“We accept the reality in which we are presented”
In response to “The Truman Show” and “Plato’s Cave”
Truman realizes the truth about what is real when he endeavours to discover what is beyond the world he lives in. Likewise, this idea is illustrated in Plato’s analogy of the cave. In the analogy, prisoners are chained to a wall, facing one direction and stripped of any other dimension or perspective. They perceive shadows on the wall of the cave, as they have done for all of their lives, that is all they know. They believe that these shadows are real and all that there is to reality for that is all they know, that reality is their truth. One prisoner breaks free from his bonds and notices that the shadows are mere imitations of the reality, but not the multi-dimensional reality itself. He sees that the shadows were caused by puppets behind him, and upon leaving the cave, sees the real things, which these shadow-causing puppets were meant to represent. The prisoner’s perspective of the world has now accepted new truths. But what meaning is now weaved into the prisoner’s perspect...
Children across the world enjoy the television show Spongebob for its loveable characters and humor. The most prominent of these characters is Spongebob Squarepants, a personified sponge who lives in a pineapple under the sea, in a town called Bikini Bottom. He spends the majority of his time working as a chef at the Krusty Krab, a fast food restaurant run by a greedy crab named Mr. Krabs. Spongebob’s neighbor and co-worker, Squidward Tentacles, has a very cynical view of life, constantly complaining about Spongebob and praising the clarinet and other arts. Across from Spongebob lives his best friend, Patrick Star, a starfish known for little intelligence and extensive sleeping. Most episodes, he and Spongebob act on a new idea which leads to various consequences. Sandy Cheeks, a squirrel from Texas, sometimes joins Spongebob and Patrick in their adventures. While the show is marketed to children, it has many qualities suitable for teenagers and adults including occasional sophisticated humor and philosophical references. Two philosophies referenced in the show are Epicureanism and Existentialism. Epicurean beliefs are shown through Sandy and Mr. Krabs, while Squidward and Patrick showcase Existentialism.
The Allegory of the Cave has many parallels with The Truman Show. Initially, Truman is trapped in his own “cave”; a film set or fictional island known as Seahaven. Truman’s journey or ascension into the real world and into knowledge is similar to that of Plato’s cave dweller. In this paper, I will discuss these similarities along with the very intent of both of these works whose purpose is for us to question our own reality.
The influence of Plato’s “Allegory of the cave” is very evident in the “Letter from Birmingham Jail”. The allegory illustrates are inability to look beyond our immediate reality; to look beyond ou...
In Plato’s story in the “Allegory of the cave” makes a representation of realization and the truth. Fedrick Douglas, a narrative of the life of himself as a American slave, connects us to Plato’s philosophical idea shown in the story “The Allegory of the cave.” Fedrick Douglas illustrates the way in life of reality and truth, and the illusion the real world gives us. Fedrick Douglas was a African American slave who had no rights, Which connects his story to “My Bondage, My Freedom.”
As people, we tend to believe everything we see. Do we ever take the time to stop and think about what is around us? Is it reality, or are we being deceived? Reality is not necessarily what is in front of us, or what is presented to us. The environment that we are placed or brought up has a great impact on what we perceive to be the truth or perceive to be reality. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave is one of the most significant attempts to explain the nature of reality. The cave represents the prisoners, also known as the people. They are trapped inside of a cave. They are presented with shadows of figures, and they perceive that to be reality. The cave can be used as a
The Allegory of the Cave is a parable that demonstrates how humans are afraid of change and what they do not know. In this work, Plato suggests a situation in which men are living in an underground cave. The one entrance is located near the top and there, a burning fire casts shadow. The men of the cave are chained so that they can only see the wall and cannot turn around. When objects pass by it creates a shadow on the wall. The shadows are the only thing they can see and therefore is the only thing they know to exist (747). Somehow one of them gets loose and wanders outside the cave (748). When he gets out, he is astonished at what he finds. He comes back in to tell the others about what he saw. The other men think he is mad and plot to kill him (749). This illustrates how fear, inherent in the primitive nature of man, only serves to promote his ignorance.
In this world we are born and raised into a certain understanding that things are a certain way. We are taught to believe that the way you do things are the way they should be done and that is the way they have always been done in the past because that is the right way to do these things. On the other hand, the way we view our world, our situation, or our current lives in our own personal circles may not be exactly what we have thought they were. Reading and watching “The Myth of the Cave” by Plato and “The Truman Show” respectively I will discuss the comparisons of similarities and differences, the significance of Truman’s name, which path would I choose if I was put in this position, and if these two stories were illustrated in Socratic virtue ethics how would
Truth is an objective in a person’s life in which a journey is taken to find the answer to their question or an identity of themselves or others. In Plato’s allegory of the cave The Republic VII, Plato discusses the steps that is needed to taken to find the real truth to one’s self. These theory created by the world famous philosopher can be related to many text and life on how truth is formed. Plato relates the Republic VII to a cave and how a man must step out the darkness of the cave and its many obstacles to find real truth. Plato’s steps in Republic VII are a part of Othello by William Shakespeare in which the main character Othello face obstacles finding the truth of his wife and his friend’s loyalty. These obstacles also include stereotypes which are discussed in “Don’t Let Your Stereotypes Warp Your Judgment” by Robert Heilbroner in which studies and are given about how stereotypes affect the image of others. In Othello to form the truth in which it follows the steps of Plato’s allegory of the cave to find the truth which is manipulation, stereotyping, breaking the bonds of manipulation/stereotypes and realizing real truth.
In "The Allegory of the Cave," prisoners in a cave are forced to watch shadows as people behind them are forced to accept these shadows as reality -- "To them... the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images. One prisoner, however, is released, and stumbles into the real world, containing more depth and complexity than they had ever known. At first, the prisoner will be pained at the bright, piercing light, but will eventually recover. According to Plato, the freed prisoner is then obligated to return to the shadows of the cave, to inform the shackled prisoners left behind of the real world. The prisoners, however, will not believe the freed prisoner, and may even go as afra s to kill him for such "lies" contrary to their "reality." The pursuit of the truth is, therefor, a painstaking but rewarding process. According to Plato, the physical world is a world of sight, one that lacks meaning if left alone. Only those who manage to break into the sunlight from the cave will ascend to the intellectual world. The prisoners in the shadows only know of the dull physical world, while those who ascend into the sunlight learn of the spiritual world, and are exposed to the first hints of truth. The soul ascends upward into the realm of goodness and of the truth, where "... souls are ever hastening into the upper world where they desire to dwell.." The pursuit of goodness and of the truth, then, improves the soul, as the soul desires to be elevated to a higher state of knowledge and morality. Caring for the self and the soul involves freeing the shackles of the physical world and ascending to the "... world of knowledge... the universal author of all things beautiful and right... and the immediate source of reason and truth in the intellectual..." The soul yearns to dwell in a world of morality and knowledge, and only the pursuit of
Plato’s Cave Theory justifies prisoners being held in a cave since childhood. While the prisoners are confined in the cave, the only thing that they can see is the wall that they are in front of. Behind the prisoners is a giant fire; between the fire and prisoners is a walkway where puppeteers can walk. The puppeteers, who are behind the prisoners, hold up puppets that cast shadows on the wall of the cave. The prisoners are unable to see these puppets, the real objects that pass behind them. What the prisoners see and hear are shadows and echoes cast by objects that they do not see. To the prisoners the shadows represent reality, thus the prisoners’ mistaken appearance for reality. They would think that the shadows that they see on the wall are real. However, they would know nothing of the real causes of the shadows. Plato’s Cave Theory ideology is akin to The Matrix, Total Recall and The Truman Show.
To sum up, Plato’s allegory of cave depicts the human condition, each of us is a prisoner chained down with distorted illusion of reality. To gain individual autonomy one must awaken the unconsciousness, we must kill our imperfection and liberate one’s senses. We cannot accomplish individual autonomy by watching what’s on the screen, but rather using our own consciousness, begin a Gnostic path, and enlightened each other, hence we can build our own philosophical ideologies and get out of the ignorance, that is the cave.
The allegory depicts people as sponges, and that they only know as much as they are shown. Moreover portrays that people wherever they discover themselves in, is the present reality paying little heed to their lives only as it presents to them. Throughout Truman’s life all his decision were reflected by the images that were placed in his head. Christof choreograph Truman’s interactions, and all that he has ever known. The movie reflects Plato’s philosophy seeing that Truman represented a prisoner in a cave, he only knew the images that were being fed to him. When he tried to search for the truth, they would try to mislead him from knowing the
One of the major differences between the film and the novel is the depiction of the delusional image of reality. However, it still manages to bring forth the dystopian image of both their Utopian societies. In The Truman Show, life is a real life play in an environment that provides comfortable lifestyle and happiness at the cost of reality. The producer of The Truman Show, Christof states, “We accept the reality of the world with which we are presented”. This message is the underlying theme in the story and as such, will foreshadow Truman’s acceptance of a delusional reality in the film. Meanwhile, in the film everyone except for Truman is acting and not living an authentic life. There is no sense of “real”; no real affinity, no secrecy, and no faith, all of which Truman is blindly unawar...
Plato's Theory of Forms draws parallels to The Allegory of the Cave, highlighting the concept of human beings being ignorant to true perfection. In the writing Plato uses symbols to convey a veiled meaning. The philosopher says, “The prisoners s...
Plato, a student of Socrates, in his book “The Republic” wrote an allegory known as “Plato's Cave”. In Plato's allegory humans are trapped within a dark cave where they can only catch glimpses of the world above through shadows on the wall.2 Plato is describing how the typical human is. They have little knowledge and what they think they know has very little basis in fact. He describes these people as prisoners, in his allegory, and they are only free when they gain knowledge of the world above the cave.