Preview

What Is An Allegory Of Cave

Satisfactory Essays
Open Document
Open Document
388 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
What Is An Allegory Of Cave
Why am I here and how does the allegory of cave inform my answer?

It's quite challenging to relate an allegory to our lives. But if we think carefully and list those objects and their corresponded symbols: prisoners represent imperfect human, the shadow represents illusion of the truth, prison represents limitations that hold us back from getting close to the truth…etc, I start to understand that I myself could be the prisoner who lives comfortably in his narrow worldview and have difficulties taking in new concepts. Therefore, I am here, at college, trying to break the chain and see the broader world.

I was born and raised in Yiwu, China. I finished 10th grade in China and made a life-changing decision- go to America for higher education.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    Analysis Of Plato's Allegory Of The Cave
    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Analysis Of Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

    In studying all of the symbolism included, it becomes apparent that the Allegory of the Cave is a representation of the philosopher’s place in society, and the other prisoners reaction to the escaped prisoner returning is representing the reaction people have of philosophers, and becoming aware of the truth philosophers hold. The Allegory of the Cave illustrates book 5 and 6 for us by showing the effect education has on the human soul, and how education helps us move through the different parts of the divided line, then will eventually take him to the form of the…

    • 264 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    What Is Plato's Allegory Of The Cave
    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages

    What Is Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

    In Plato's Allegory of the Cave there were multiple beliefs brought upon by the prisoners of this cave. The prisoners of the cave are supposed to parallel everyday people in the sense of how reality is perceived. The prisoners of the cave believed and only knew that reality of the shadows and developed their own belief structure and way of processing that information. Plato connected that to everyday people due to the fact that although we strongly believe the reality we have made for ourselves, there can be more that we have never been exposed to. For example, when one of the prisoners were unchained and brought out of the cave into the world, he was overwhelmed and wanted to tell the other prisoners. Due to the fact that other prisoners could…

    • 405 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Allegory Of The Cave Comparison
    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Allegory Of The Cave Comparison

    Both "The Allegory of the Cave" and "The Matrix" are stories in which there are two realities, one perceived and one real. Although "The Matrix" is not based exactly on Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave," there are several parallels between the two works. The similarities in "The Matrix," relate to Plato's concept. They project his thoughts of natural logic from "The Allegory of the Cave" into a perspective that makes it easier for people to understand when it is put into a science-fiction movie.…

    • 1184 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analysis Of Plato's The Allegory Of The Cave
    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Analysis Of Plato's The Allegory Of The Cave

    Socrates explains that the allegory represents our world and the way our senses can interpret it. “The prison house is the world of sight, the light of the fire is the sun, and you will not misapprehend me if you interpret the journey upwards to be the ascent…

    • 975 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Allegory Of The Cave
    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Allegory Of The Cave

    who at first, when any of them is stolen and compelled all of a sudden to be up and ... look towards the light... and dredge up a steep and rugged inclination and held strong until he is forced into the person of the sun, in “the emblem of the grot.” When the students get to where they are going, they are amazement by what they see, just as the captive is amazed by the sight of the skylight exhibition of the light. The Students are also terrify by being out of there element being in a rich person's toy store, F.A.O Schwartz. Just as the prisoner would be frightened by the light of the Sun and would not want to go out of his comfort zone, of the cave. The shadows in “The Allegory Of the Cave” are also very significant when comparing the two stories together because in “the lesson” the students are only seeing there shadows of reality while being in there little ghetto of New York City. The students are quick to judge what they see from being outside of the Toy store, such as the “one lady in a fur coat” who by seeing this one person saying “white folks crazy” just as the prisoner would think whatever they saw outside of the cave would look a little crazy to them. Just as if the prisoners were to “look towards the light, he would suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows; and then conceive someone saying to him, that what he saw before was an “Illusion” which the students, who were satisfied staying in…

    • 1305 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Symbolism In The Allegory Of The Cave
    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Symbolism In The Allegory Of The Cave

    Plato is a historical Greek philosopher and one of Socrate’s pupils. After Socrate died in 399 B.C., Plato left his home in Athens and returned approximately twenty years later. “The Allegory of the Cave” is a short story filled with symbolism and metaphors that Plato had written before he died. In the story, Plato wrote about Socrate and his brother, Glaucon, discussing the steps to obtain the truth and why one should obtain it.…

    • 634 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Analysis Of Allegory Of The Cave
    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Analysis Of Allegory Of The Cave

    The Allegory of the Cave by Plato questions truth, reality, and demonstrates how we are similar to the prisoners within the cave. Every person has a personal “cave” and only with knowledge and understanding can we escape from the captivity ignorance.…

    • 505 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Allegory Of The Cave Philosophy
    • 1306 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Allegory Of The Cave Philosophy

    In the Allegory of the Cave, Plato and Glaucon are learning from socrates teachings during 847 BC on exactly where nature is on the path of enlightenment. The Allegory of the Cave was written in 847 BC by Plato to help tell what powerful meaning Plato had gotten from one of Socrates teachings. Now Socrates is a very smart and very educated during this time period but he is just not educated he is also pushing everyone's thinking. Plato goes on discussing how the media throughout many years has influenced every individual to be what current society would seem best fit.…

    • 1306 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Essay On The Allegory Of The Cave
    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Essay On The Allegory Of The Cave

    “The Republic”, Plato’s longest work, has many views about philosophy and characters within and there is one character that truly stands out and entices you to read on until the very end; that was Socrates. Socrates was a mentor and a friend of Plato’s and in Plato’s eyes, he was a great and wise Philosopher that was a martyr for philosophy. Within “The Republic”, Plato has written a symbolic account about one of Socrates’ teachings of education or the enlightenment of the mind and soul; “The Allegory of the Cave”. In this, Socrates describes how education is important so that the mind and soul are enlightened and not forever dwelling within the shadows.…

    • 1239 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Allegory of the Cave
    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Allegory of the Cave

    In “The Allegory of the Cave”, I believe truth is being portrayed as something we as humans see, maybe only once, without it even being the whole truth. Even then we neglect to see “other truths.” According to Socrates, and I quote, “From the beginning people like this have never managed, whether on their own or with the help by others, to see anything besides the shadows that are [continually] projected on the wall opposite them by the glow of fire.” Socrates believes humans will automatically assume something to be truthful, and with no actual evidence that we won’t even bother to look at the sight of whatever it may actually be. At then end, if someone would try to tell us otherwise, we will neglect the actual truth and still believe we know what the truth really is. Even if the actual truth was shown to us, and we were seeing it with the naked eye, it will not be enough to convince us otherwise of our own perception. However, I believe Socrates is saying that as humans, we need to be forced to look at the “real truth” and that it will take time to assimilate to once we’re forcibly presented with it. However afterwards, we will see the light; we will see the real truths behind what we previously believed to be false. After the truth has been revealed to us, we will assimilate to it permanently. Socrates states, and I quote, “But I think that finally he would be in the condition to look at the sun itself, not just at its reflection whether in water or wherever else it might appear, but at the sun itself, as it is….” However, knowing too much of the truth can lead to conflicts, and that is probably why so many things are hidden from us. Maybe our problem is not that we don’t want to see the truth, but that we are scared of what the outcome may be if we do know the real truths.…

    • 481 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Allegory Of The Cave Analysis
    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Allegory Of The Cave Analysis

    African Americans in society today like the prisoners in the Allegory of the Cave are hostage to their own mentality. The two characteristics commonly shared between both is ignorance to reality and a reluctance to change. Thus in the essay the prisoners are locked and chained down in darkness with only a glow of light that allows for little sight. In turn objects placed in front of the glow cast shadows before them. These shadows are then interpreted as reality. Looking forward or straight ahead is only one-way of thinking. Being able to look around and explore allows the freedom to challenge or determine if in fact what appears to be the truth is true. African Americans ancestors went through…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Allegory of the Cave
    • 4958 Words
    • 20 Pages

    Allegory of the Cave

    “The purpose of communication is that it is the closest you can get to a person without actually being them”-Anonymous…

    • 4958 Words
    • 20 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Allegory of the Cave Summary and Response
    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Allegory of the Cave Summary and Response

    “Allegory of the Cave”, written by Plato, is story that contrasts the differences between what is real and what is perceived. He opens with Glaucon talking to Socrates. He has Glaucon imagine what it would be like to be chained down in a cave, not able to see anything other than what is in front of him. He tells a story of men that were trapped in a cave and were prisoners to the truth. These prisoners have only seen shadows. But because of their ignorance, these slaves to the cave believe that the shadows are real. The story goes on to say that one of the men has been dragged out of the cave. He is not happy to see the real world, yet upset because he is being taken away from all that he knows. As he approaches the outside, he is blinded by the sunlight that he has never seen. The sunlight can be interpreted as actual sun or as knowledge, making the journey rather painful in mental and physical ways. The prisoner wants to return to his life as a peasant inside of the cave. When he is outside of the cave, he only wants to look at shadows and reflections, but later proceeds to look at actual objects surrounding him. Lastly, he looks at the sun itself, as he realizes that is what created this beautiful nature. The climax of the story is when the ma realized that he no longer has to worry about reality and reasoning, because he achieved the understanding of it. Eventually, he goes back to the cave. He is not greeted nicely back at the cave because he is seen to have taken a meaningless trip. The man who had seen the outside world took it upon himself to teach the others and lead them into understanding the truth of reality. The story finished by Socrates saying that the most qualified and wise people are the best options for leading in government, like the prisoner who discovered truth.…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Allegory Of The Cave Education
    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Allegory Of The Cave Education

    When a human is born, they start out from the lowest state of learning, without education, but only at imagination, which allows them to accept what they seen in their daily life. Human without education in the lowest state of learning is like the prisoners have been in the cave since childhood. Darkness in the cave is relates to the initial stage of education that blocking the prisoners from gaining knowledge. In the story, “Allegory of the Cave”, Socrates, who is a mentor to Plato, mentions, “The people have been in this dwelling since childhood, shackled by the legs and necks. Thus they stay in the same place so that there is only one thing for them to look at: whatever they encounter in front of their faces. But because they are shackled, they are unable to turn…

    • 556 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Allegory of the Cave
    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Allegory of the Cave

    The cave represents the people who believe that knowledge comes from what we see and hear in the world.The prisoners represent an ignorant, unenlightened, and narrow society. This would comprise of those who have not yet understood the meaning of life.The prisoners are without sun, without a higher understanding, and have limited understanding.Those who are chained represent all human beings who have been forced to think in one particular way; The chains are symbolic of limitations that pull us away from the truth. These chains permit the prisoners only to see shadows replicated by a fire behind them. These chained prisoners are restricted to only what the fire allows them to see – their own perceptions. Because the prisoners cannot see what or who is behind them, they accept those shadows as reality.Their full understanding arises only when the shackles are unbound and can comprehend clearly. The cave shadows are ambiguous and unclear, distorted, without any true form. Plato successfully utilizes the shadows to demonstrate those who cannot see an accurate, clear reality. The prisoners are seeing the shadows as a reality of the visible world, yet their reality are flawed and not the true form. The shadows symbolize what we observe with our senses, and not with our mental understandings – they may well be misrepresentations but we are incapable of…

    • 1003 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics