The Return Of Martin Guerre Analysis

The Truth of Knowing Throughout this semester of Paideia, I have read several books in which one or more of the characters know the truth about a certain matter and the others do not. The characters that know the truth then have to decide what to do with the truth. Do they keep it to themselves or share it with others? When both options have advantages and disadvantages, the person who has to make the choice is in a tough spot. This scenario has happened in two separate readings this semester: one in The Return of Martin Guerre and the other in The Allegory of the Cave. Using those two texts, I will be able to provide evidence that knowing the truth sometimes involves personal consequences or obligations. Natalie Zemon Davis’s book entitled The Return of Martin Guerre is a nuanced story of a man, Martin Guerre. Guerre disappeared from his family without leaving any notice. Eight years after his disappearance, he supposedly returned to his village. His family and friends were surprised at his arrival since he had been gone quiet some time. Bertrande, Guerre’s wife, gladly welcomed him home. The couple soon had a child after his return. After a few
Socrates describes a character that had been chained up facing a wall in a dark cave. On the opposite side of the wall there was a fire, and between the fire and the chained up man, there was a walkway. Since the man was never freed from the chains, the only thing he knew was the shadows shown on the wall from the objects walking across the walkway. Once the man was let free from the chains, he was able to see what was producing the images on the wall. From there, he was lead outside to see the sun and all the earth was made of. Compared to the men still chained up in the cave, he would know the truth. The man would learn that the sun creates the seasons and allows men to see. He would know that life in the cave is not all that there is in the