Comparing The Maze Runner And Plato's Allegory Of The Cave
As seen through James Dashner’s novel, The Maze Runner, and Plato’s allegory, “The Allegory of the Cave,” enlightenment can be a grueling yet eye-opening experience that could potentially be better uncovered than not. In “The Allegory of the Cave,” the prisoner has no recollection of his past, and all he knows is what is inside the cave. When he is able to escape the cave and become enlightened about reality, he is not initially capable of fully grasping his surroundings. When he returns, the other prisoners are angered by his epiphany of the truth. Knowing about the prisoner’s journey to enlightenment can help to further understand the journey Thomas must make in The Maze Runner. Thomas, the protagonist of the novel, is trapped in a world,
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In the allegory, the prisoner is in an “underground cave, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the cave” (Plato1). The prisoner is excluded from the world and held inside the cave. Comparably, Thomas is in “a vast enormous four walls,” know as the Glade (Dashner 23). Similar to the prisoner, Thomas is trapped inside these four walls, and what is inside these four walls is all Thomas knows about reality. In “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato writes, “…here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move...” (1). The prisoners in the cave have experienced life outside of the cave, but they have been there since such a young age and have not been able to leave the cave since. Due to this, the cave is all they can remember. In The Maze Runner, Thomas enters the Glade and, “…he did not know where he came from or how he had gotten inside the [Glade]” (Dashner 17). Thomas has no recollection of his surroundings or past outside of being in the Glade. Others with Thomas in the Glade state, “[they] have never been outside the Glade” because the Glade is all they remember (Dashner 17). Thomas is blinded to the truth about his life, and the Glade has replaced true reality, just as the prisoners are trapped inside the cave are unable to achieve enlightenment. Through connections between characters and their surroundings, “The Allegory of the Cave” and The Maze Runner both describe characters who are initially unable to discover true enlightenment because they are trapped in a false perception of reality. Similarities between the allegory and the novel can also be identified through the character’s inability to initially comprehend
In the allegory, the prisoner is in an “underground cave, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the cave” (Plato1). The prisoner is excluded from the world and held inside the cave. Comparably, Thomas is in “a vast enormous four walls,” know as the Glade (Dashner 23). Similar to the prisoner, Thomas is trapped inside these four walls, and what is inside these four walls is all Thomas knows about reality. In “The Allegory of the Cave,” Plato writes, “…here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move...” (1). The prisoners in the cave have experienced life outside of the cave, but they have been there since such a young age and have not been able to leave the cave since. Due to this, the cave is all they can remember. In The Maze Runner, Thomas enters the Glade and, “…he did not know where he came from or how he had gotten inside the [Glade]” (Dashner 17). Thomas has no recollection of his surroundings or past outside of being in the Glade. Others with Thomas in the Glade state, “[they] have never been outside the Glade” because the Glade is all they remember (Dashner 17). Thomas is blinded to the truth about his life, and the Glade has replaced true reality, just as the prisoners are trapped inside the cave are unable to achieve enlightenment. Through connections between characters and their surroundings, “The Allegory of the Cave” and The Maze Runner both describe characters who are initially unable to discover true enlightenment because they are trapped in a false perception of reality. Similarities between the allegory and the novel can also be identified through the character’s inability to initially comprehend