once they have done this, they cannot remain contemplating the Form of the Good forever. They must return periodically into the cave and rule there. They need periodically to turn away from the Forms to return to the shadows to help other prisoners.
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.
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.
1.) "The Allegory of the Cave" - We often hear of various movements that are set out to try to protect our freedoms. We spend most of lives trying to defend our rights and keep ourselves liberated. However, how truly free are we? "The Allegory of the Cave" a story of prisoners in a cave , chained facing upward, by the legs and necks. They cannot move but their eyes are faced straight ahead at a wall. This wall is their world. They see the shadows of people, some carrying objects and others not. These shadows are all they know. Eventually, a prisoner is released and upon his release he finds himself in both physical and mental pain. He is now able to move his muscles and put them into work, this includes his logos(mind).
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
Many people question themselves when they think they aren’t right about something because everyone else around them believes the opposite. What you think might be truer than you think because the world tends to believe what they want to, and not the truth. In Plato’s philosophical example of life in the “Allegory of the Cave” he explains and questions his views on human existence and the reality of things. Everyone has a different reality and a way that they perceive things but other factors like the media influence and persuade us. The media has the power through the radio, television, or other technologies to tell us things that might not even be true but we have to believe them because we don’t know what is true. The
If you had a vast and extraordinary knowledge that would bring truth and light to the rest of the world but would be violently rejected by the world for this knowledge, would you still share it? Over that past centuries, philosophers, religious leaders, scientists, teachers, and dreamers have brought their insights and enlightenment to the forefront of society knowing that they would be violently rejected. Many of these enlightened individuals have been later claimed as martyrs for their knowledge and actions when they are later proved to be the truth. So why do they do it? A great philosopher, Plato, debates such a topic and explains the reality and risks of being one who is enlightened in an ignorant society. In his work The Allegory of the Cave, Plato urges his reader to find enlightenment and face its risks through his
The Allegory of the Cave can help us understand the role of education in a person's life because it shows us the importance of knowledge through the story of a man who used to be a prisoner in his cave until he got out and gained knowledge. This story starts by describing the lack of education a group of humans have, since the only knowledge they can obtain is the one from the shadows reflecting on the cave walls. The humans believe that the only real things that exist are the ones that they can see in front of them like the shadows. However, one man got out of his cave and walked towards the sun (light), which represents the moment when the man receiving knowledge. He was able to see the fire and the statues that were creating the shadows
My reflections this week’s discussion is of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave/Republic. I found this to be an interesting reading and video. Life itself is a long road of learning. Throughout our lives, we perceive things to what we believe or want to believe whether factual or not. We also believe in what we experience bad or good. Sometimes that bad experience can hold us back from moving forward or maybe it is that good experience we believe we don’t need to look any further. Learning is part of life and it is most important. It is what molds us who we are and who we become. If we hold us selves back, we will never truly know what opportunity, knowledge or experience there is to be taken. Sometimes we will be those prisoners that don’t