The Allegory Of The Cave

In the Allegory of the Cave there are chained prisoners in cave who can only stare at the cave wall in front of them. At the back there is a long entrance with a staircase the width of the cave and a fire burning in the distance. They see only shadows projected in front of them from a raised platform and hear an echo that they attribute to what they observe. They talk about and name the shadows of objects they see before them. To them the truth are the shadows. Then one day one of the prisoners is released. He is told that what he saw before was an illusion. Once he is outside it takes a while for his eyes to adjust to the sun. First he observed the shadows of thing then their reflection and finally the actual object. Remembering his previous state he goes back to the cave and tries to explain that everything is an illusion but they laugh at him and think he’s crazy. They believe it best not to ascend and they choose to remain as they are. The cave represented opinion. The shadows that are cast on to the wall represented physical objects. The prisoners represented the common people (Welles).

I had an experience that each represents the symbol towards the Allegory of the Cave. My childhood was mostly in Jamaica where I lived with my father for two to three years. I can relate to the symbols from the "Allegory of the Cave".

An allegory is a kind of story in which writer intends a second meaning to be read beneath the surface story. One of the most important allegories ever to be gifted to humankind is Allegory of the Cave. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is one of the most potent and pregnant of allegories that describe human condition in both its fallen and risen states. The Allegory of the Cave is Plato's explanation of the education of the soul toward enlightenment. It is also known as the Analogy of the Cave, Plato's Cave, or the Parable of the Cave. It is written as a fictional dialogue between Plato's teacher Socrates and Plato's brother Glaucon at the beginning of Book VII of The Republic.

The Allegory of the Cave means that, people do not see things as they really are. That mankind assumes concepts but they do not have the full picture; One reason is because we only have five senses. For example, in Allegory of the Cave, Socrates explains that the chained men see the shadows and assume that they are being cast from the real item. However the shadows did not come from the real things they were just illusions and models. It also means that as humans, we tend to believe what is in front of us and not dig deeper to make sure we are correct.

In Plato's Republic, the great philosopher describes what is needed to achieve a perfect society. He addresses several subjects still debated in today's society, such as justice, gender roles, and the proper form of education. He discusses these issues through his main character, Socrates. Socrates, another well-known philosopher for his time, happens upon a group of men, and what begins as a modest question, leads into a series of debates, metaphors, and allegories. Perhaps the most discussed allegory in today's popular culture is the Allegory of the Cave. Over the past decade, several movies have mimicked the fantasy, the most profitable being the Matrix Trilogy. But what makes this story so fascinating? Through it, Plato attempts to map

Has someone ever looked at you and immediately disregard you for you are just because of your ethnicity? Have you ever done it someone? Racism is a huge culture issue that we have not only in America, but in other parts of the world, but it does not matter the color of one’s. What really matters is the character they have withheld inside but are not given a chance to express because someone didn’t even bother to give them a chance. This is idea comes from the book written by Plato, “The Allegory of the Cave” where in the book Socrates speaks of man being in a dark cave all their lives not realizing the truth until once they reach the end of the cave to see that the light is the truth. The truth is the reality of life.

Having read the synopsis from The Matrix, the excerpt from Plato, The Republic, Book VII, 514A1-518D8 “The Allegory Of The Cave”, and the excerpt from Descartes, Meditations on First Philosophy, 1641 “Meditation I Of The Things Of Which We May Doubt”, I am able to conclude that there are similarities as well as differences among these readings. Each question the state of reality in which we live. Is our reality a true state of reality or is it a state of mind we have allowed ourselves to exist in?

“The Devil Wears Prada” is a movie about a naïve, yet smart young woman named Andrea Sachs, and her journey to becoming a journalist. Andrea, also known as Andy, graduated from Northwestern University and interviewed for a job at Runway, a major fashion magazine in New York City. Being a simple young woman, Andy wasn’t necessarily up to speed with the fashion industry, but ended up landing the job. Miranda Priestly, editor in chief at Runway hired Andy because she was “different” from any of her previous assistants. If Andy worked as an assistant to Miranda for at least a year, she was under the impression that she could easily be hired as a journalist in the future. The only problem was

“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

In his allegory of the cave, Plato describes a scenario in which chained-up prisoners in a cave understand the reality of their world by observing the shadows on a cave wall. Unable to turn around, what seems to be reality are but cast shadows of puppets meant to deceive the prisoners. In the allegory, a prisoner is released from his chains and allowed to leave the cave. On his way out, he sees the fire, he sees the puppets, and then he sees the sun. Blinded by the sunlight, he could only stare down to view the shadows cast onto the floor. He gradually looks up to see the reflections of objects and people in the water and then the objects and people themselves. Angered and aware of reality, the freed prisoner begins to understand illusion

The Allegory of the Cave or also known as, Myth of the Cave, is a good example of explaining the feature of the way people think. It is a concept that demonstrates how humans are fearful of change and what they don’t know. Plato says that men are living in an underground cave and it is a situation. The Allegory of the Cave is Plato's explanation of the education of the soul toward enlightenment. Plato talks about being free, everyday life, knowledge, and essentially what he wrote to be true. I think that he was very unique with his writings because there are so many ways to look at the world and his way was just one. He was educated highly and is recognized as a philosopher to this day.

Each culture has a different set of rules and norms. Sometimes, we as individuals, use our culture’s norms as a guideline of how to behave and how we think people should behave. These enable to have a specific perception and a way of thinking. We stay in our comfortable way of living and never acknowledge that there is more than our regular lifestyle. In today’s modern world, we depend too much on technology. Most of us spend most of the day using our cellphones, playing video games or on our laptop, never taking a glimpse of the world around us. Especially, those who use the whole day to watch television or play video games since they are participating in a fantasy and never realizing they are missing out of reality. Such as Aristotle, a philosopher who is the student of Plato, explains in his allegory of the cave. In Plato’s Republic, Socrates uses the allegory of the cave to explain that knowledge and education are the solution to free people of ignorance.

The Allegory of the Cave reminded me of an interesting theory called the Ivory Tower. The Ivory Tower is a concept of the divide between the "enlightened" and the "unenlightened", or educated and uneducated. The gap of knowledge leads to the creation of extremely different environments. The educated have difficulty communicating with and understanding the uneducated because of the lack of relatability. An example could be the "geeks of Silicon Valley". These geeks are highly educated and are creating products for the masses. The ideas of entertainment between the two group vary to extremes. This leads to a disconnect between the two groups. Many recent apps that have become popular recently, such as yik-yak an app created by two Georgia fraternity

A smart but naive college graduate Andrea has a big dream to become a journalist. Looking for a job she finds herself in the office of Miranda Priestley, ruthless and cynical editor-in-chief of the high fashion magazine the Runway. Hundreds of girls would kill for that job but Andrea finds it all bizarre – people running around trying to please a woman who picks belts for dresses. However, smart and determined to keep this job she tries to fit into this organization where people are evaluated based on their shoes.

Andrea is fresh out of graduating from university in hopes of finding a job to help reach her dream of becoming a journalist in New York City. However she is sent to Miranda Priestly – the chief editor of Runway, a fashion magazine, for an interview as an assistant. She reluctantly gives it a shot in knowledge that a year of being an assistant for Miranda would open opportunities for her to become a journalist anywhere she pleased. Although Andrea lacked in experience and knowledge about the fashion industry, her credentials and smart thinking won her the position. Andrea, also known as Andy finds it hard to fit in with the lifestyle of the fashion absorbed. Through the instigation of Miranda and the people around her, Andy