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Plato 's Allegory Of A Cave

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Plato’s “Allegory of a Cave” draws many parallels to events and characters in Bradbury’s dystopian novel, Farenheit 451. Chiefly, Plato would disapprove of the style of government in which citizens do not possess the right to think for themselves. Plato’s Cave Theory emphasizes the ability to think and experience new events in order to gain knowledge and learn, which allows the “prisoners” to escape from their binding chains of ignorance and enter a world of enlightenment. A blatant similarity between the two works lies in the characters of Clarisse, Faber, and Granger. These characters have escaped the “cave” of ignorance and have the ability to perceive true reality rather than the technology-induced one forced upon the society. Two …show more content…

Because of this realization, Montag is able to follow the path out of the cave. He comes across numerous obstacles, the prevaling one being Warren Beatty, his supervisor. When Montag is about to call in sick to work, Beatty suddenly arrives at his house and proceeds to tell him the history of his profession. At the end, when Montag asks whether any other firemen have ever had a curiosity to steal a book, Beatty passionately informs him of the uselessness of literature, but Montag refuses to believe him until he can see for himself the value (or lack thereof) in books. This demonstrates his newfound ability for independent thought and decision making, and his refusal to remain ignorant. Plato would say that Montag wants to see reality for himself instead of continuing to believe that the fake reality created by technology is authentic. Additionally, the people who hold the objects up to the wall in “Allegory of a Cave” are represented by the firemen, who have the power to burn books as they see fit. Beatty, the leader of the firemen, possesses superior knowledge of literature, but refuses to escape the cave and instead chooses to force false values upon the public. The government in this society is also a cause of the uneducated public, because they provide no access to education except through artificial stimulus, in which (as Beatty

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