The Allegory Of The Cave By Plato And The Truman Show By Andrew Niccol

In life, the world one lives in seems to be the reality, without people questioning its credibility. As Iris Murdoch once said, “[People] live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life is to find reality.”(Iris Murdoch Quotes). In The Allegory of the Cave by Plato, prisoners are trapped in a cave and chained to face a wall and only see shadows of objects that pass behind. However, one prisoner is released and forced out into the reality, allowing the reader to understand that the world one sees and experiences is not the reality, but rather an illusion. Similarly, in The Truman Show by Andrew Niccol, Truman Bank is living in Seahaven Island, a place created for a television show that is all about Truman. Throughout the

film, Truman realizes that Seahaven is not the real world, and viewers see the journey to get out of this illusion, and into the reality outside this false world. Both The Allegory of the Cave and The Truman Show prove that the physical world is an illusion that prevents one from discovering actuality. The concept of illusion versus reality is evident in both works through similarities in plot, similarities in symbolism, and differences in character.
To begin, the plot of both the allegory and the film comparably prove that the physical world one sees is not the reality.

Firstly, in both works, the protagonists are trapped in a false reality since birth. In The Allegory of the Cave, “there are men living at the bottom of a cave,” (Paquette 8). These men “have been there since childhood and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move.” (Paquette 8) and see what is outside the cave. This part of the allegory is significant because the men perceive this world as the reality. The prisoners only know and believe the experiences within this cave and have no knowledge of the truth outside, since the truth is unknown. Likewise, in The Truman Show, Truman Bank has been stuck in a false world, Seahaven Island. With being born two weeks premature, Christof, the director of the show, knows Truman is the one to choose due to “[Truman’s] eagerness to leave the womb,”(The Truman Show film Script). Ultimately, the show, which is “originally meant to last one year… [turns] into a cradle to grave situation.”(The Truman Show film Script). This example is important because Truman is stuck in this world for since birth. This world is what Truman understands to be reality, but does not know that it is truly an illusion. Truman only knows of the experiences in this world, with no source of comprehension outside of it. In both works, the prisoners and Truman are constricted to live in a world that is not the reality. Both are

trapped from the real world in one that is a false truth, with no understanding of true reality. Although this world seem real, it is known that the truth is separate from the illusion the protagonists are experiencing. Therefore, it is proven that the illusion of the physical world is hard to distinguish from reality when one has no knowledge of it through the parallels in plot.
Furthermore, the similarities in symbolism in both works depict the concept of illusion versus reality.

Both the allegory and the movie have individuals who control what the protagonists believe to be reality, and prevent others from finding the truth. In The Allegory of the Cave, there are puppeteers who control what the prisoners see. The puppeteers make “all kinds of objects [parade] before the fire, including statues of men and animals whose shadows dance on the wall in front of the prisoners.”(Paquette 8). Due to this, the prisoners’ “reality [consists] of nothing but shadows.” (Paquette 8). This example is significant because the puppeteers decide what the prisoners will see and believe to be real life. The puppeteers completely control by the prisoners, who never question or challenge what is being shown. Also, the puppeteers decide to release the prisoners into the real world, conclusively making them in control of everything Likewise, in The Truman Show, the director, Christof, decides what Truman knows to be reality. Christof controls what Truman sees, the people Truman associates with, any fears, and even the food he consumes (Niccol). For instance, Christof is responsible for getting rid of Truman’s love, Sylvia, and introducing him to Meryl, Truman’s future wife (Niccol). This example shows how Christof controls everything that Truman experiences in life. Even when Truman finds glimmers of the truth, Christof does anything necessary to stop Truman from finding

it, making Christof the controller of everything Truman knows as reality. Therefore, in both works, there are individuals who control the characters’ beliefs and views on the world. In fact, the puppeteers and the director symbolize the individuals in the world who construct false truth, claim to know the truth, and prohibit others from attempting to decipher illusions from actuality. The controllers take any steps needed to stop the protagonists from finding the truth whenever the characters question any experiences. To conclude, it is evident through the similarities in symbolism that one will struggle to tell illusions from reality when individuals are controlling what others believe.
Finally, both works show how the world the physical one lives in is not the reality, but rather an illusion through differences in character when finding the truth. In The Allegory of the Cave, the prisoners are not motivated to find the facts about the world. Throughout the work, there is no mention of the prisoners trying to escape. In fact, Add forcing quote. (Paquette 8). These instances prove how the prisoners are unmotivated to find the real world. The prisoners are also very ignorant when told about reality and will never be willing to discover the truth, unless absolutely forced to. However, in The Truman Show, Truman has the opposite mindset and is very willing to get to the real world. In the film, Truman tries on multiple accounts to leave Seahaven and manages to get all the way out to sea in the end (Niccol). However, Christof makes the currents strong and puts the winds at high speeds in hopes that “[Truman’s] doubts will turn him back.”(The Truman Show film Script). To that, Truman says that Christof will have to kill him to stop hom (Niccol). This is significant because despite Truman facing many complications along the journey to truth, he perseveres and continues to question the credibility of everything. Truman’s motivation is evident through the multiple attempts and willingness to get out of the illusion and into reality. As a matter of fact, Truman conquers his fear of the sea and risks his life in order to leave. In both works, there is a difference in character in how the protagonists find the difference between illusion and reality. The prisoners in the allegory are very ignorant and unwilling to find this truth, whereas Truman is highly self-motivated to become enlightened. Due to these differences, the prisoners are conclusively forced to see the truth, unlike Truman, who sees it as his own duty to do so, which can be reflected in life and how individuals who are open-minded and question beliefs are more like to have ease accepting the truth. In conclusion, the differences in character of both works prove how individuals decipher illusions from reality based on one’s mindsets.
Overall, both The Allegory of the Cave by Plato, and The Truman Show by Andrew Niccol show that the physical world is only an illusion of reality. This concept is proven through the similarities and differences in plot, symbolism, and character in both works.