Comparing Plato's Allegory Of The Cave And The Matrix

Adyashanti, a spiritual teacher and author once claimed that “enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier...It's the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true”. Many people think of enlightenment as a way to gain true peace and happiness, but in reality it is actually a very painful process and takes lots of work. Some would prefer to be ignorant and not have to go against what they believe is true. Others are willing to take this risk, if it means they will know the truth. Likewise, in short story “Allegory of the Cave” and the film The Matrix, the characters are faced with this destructive process of enlightenment. In Plato's short story "Allegory of the Cave" and the

Both are trapped in a world that they believe is reality and have since birth. In Plato’s short story, he describes how prisoners are kept in a cave, with their necks and legs chained. The fire in the cave casts shadows onto the wall, which is all they’re able to see and is what they believe to be reality. To these prisoners the “truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images” (Plato 29). These shadows are all the prisoners have ever known and is what they’ve been raised to think is reality. The objects casting the shadows are colorful and three-dimensional, yet the prisoners do not know this as they’ve never been shown anything else. For example, an apple can be bright red or green and round, but all the prisoners can see is the black and gray, flat shadows on the wall. The prisoners are being held from the truth, they’re chained up and physically can’t see anything but the shadows. They are given no option but to believe that the shadows are reality. Similar to the prisoners being held in the cave, Neo is being held in the Matrix. The main character of the Wachowskis’ film is Neo, a man trapped in a world that he believes is the truth. Neo is hacking into computers, as if he knows that something is wrong. He soon gets a phone call from Morpheus, someone who is already enlightened of the Matrix. Shortly

Plato describes a prisoner’s hypothetical journey if they are able to escape from the chains. When he steps outside for the first time and faces the sun, he will “suffer sharp pains; the glare will distress him, and he will be unable to see the realities of which in his former state he had seen the shadows” (Plato 33-35). The first time the prisoner is exposed to the truth, he will be very hesitant. The sun represents the truth, which will pain him since he has never been exposed to this information. Because of this initial pain, he will still be blinded from the truth. Until he can accept that the shadows are not reality, he will “suffer sharp pains” from the light. His eyes are trained to be accustom to the darkness of the cave and shadows, so when he is exposed to sunlight, it will cause pain. These pains only mark the beginning of his journey to enlightenment. Those who are aware of the Matrix, including Neo, will also suffer on their path to enlightenment. When Neo becomes unplugged from the Matrix, he meets others who have already been enlightened. One man in their crew, Cypher, starts to show distrust towards the others and wants to go back to the way things used to be. In a conversation he states that “ignorance is bliss” (Wachowskis). Sometimes, being oblivious is better than the harsh truth. To find out that what you had