Similarities Between 1984 And The Allegory Of The Cave

In the novel 1984 by George Orwell and the story “Allegory of the Cave” by Plato, their characters are in a situation where they have limited perspective of the real world. Characters from both stories are being controlled by something that is of “higher power”. Winston has memories of a different world from his childhood, while humans in the cave are born there with no knowledge, other than the cave and the shadows. It is difficult to tell whether or not what is in front of you is real or made up.

In the novel 1984, Winston lives his live under an entity, a “higher power”, called Big Brother, and in this live he has to conform to the rules and beliefs of Big Brother and the Party. Similarly, in the story, “Allegory of the Cave,” humans are confined with chains to only face in one direction and one direction only, therefore the “higher power” for them are the chains, of which they cannot break free of, like Big Brother. Both are being controlled, they cannot either tell that they are, or they are not allowed to know that there is a different world from this.

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The story “Allegory of the Cave” mentions that humans have been in this cave since childhood, and because they live in the cave, it’s safe to assume they were born there.

Therefore, a human born in the cave knows nothing of the outside world (truth) and has only ever known the Cave. However, Winston was not born into the age of Big Brother that he lives now, so, he can remember things from his past and notice the changes that Big Brother has set forth. This enables Winston to question everything about his government and whether or not what they are telling him is true. The humans in the cave are not this opportune, they only know of the cave and the shadows, nothing else exists to

them.
To the humans, in the cave, the “real world” were the shadows on the wall, and to Winston it was the past. In our Modern society, to avoid a fate similar to Winston’s there has to be control on both sides, the government and the people. For Winston, the Party had virtually complete control of everything, even thought. To avoid a similar fate to what Winston experienced society has to understand that not everything they see on television or social media, or what they hear on the radio is true. Having correct knowledge can keep a citizen’s opinion form being manipulated. One unchecked, false fact can spread like wildfire and has the potential to become the norm. Voting is our version of control, we can voice our opinions indirectly. Being actively involved in one’s government, whether it be local, state, or federal, can increase the chances of our fate becoming similar to Winston’s