Allegory Of The Cave Quote Analysis

Overcoming educational obstacles

George Washington Carver states, “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom”. This quote rings true for many, but the path to freedom is not always pleasant. Education is vital to an individual’s success, for it unleashes a world of opportunity. The unnamed caveman in Plato's "The allegory of the Cave", Helen Keller in her autobiography "Everything has a Name", and myself have overcome similar educational obstacles. Blindness, deafness, bullies, and being thrown into a new reality hindered the process, but in the end, we reached enlightenment.

Plato’s caveman and Keller are stuck in situations where they have yet to comprehend the opportunity’s the world holds, for they are both stuck

Keller’s “key to educational freedom” is through her teacher, Anne Sullivan. Attempting to teach Keller that everything has a name, Anne gifts her a doll; While Keller plays with the doll, Anne continuously spells “d-o-l-l” onto her hand (92). Keller does not grasp what Anne is trying to do, but she uncomprehendingly repeats what Anne does (92). As Anne tries to teach Keller that everything has a name, Keller refuses to understand that “water” and “mug” are different and gets agitated (92). During a fit of rage, Keller snatches the doll and throws it upon the floor, and it shatters (92). Keller describes, “I was keenly delighted when I felt the fragments of the broken doll at my feet” (92). The fact that she broke something makes her feel accomplished, for she lives in a dark world where there is no tenderness (93). Suddenly, Anne finds the key to teaching Keller everything has a name, …water. Keller illustrates, “Suddenly I felt a misty consciousness as of something forgotten - a thrill of returning thought; and somehow the mystery of language was revealed to me. I knew then that “w-a-t-e-r” meant the wonderful cool something that was flowing over my hand” (93). Finally, she is free of her “white darkness”, and she can learn to

Plato describes, “… look towards the light, he will suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which his former state he had seen the shadows …” (614). At first Plato’s caveman cannot see reality for what it is, for he’s been trapped in darkness for far too long. As time passes, he is “compelled to look straight at the light”, so he is forced to see the truth (614). Plato illustrates, “last of all he will be able to see the sun, and not mere reflections of him in the water, but he will see him in his own proper place, and not in another; and he will contemplate him as he is” (614). Plato’s caveman’s reality is no more, and he stumbles across the obstacle between him and education. His epiphany makes him comprehend life as it should be, and not how it was presented to him. Resembling Plato’s caveman and Keller, I too escaped my “cave”. I dropped out of school, and pursued my GED. Upon getting my GED, I found my love of learning, and escaped my “cave” which was full of sadness, ignorance, and hate. Once we overcame our obstacles to get to educational freedom, we each had different outcomes. Once Plato’s caveman returns to the cave, he shares what he has learned in the outside world and is put to death because others in the cave are ignorant and scared of the truth. After escaping my “cave”, I decided to become a teacher because