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Plato's The Allegory Of The Cave

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One of Plato’s most popular works is the Allegory of the Cave. In the allegory, Socrates is conversing with Glaucon about citizens who live in a cave, chained to the wall. These prisoners are sitting with their backs facing the cave opening. Between the cave opening and the people, there is a fire. Between the fire and the people, there is a low wall where other people who are not chained are holding up statues which are casting shadows on the wall of cave where the prisoners are looking. The prisoners see the shadows as being actual beings, and that is their reality. One day, the shadow casters bring one prisoner outside and show him the real world. The sun is blinding to the prisoner, but once he sees the outside he is aware that the life he has been living is all a lie. The prisoner is taken back to the cave where he …show more content…

The other prisoners refuse to believe him, and threaten to have him killed for wanting to take them out of the cave. There are many obvious allegorical themes in Plato’s story. The prisoners are living in a state of ignorance and denial. This is meant to represent modern society. The cave itself is a representation of the human physical world. This is where people go about their daily lives unquestioning authority. Since the fire and the puppeteers in the story influence the opinions of the prisoners, the puppeteers can be seen as the media and what people today are being told. People believing everything they are told on television can be seen as the shadow makers casting shadows on the wall. The prisoner being freed and taken into the real

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