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Analysis of the allegory of the cave by plato
Essay the truman show
Allegory of the cave by plato analysis essay
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Humans tend to automatically accept the reality which is presented to them, not giving a second thought about the reality being a false perception. In Plato’s Allegory of The Cave, three prisoners are chained to face the back of a dark cave. Various objects (people) walk on a pathway behind them, a fire behind them displays these objects as shadows, which are the only thing the prisoners can see, that is their reality. One of the prisoners is dragged out and forced to look at the sun and the real world around him. He begins to understand his real reality and goes to inform the other prisoners of his discoveries, the other prisoners do not want to know the reality; they want to stay in their illusionary world, so they disregard what the freed prisoner has to say. The Truman Show is a television program broadcasting a child’s entire life, on a 1950’s Hollywood set. This child, Truman is unaware that he is on a show and a set, slowly through his adventures …show more content…
he becomes suspicious and wants to find the truth; eventually finding out that he has been in an illusionary world his entire life. Both works deal with the false human perception nurtured on to the protagonists, blinding them from the reality. The journey from ignorance to enlightenment can be effectively captured in Plato’s Allegory and The Truman Show, through similarities between setting and symbolism, as well as the differences in the both protagonists. Firstly, although there is a difference between the settings due to different time periods, Plato’s Allegory and The Truman Show are quite alike. Plato’s Allegory starts off in a scorching hot desert in a cave where the prisoners are chained up. “For the prisoner, reality would consist of nothing but shadows” (Stickney 11), everything the prisoner sees and hears is the reality he is accustomed to, not knowing that it is a false reality. For The Truman Show, Truman starts off on a perfect Hollywood’s 1950’s set with cookie cutter houses in a supervised dome with cameras everywhere watching his every move (Weir). Truman is unaware that he is on a set; this set is Truman’s “home”, he was born and raised on it, without ever leaving. Although both settings have a different setting, they have a similar interpretation; both the prisoner and Truman are trapped in a false reality, not being able to see the truth. They are trapped in the false perception, an illusionary world, only knowing the world of the cave/set, never experiencing the reality of the outside world. Consequently, another similarity between Plato’s Allegory and The Truman Show would be the similarities between the symbolisms of specific objects within each story. In Plato’s Allegory the cave, and in The Truman show the set, the symbolism of their “worlds” both stand for an enclosed area, which is the illusionary world both characters become accustomed to, both characters are unaware of their situation and of the outside world. The prisoners have “been there since childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so they can’t move” (Stickney 11), this is what they are accustomed to, where as Truman feels “that the set is his home where he was born and raised on” (Weir). The prisoners and Truman are also very similar; they are both unaware of the reality, oblivious to the truth. When the truth is revealed both the prisoner and Truman have a difficult time accepting that their illusionary world is not real, and that the reality needs to be accepted. Another symbol would be the light, the light in Plato’s Allegory was the sun where “his eyes would burn and the pain would make him turn away.”(Stickney 12) Seeing the truth out of the cave of ignorance is very difficult to accept. In The Truman Show, Sylvia, Truman’s love interest, symbolises the light as she reveals the truth by saying “Don’t listen to him, he is lying, and nothing is real!”(Weir). The sun and Sylvia represent the truth within their fake reality, they enlighten the prisoner and Truman making them find the path of ultimate truth. This use of symbolism within Plato’s Allegory and The Truman Show, create a thorough understanding of the connections made between the allegory and the movie. Lastly, in Plato’s Allegory and The Truman Show, there is a significant difference between both protagonists, even though both are trapped in a false reality, and later find the truth.
The prisoner was “[dragged] up the steep and rugged ascent from the cave and [forced] out into the full light of the Sun” (Stickney 12). He was physically dragged out of his cave of ignorance, forced to witness the reality, whereas, in The Truman Show, Truman voluntarily ventured out on a journey to seek the reality for himself. Truman feels that he is stuck in a rut, and wants to venture out to Fiji, to find his love interest; Truman manages to fight his fear of the water, and stays persistent on finding the truth, as he fights the man-made storm (Weir). He voluntarily fights to find the actual reality, since he becomes suspicious of his illusionary world. The prisoner was forcefully dragged out to realize the truth, whereas Truman voluntarily goes on a journey to find the truth, showing the journey from ignorance to
enlightenment. In conclusion, Plato’s Allegory and The Truman Show are truly establish the pathway from ignorance to enlightenment in similar ways, with the similar meanings behind the setting and similar interpretations of the symbols, even though there were slight differences between both protagonists. Although both setting are different due to the time periods, both are basically false reality in which the protagonists are trapped in. Both have different symbols but the same meaning behind each symbol. The only large difference was the prisoner was dragged to face reality, while Truman decides to find reality voluntarily. Plato’s Allegory and The Truman Show both bring up a point about false perception and ignorance that can be related to how we humans also undergo the same process as we grow and mature. One can be trapped in their own mind, denying the truth, since they find it comforting to stay in their false reality, when the actual reality is too harsh for them to accept. When we stay in our false reality we become ignorant and push down any opinions that would alter our illusionary world and force us into the reality, but once we mature and understand we are able to accept the reality and move on in life.
In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and the song “The Cave,” by Mumford and Sons, they both treat the metaphor of a cave as a dark, bad, and evil antagonist that restricts you from seeing the truth and reaching your full potential. The cave can be seen as a permanent chain or an opportunity for change.
Strictly entertainment in its finest sense, Plato would be appalled to find the number of ‘reality’ TV shows that draw millions of viewers and experience almost cult-like followings. Watching a show that depicts a glamorous lifestyle with little or no regard for rules is identical to those prisoners who were chained to observe the shadows upon the wall believing them to be real. Even the name, ‘reality’ television, is indistinguishable from the shadows viewed by the cave dwellers. “Then in every way such prisoners would deem reality to be nothing else than the shadows of the artificial objects.” (paragraph 13)
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance” –George Bernard Shaw. The bodies politic in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and the Bible, the Commonwealth and Israelites, both have shallow beliefs and believe what they know to be true. The Platonic Prisoner, from Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, and Moses, from the Book of Exodus in the Bible, both attempt to influence others with their newfound knowledge and wisdom because they feel the obligation to do so.They end up with different overall responses from their body politic as their relationships undergo change. For relationships to function, the bodies politic need to trust each other as well as courage. Relationship also need perseverance to last.
In Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave,” he suggests that there are two different forms of vision, a “mind’s eye” and a “bodily eye.” The “bodily eye” is a metaphor for the senses. While inside the cave, the prisoners function only with this eye. The “mind’s eye” is a higher level of thinking, and is mobilized only when the prisoner is released into the outside world. This eye does not exist within the cave; it only exists in the real, perfect world.
Through my study of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and Saint Augustine’s “The Confessions”, I discovered that both text involve a journey of finding real truths before acquiring a faith. This suggests that faith and reason are compatible because one must embark on journey in which they are educated about real truths before they are able to acquire a faith.
This is the case for both Plato’s Allegory of The Cave and The Truman Show. Both characters are kept from the real world and their thinking is influenced by their surroundings, which can trick them into believing something else. This is where the acceptance of reality comes in. The characters are brought up to believe whatever someone else makes them believe, and they are unexposed to the real world. The Truman Show and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave have more similarities than differences. The similarities are the characters and symbols, and the difference between the two is the setting. Both characters are trapped inside a “fake reality”, which of what they perceive to be real. Another similarity is the symbols that are present throughout both pieces. The symbol for Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is the chains that hold the prisoners inside the cave, and in The Truman Show its Truman’s fear of water. The one difference that sets these two stories apart is
Often times in works of literature and film, the story begins with a character not knowing the true nature of their situation, which is later on revealed to them. This occurs in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, The Truman Show by Peter Weir, and the “Allegory of the Cave” by Plato. Although Oedipus, Truman and the Prisoners all began in a very similar situation in which they are being lied to and only seeing the shadows, the outcomes of their respective situations after being exposed to the truth and light are vastly different. Whether it be self harm, going back to try and convince others, or even just simply walking out, they all took a different approach to the situation.
The movie, 'The Truman Show' is about a reality television show that has been created to document the life of a man who, adopted at birth by a television network, is tricked into believing that his life, his reality, is normal and the environment that he lives is real. It is set in a town called Seahaven, which is essentially a simulation of the real world similar enough to the outside world that the viewing audience can relate to it. The town is a television studio inside an enormous dome in which the weather, the sun, the sky, and all the actions of the citizens are directed by a team of special effects people. The entire show is directed and produced by the creator of the show, Christof. Truman Burbank, the star of the show, is the only one who doesn't know that he lives in a giant studio and is surrounded by an illusion of reality. The entire world watches Truman's movements twenty four hours a day, seven days a week through the use of thousands of miniature hidden cameras.
Freedom in mind, freedom in nature, and freedom in subjectivity of individual are three kinds of freedoms. However, freedom should be expressed within the limits of reason and morality. Having freedom equals having the power to think, to speak, and to act without externally imposed restrains. As a matter of fact, finding freedom in order to live free is the common idea in Plato with "The Allegory of the Cave"; Henry David Thoreau with " Where I lived and What I lived for"; and Jean Paul Sartre with " Existentialism". Generally, Plato, Thoreau, and Sartre suggested that human life should be free. They differ in what that freedom is. Plato thinks it is found in the world of intellect, Thoreau thinks freedom is found in nature, and Sartre thinks freedom is found in subjectivity of individual.
In Lawrence and Lee’s Inherit the Wind, the play discusses topics such as religion and
Plato’s allegory of the cave include the light, the objects, and the shadows. The novel named “The Picture of Dorian Grey” contains a purposeful meaning for each key component. In the cave, individuals are shown the shadows of puppets which they consider their reality; however, it’s only a “fake” representation of reality. Just as Dorian Grey’s beautiful appearance was merely a “fake” copy of himself when he was pure and innocent, it never disappeared because of his immortality. Yet, when the individuals have been shown the objects, they are skeptical about the “true” reality, not knowing that they are seeing the truth behind the shadows. Similar to the picture of Dorian Grey, which portrayed his ghastly appearance, contained his true-self
In The Truman Show, Truman discovered the meaning of freedom and broke away from all the lies and machinations and became truly free. He made one of the toughest decisions to leave behind his old life and start a new life on his own terms. Life is full of tough choices but it is better to choose for yourself and live with the consequences than have someone else decide your life for you.
The Truman Show takes place on a massive, life-sized stage with Truman Burbank as the protagonist. It is a contrived world where all interactions take place effortlessly from the day he was born to his ultimate realization and escape. In his life, there was no true privacy. Every moment was recorded as a source of reality entertainment for the masses of the outside world, and if anyone from the outside or on the set were to intervene and try to disclose the actual reality of his situation, they were quickly suppressed and/or replaced. This, coupled with many other obstacles, made it very difficult for Truman to break the illusion. Despite the many failures, he eventually came to spot the inconsistences himself (with a little help), leading
Philosophers believe that if one were to live their life pleasingly without any boundaries, individuals still would not have crossed unknown boundaries. Likewise this message is portrayed in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave and The Truman Show. In both texts the protagonists believe that the world they are living in is truly real, when in reality is not. Humans only like to believe what they want, therefore causing them to exclude some important details. There are multiple similarities that are striking between The Allegory of The Cave and The Truman Show such as the setting and symbolisms while there are some differences like the plots of both texts.
In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, he creates a matrix of two worlds, the world of being and the world of becoming. The two worlds are set up as a binary system where one is the negative and the other one is the world of Truth, where the positive is. The two worlds are opposing one another creating this binary system that sets up two completely worlds and a hierarchy. The world of becoming (the negative) consists of our body, senses, the mortal, appearances and the changeable. The world of being (world of Truth) consists of our soul, reason, the divine, the immortal, and wisdom, Forms, essences and the unchangeable. According to Plato, it is the world of being that should be privileged over the world of becoming because only the world of being