Allegory Of The Cave Comparison Essay

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Ancient philosophical writings have changed the modern world in many ways and in some cases still can change the way people think. The anecdote in “The Allegory of the Cave” relates to many problems that we still deal with today. The reluctance of people to turn to enlightenment and learn has not just occurred in modern times. To bring this piece of writing into the the twenty-first century the Wachowski Brothers created something more relatable, the Matrix. In the Matrix, characters experience enlightenment from a computer generated reality. Both of these pieces of work have much to do with perception of reality, but there are many other similarities and differences.
In the “Allegory of the Cave” the prisoner understands the world that he …show more content…

In the “Allegory of the Cave” the prisoners having “their legs and necks chained” symbolizes their inability to leave the cave and experience the outside world (Plato 284). The matrix blinds the people in the movie so they do not know of any other outside world. They were “born into bondage” because of the shadows of the reality that are projected into the real world (Matrix). The experiences of the prisoners in “The Allegory of the Cave” and the people in the Matrix deviate from that of people that are enlightened, because all that they experience is fabricated.
If a person is a slave to a system that they do not know exists are they truly slaves or are they making choices at their own whim within the bounds of their master's will? The conscious decision of Neo in the Matrix to learn and enter the real world does not depict the idea of systematic slavery. In the “Allegory of the Cave” the prisoner is forced into the real world and enlightenment. This depicts slavery more so than in the Matrix, because Neo had a choice but the prisoner did

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