The Core Ideas Of Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

Film Analysis Essay

The core ideas of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” are reiterated and illustrated through the characters and situations of the movie “Rebel Without a Cause”. The theme expressed in both works is that certain ideas are shown to us, and we accept them as the truth. But, if someone explains that what we think has always been true is actually a lie; we have a difficult time believing it. Three teenagers’ lives intertwine into this allegory, and are shown by remarkable similarities between the two. Plato, as in the movie, is an interesting character who has no mother or father figure present in his life. As he walks through a mansion with Jim and Judy, Plato shines a light from a candelabrum onto them, casting their shadows on

Throughout his life he has assumed he is a stronger man than his father. His concept of masculinity is broken when he grows up to realize that his father does not measure up to his standards, and that he himself is not truly as brave as he thought he was. Because of this realization, he is mocked for being cowardly by being called a chicken. In the allegory, the prisoner who saw the truth outside of the cave was mocked and ridiculed for his knowledge, just as Jim was called names for knowing the extent of his masculinity. Jim is easily angered when his peers call him the infamous name of “chicken”, and he usually has a physical confrontation with them when they do. When Jim’s mother sees her son acting belligerent, she blames it on him and says that it is his own fault that they have to move to another town now. Jim tells her that it is her fault that he is like this, but she will not accept that she has part in his misbehavior. The idea of consistency is expressed multiple times in the allegory, and this scene shows that Jim’s mother saw Jim’s misbehavior as completely his doing- the shadows on the cave wall. But, the light from the cave is shown to her when Jim reveals the truth of her role in his