The Themes Adresses in the Allegory of the Cave

Explain the Themes addressed in Plato’s allegory of the Cave, Making particular reference to the Theory of Forms

There are several themes represented in the allegory of the cave, one of the first themes you come across while reading the Allegory of the Cave is ignorance. The chains binding them to the cave could merely be interpreted as a metaphor for ignorance, as if they wanted to fulfil enlightenment, all they would have to do is ask questions and seek the truth; however they all decide to stay put in the cave and accept the reality presented to them. The reason for this ignorance is because the cave is steep and rigid with sharp rocks; it’s a tricky journey throughout. The prisoners are deep in the cave and struggle to see the light so have miss-conceptions about life and their existence. The rough, rigid journey can be overcome but takes persistence and a strong will to search for the ‘real good’. An example of this could be Truman Burbank in the Truman show as he is terribly afraid of water however he overcomes his fears and is enlightened by what he discovers, even though he has been blinded by lies all of his life. “ignorance is bliss” this is a quote from the matrix which perfectly fits the allegory of the cave as cypher(actor) and the prisoners find out the truth but decide they do not want to struggle out of the hard, rough cave with misguiding shadows but would prefer to live a lie and be ignorant. The prisoners in the cave have innate conceptions of the forms (according to Plato) so they understand what the shadows on the wall are as they use their natural inclination however the guards misguide there understanding of the world and the shadows as they see it in an imperfect light in its material form, due to ignorance they believe the shadows on the wall are reality and they attach exterior noises to what they see on the dark cave wall. They allow themselves to be manipulated by the guards as they never ask questions so they never make decisions