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Allegory of the cave essay philosophy
Analysis of the allegory and the cave
Allegory of the cave essay philosophy
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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.
Comparing The Allegory of the Cave by Plato and The Truman Show, some similarities can be witnessed
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As seen in The Truman Show and Plato’s Allegory of The Cave, Truman was aware of what he was going to find after leaving his old life behind. He knew what he was looking for unlike the prisoner. The prisoner in Socrates' tale did not envision how the general population or things on the outside world were going to seem as though, he didn't consider how his body was going to react to the physical changes that he would need to experience. For instance the change of environment may change, attitude, essentially everything would change, having adjusted to life in a cave, the prisoner did not recognize what's in store. In variation, The Truman Show, Truman knew what he was looking for and he had a clear vision of the world outside the wall. He knew what he was doing and unlike the prisoner in the cave he had a close friend in Safe Heaven to whom he shared his secrets with and trusted. In the show we see that Truman and the other characters get to enjoy the freedom to move around while in the cave the prisoners are chained up. This limits their movements unlike the show. In the show Truman is the only one who has no idea of the world outside Safe Heaven. He is told what to do while others around him act like normal beings. While in the cave the prisoners have no clue of the world outside the cave and are content on living that way. Until an individual gets taken out of the fake reality and told what is
Portraying the prisoners inside the cave for a lifetime further describes his beliefs on how closed minded society is in his opinion. The “light outside the cave” explains how he feels knowledge is the source of light to everyone’s lives. Without knowledge, there is lack of light. Also, since society does not want to gain further knowledge, they will seem to stay stuck in the dark tunnel. Plato also uses personification to give reader insight on how someone may treat the earth and appreciate it. For example, Plato states “Clearly, he said, he would first see the sun and then reason about him.” The reasoning behind this is to explain how a man would reason with the sun as if it were an actual speaking person. The style of Plato’s writing gives readers an understanding on why his work is named “Allegory of the Cave”. The use of his rhetorical devices give deeper meanings to the Earth and the nature it
In this first stage of cognition, the cave dweller is shackled and can only see shadows of figures on the wall in front of him. His reality is based on his imagination of these figures. “To them, I said, the truth would be literally nothing but the shadows of the images.” Similarly, Truman’s reality is based on this imaginary world where his parents, wife, and everyone else around him are hired actors. Early in the film Truman seems to be happy although he is already starting to imagine himself in Fiji which he points out is the furthest place from Seahaven.
In “The Allegory of the Cave”, Plato is demonstrating his belief and theory about what peoples mindset concerning old and new ideas through a metaphor. He use Aristotelian techniques to build the base and strength of his essay.
The Truman Show engenders question on the authenticity of behavior and virtue in the face of pervasive voyeurism(which I will refer to in an exclusively non sexual manner). The Truman Show expostulates that an unaware participant in this perverted voyeurism, no matter the level of cognizant awareness, is still inauthentic because of the pervasive manipulation by Cristof and his cronies and the willing deception by Truman Show 's costars. These factors engender a contrived scenario that forces Truman to act in an expected manner—rather than natural--much like the intrusive Mr. B and English society (but really Richardson) forces Pamela to act virtuous. Pamela is an apt point of comparison for the Truman Show because both mark the genesis of a new medium in their respective cultures. Pamela is regarded as one of the catalysts for the epistolary novel and elevated novel in England; in
Plato’s ‘Allegory of the Cave’ rotates around the notion of our vision as humans being limited, and only being exposed to a certain extent of knowledge within our surroundings. The Allegory of the Cave presented a rare case where prisoners were trapped in a cave for all their lives with hands, neck and feet bound to look at a wall with shadows beings casted by a fire that lies behind them. Once a prisoner breaks free of the binds, his curiosity allows him to follow the light that then exposes him to the real world where he is blinded by the sun. Each of the elements in the allegory are symbols that can be related to modern day situations as metaphors. Though society has evolved drastically, many struggles that we face today resemble the allegory.
Imagine what it would be like to live in a "Perfect" world. "The Truman Show" is a movie where Truman Burbank is born and raised in a television set. His family and friends are all actors. His life is all being controlled and directed by Christof. He is being recorded and watched by millions of people 24/7. This movie is also known to give examples of existentialism such as, existence precedes essence, Truman being given a purpose by Chirstof, , fear, Truman comes to the realization and goes mad, and freedom, when Truman makes his own decisions.
The Cave Allegory was Plato’s attempt to compare what he called “the effect of education and the lack of it on our nature”. Plato had another Greek philosopher by the name of Socrates describe a group of people who lived
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
...The Matrix” and Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave” almost gives the idea that the movies writers may have had a lot of influence from Plato’s allegory. The creation of this movie gives and futuristic prospective of “The Allegory of the Cave” letting the people who have seen the movie think about reality and the truth. In conclusion, Plato’s story of the cave brings up many philosophical points and most significantly, addresses the topic of society’s role in our lives. On some level, we are all influenced by the thoughts and actions of everyone else, but at the same time, we as humans have the ability to question, make our own conclusions, and finally make our own choices.
He describes the Allegory of the Cave as, “Imagine human beings living in an underground, cavelike dwelling, with an entrance a long way up, which is both open to the light and as wide as the cave itself” (514a). From his brief description of the cave we can see that this sets the foundation to explaining the Divided Line through the tale. The human beings living in an underground cave like dwelling suggest the ignorance one experiences as explained in the Divided Line, the long entrance hints at the Divided Lines Hierarchy steps, and the light at the end of the cave would be knowledge as explained in the Divided Line.
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
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
Mise en scene is a French term, which refers to the visual and design elements of a film. Literally, it is what we actually see on the screen – locations, sets, background details, costumes, even the use of colour and lighting. Mise en scene is used to describe every scene, including framing, composition, costuming, setting, objects, lighting, sound and camera angles. Everything is done purposely and intentionally.
In director Peter Weir's The Truman Show, the audience is brought into the world of Truman Burbank, where every moment, act and conversation is staged. Every aspect of Truman's world is aware of the artificiality of this 'universe', everybody, except for Truman. Truman is at the centre of a world-wide television reality show which documents his every moment, twenty-four hours a day and he has absolutely no idea.
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...