Comparing Plato's Allegory Of The Cave And Jumping Mouse

Plato's Allegory of the Cave and Jumping Mouse

Truth is like trout. Slippery, it becomes difficult to grasp tightly in any attempt to catch it, and is even more difficult to show to other people, in that when one holds it up for scrutiny it is often lost in the struggle to do so. "Jumping Mouse" and Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave" have a common theme in the form of the search for truth, and showing this truth to the unenlightened. They vary greatly, however, in the carrying out of their exposure of truth, and more, their view of truth and how it is to be handled.

In the ancient story of "Jumping Mouse", Mouse finds his way to the river and medicine through his ability to literally jump past his fears and see the sacred mountains.

When he hypothetically returns to try to tell those who are still chained there of the outside world, and how everything they see is only the faint shadows outlining the true nature of reality, they reject him outright. He would be immediately mocked, and any attempts to convince the remaining prisoners would be rebuffed in their futility. Acceptance of his ideas would mean a complete restructuring of all that they now accepted as reality. Any previous satisfaction that they could have had in their position would be lost with their view of that position, and that causes a great deal of discomfort in the minds of the prisoners, given that they are not sure of the same happiness on the other side of change. It does not seem graspable to them that they might find more happiness after they see the truth from the returning prisoner's point of view, so they choose the safe alternative, that of close-mindedness.

In this way the two stories coincide. Upon returning with the truth, both parties are rejected by those who previously had accepted them. The reason for this is similar: fear of change. The fear of change is derived as all similar situations are; fear that comfort felt in one's present situation will be lost in the new situation. Possible benefit weighs very low in one's mind compared to tangible benefit. So the result is a lack of belief from those with whom the two characters normally