Preview

Comparison of the Matrix and the Allegory of the Cave

Better Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1251 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Comparison of the Matrix and the Allegory of the Cave
Composition I
3 October 2012
The Matrix and the Allegory of the Cave

What if one were living through life completely bound and facing a reality that doesn't even exist? The prisoners in Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" are blind from true reality as well as the people in the movie The Matrix. They are given false images and they accept what their senses are telling them. They believe what they are experiencing is not all that really exists. Plato, the ancient Greek philosopher wrote "The Allegory of the Cave," to explain the process of enlightenment and what true reality may be. In the movie The Matrix, Neo (the main character) was born into a world of illusions called the Matrix. Neo’s true reality is being controlled by the puppet-handlers called “the machines” who use the human body as a source of energy. In the movie, Neo, finds an alternate reality and has to go on a journey to discover himself and what is around him. Much like "The Allegory of the Cave" the prisoners in a dark underground cave, who are chained to the wall, have a view of reality only based upon this limited view of the cave. Both the prisoners of the cave and Neo from The Matrix have to transcend on the path of “enlightenment” to know the truth of their own worlds. Deep within the cave the prisoners are chained by their necks and have a limited view of reality. Around them, by the distant light of the fire, they only see shadows and outlines of people or objects. The Matrix is comparable to Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" in a number of ways. Similar to the prisoners of the cave, the humans are trapped in what the modern day puppet-handlers (the machines) want them to see. In the movie, Neo is a computer hacker, and one day he suddenly realizes that his world is fake, by finding out the truth after he was released from the pod. Neo discovers that what he has been presented with his entire life is only reflections or merely shadows of the truth. The puppet-handlers (the machines)


Cited: Plato. "The Allegory of the Cave." Republic. Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1974. 240 - 248. Print. The Matrix. Dir. Andy Wachowski and Larry Wachowski. Warner Bros. Pictures, 1999. DVD. Cohen, Marc S. "Allegory of the Cave." Explanation of the Allegory of the Cave. Washington.edu, 09 Apr. 2012. Web. 03 Oct. 2012. "The MATRIX 101 - Understanding The Matrix." The MATRIX 101. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2003. Web. 03 Oct. 2012.
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    Comparing Matrix And Plato's Allegory Of The Cave
    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Comparing Matrix And Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

    The movie "The Matrix" is a giant reference to Plato's myth, with the Matrix as the cave, and Neo being an escapee. Neo's first words outside of the Matrix are "My eyes…

    • 306 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    the matrix and the us constitution sm b
    • 18144 Words
    • 57 Pages

    the matrix and the us constitution sm b

    If your life on earth resembles a Matrix, it is because you’re seeing things for the first time, with eyes wide open, but you feel confused! That feeling of confusion is appropriate because the information you are now digesting, contradicts much of the information you have been spoon fed throughout your life! I named this paper after the movie “The Matrix,” written by the Wachowsi brothers. After reading this, watch the movie and you will notice many similarities.…

    • 18144 Words
    • 57 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Plato's Allegory Of The Cave Comparison Essay
    • 951 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Plato's Allegory Of The Cave Comparison Essay

    The two texts that include The Matrix and Plato’s Allegory of the Cave both have similar ideas in the way that they both show how everyone has a different idea on what reality is. Plato’s Allegory of the Cave shows a cave where people have been kept since birth. The people are tied up in a way which has them only able to see the shadows in front of them and nothing else either side or behind them. The reality for these people that are tied up is just the shadows of all different things that are walking along behind them including people and animals. When one of the prisoners escapes his bonds he goes out and sees the real world for what it truly is and this person goes back to try to tell the other prisoners. The other prisoners just see the escaped prisoner as a shadow with a voice that they can’t understand. The Matrix is very similar because Neo the main character starts out living in a fake reality of the real world and then gets shown what the actual reality is.…

    • 951 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Matrix Allegory Analysis
    • 111 Words
    • 1 Page

    Matrix Allegory Analysis

    The movie Matrix can be considered a modern allegory of the allegory of the cave. Like the people in the cave, humans, trapped in the Matrix, see only what the machines want them to see. They are deceived into believing that what they hear and see is the only reality that exists, and accept the illusions of their senses as the only part of truth. But Neo, the main character, is forced to face the painful truth, when he is pulled out of the capsule that kept him prisoner of the virtual reality of the Matrix. Neo suddenly discovers that what was before his life, were only shadows, reflections of…

    • 111 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Phil 201 essay
    • 675 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Phil 201 essay

    Comparing and contrasting the synopsis “The Matrix” to Plato's “The Allegory Of The Cave” and also Descartes “Meditation I Of The Things Of Which We May Doubt” which have several similarities and also some differences. In all three of these stories the main idea is that reality is in question. In the Matrix, the human being is in a pod like machine that is controlled by a computer simulating what we think and know to be reality. Reality is not only created but manipulated to deceive what is truly surrounding you, when you are clearly in a pod unaware of what reality really is. In Plato's “The Allegory of the Cave” this also focuses on two different realities based on what is in fact real and what is perceived. Plato's view on the prisoners being fooled into a false reality by placing fake objects around them to trick their perception of reality and also put them in a one track state of mind, while life goes on outside of where they are captive. This is similar to The Matrix because in both stories the people are being manipulated to believe a reality outside of what is truly happening at the present time. In both stories, the person that has been captive for a certain period of time but then is able to experience reality outside of just manipulated perception has doubts, they are in disbelief of what they are actually able to witness for the first time. Reality, not perception but what is truly real happening and not being simulated or manipulated so that you would be fooled into believing something that is not real. In the Matrix, Neo lived a pretty normal life as an everyday human being but could not sleep well and like Plato stated that the prisoner would have to sense something, get some kind of feeling that something just was not quite right about his surroundings and the way they were existing. Another similarity is that the prisoners and pods were being manipulated to believe a false reality by people above them.…

    • 675 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Matrix: The Allegory Of The Cave
    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages

    The Matrix: The Allegory Of The Cave

    Both Neo and Prisoner were deceived into believing in a falsehood: that they lived in the real world. In the Matrix, Neo lived most of his life without knowing he was a prisoner of the machines. When he escaped, he realized that he lived his life in a virtual world that felt indistinguishable from the real world. In the Allegory of the Cave, the Prisoner thought that…

    • 585 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Allegory In The Movie The Matrix
    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Allegory In The Movie The Matrix

    In this movie, we are introduced to a world in which machines had imprisoned man into a virtual world called “the matrix”. There the main protagonist “Neo” founds himself living in this world in questioning whether is real or not, and manages to scape with the help of a group of survivors from the real world. Yet the real world was not what he expected, earth was devastated by a long war between man and machines, and what is left of humanity lives in an underground city were the sewers of the old world use to be. We can consider the Matrix to be the cave, and the shadows projected by the fire, it also presents two possible outcomes from finding true knowledge. In the allegory, Plato believes that if an individual manages to escape from the cave it could end up in two ways. The first way indicates that if a man manages to escape the cave, he would be overwhelmed by the light, and the actual shapes of the shadows he saw, “Don’t you think he would be puzzled, and believe what he saw before was truer than what was shown to him?”(Plato pg2) indicating that the individual who got out would have trouble believing the things from outside the cave would be real. In the movie Neo faces the same problem when he is liberated from the matrix believing that the real world was actually a dream. The second way this could end up is if the individual finds himself to overwhelm by the real world to the point that…

    • 1325 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Allegory Of The Cave Analysis
    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Allegory Of The Cave Analysis

    In “The Allegory of the Cave,” one prisoner wanted his friends to know so bad what the outside world looked like, but could not get it across to them. In order to believe it, they needed to see it for themselves. The Matrix fell into the same category. Morpheus and Trinity knew the Neo was the one, but could not tell him. They wanted him to know to be able to defeat the Matrix. Neo had to believe it himself in order to be the one and use his powers. Unlike “The Allegory of the Cave,” In The Matrix, Neo ended up being able to use his powers. He believed that he was the one in the end, but the prisoners in “The Allegory of the Cave” never found out what the outside world felt like, and ignored his friend’s…

    • 754 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    "Shooting an Elephant" Synthesis Essay
    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages

    "Shooting an Elephant" Synthesis Essay

    the cave?” (Plato, 293) The man that has been forced into seeing the truth of things wants to share his enlightenment with the…

    • 537 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    The Matrix Movie Analysis
    • 1775 Words
    • 8 Pages

    The Matrix Movie Analysis

    A seminal moment in the film “The Matrix” is where Neo chooses the red pill from Morpheous to see how deep the rabbit hole goals (rather than the other option of just returning to the matrix). Upon teaching Neo that his life had been part of the matrix, Morpheous said to him “Have you ever had a dream, Neo, that you were so sure was real? What if you were unable to wake from that dream? How would you know the difference between the dream world and the real world?” The world around you could be something completely different from what you are currently perceiving it to be. This is known as a skeptical hypothesis and occurs when you are radically deceived about the world and yet your experience of the world…

    • 1775 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Allegory of the Cave Summary and Response
    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Allegory of the Cave Summary and Response

    “Allegory of the Cave”, written by Plato, is story that contrasts the differences between what is real and what is perceived. He opens with Glaucon talking to Socrates. He has Glaucon imagine what it would be like to be chained down in a cave, not able to see anything other than what is in front of him. He tells a story of men that were trapped in a cave and were prisoners to the truth. These prisoners have only seen shadows. But because of their ignorance, these slaves to the cave believe that the shadows are real. The story goes on to say that one of the men has been dragged out of the cave. He is not happy to see the real world, yet upset because he is being taken away from all that he knows. As he approaches the outside, he is blinded by the sunlight that he has never seen. The sunlight can be interpreted as actual sun or as knowledge, making the journey rather painful in mental and physical ways. The prisoner wants to return to his life as a peasant inside of the cave. When he is outside of the cave, he only wants to look at shadows and reflections, but later proceeds to look at actual objects surrounding him. Lastly, he looks at the sun itself, as he realizes that is what created this beautiful nature. The climax of the story is when the ma realized that he no longer has to worry about reality and reasoning, because he achieved the understanding of it. Eventually, he goes back to the cave. He is not greeted nicely back at the cave because he is seen to have taken a meaningless trip. The man who had seen the outside world took it upon himself to teach the others and lead them into understanding the truth of reality. The story finished by Socrates saying that the most qualified and wise people are the best options for leading in government, like the prisoner who discovered truth.…

    • 701 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Allegory Of The Cave Analysis
    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages

    Allegory Of The Cave Analysis

    African Americans in society today like the prisoners in the Allegory of the Cave are hostage to their own mentality. The two characteristics commonly shared between both is ignorance to reality and a reluctance to change. Thus in the essay the prisoners are locked and chained down in darkness with only a glow of light that allows for little sight. In turn objects placed in front of the glow cast shadows before them. These shadows are then interpreted as reality. Looking forward or straight ahead is only one-way of thinking. Being able to look around and explore allows the freedom to challenge or determine if in fact what appears to be the truth is true. African Americans ancestors went through…

    • 1052 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Allegory of Cave & the Matrix
    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Allegory of Cave & the Matrix

    What if the world everyone perceives as a reality is only an elaborate deception? Human beings believe they are living in realities because they do not know of anything else. What they feel, see, hear, taste, and feel all contribute to their subconscious belief of physical existence. As people dream, however, they usually cannot recognize that they are not living through the events—that is, until they wake up. What if they do not wake up? How would they know the difference between their false perceptions and reality? The Ancient Greek philosopher Plato explores this concept within an example he uses in his work The Republic. In his example, known as the “Allegory of the Cave”, Plato uses an allegorical cave to show how humans are uncomfortable when exposed to the truth and that they are manipulated by higher authorities. In their 1999 motion picture The Matrix, the Wachowski brothers use a computer program to display similar ideals of Plato's allegory, including how humans are controlled and negatively react to the truth. Plato's “Allegory of the Cave” serves as a philosophical basis to The Matrix, as both works suggest that humans express discomfort while exposed to truth and both argue that people are controlled by higher authorities.…

    • 870 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Paper
    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Paper

    The following essay which were I am comparing and contrasting the differences and similarities of the movie The Matrix and Plato’s and Descartes articles. The similarities that all three has is they are all asking is the world we live in is it real or is it a figment of our imagination and someone is playing a mean joke on us. They also talk about our minds being controlled by someone or something outside of us, much more like an outer body experience. The Matrix is not real and focuses more on the mind and how the mind is being manipulated and Pluto is talking about the senses and how the senses can be manipulated and can confuse us and put doubts in our mind. In the Matrix, Mr. Anderson who is better known by the name Neo, works for a software corporation but at night he is a computer hacker. All articles discuss some type of reflections and different meaning about life and how we view it. The Matrix was a computer with programming simulation of the world that was experienced by virtual lives by being an individual player. They saw what it felt like to be born, growing up, getting a job, getting old, and dying. Mr. Anderson aka “Neo” couldn’t accept “The Matrix”, he had all types of mixed emotions and then thought that his life was a lie.…

    • 477 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Matrix Paper
    • 565 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Matrix Paper

    The Matrix directly relates to Plato's Allegory of the Cave. In both works, discovering the truth about reality is the major concept. In the cave, men are chained up and all they know is shadows of puppets that are displayed before them, illuminated by a fire that blazes in the distance. These shadows that the men see on the wall are all they know; this is reality to them. Much like in The Matrix how the people that are in the "Matrix" are unaware of that they are living in a world that doesn't actually expose the people to reality. What they know of in the matrix is reality to them. The shadows on the wall and the matrix both cover up the true reality that exists outside of the people's comfort zone. Neo and Plato's released prisoner go through similar realizations. Both Neo and the released prisoner are chained down (literally and metaphorically) from understanding the truth behind reality. The released prisoner is tied in a way that he cannot move and his head always faces in the direction of the wall. He finds out the truth behind the shadow's that he has known as reality. He soon figures out the real creatures that merely cast their shadows before him. In comparison, Neo is tied down to a massive wall where machines control the lives of the people in the matrix. Neo also realizes the truth when he takes the red pill, which allows him to escape from the Matrix and into the real world, therefore living the truth of reality, even though it is more difficult than life inside the Matrix. Neither the released prisoner nor Neo realize they are prisoners until they are introduced to the truth of reality. The prison of the Matrix is described by Morphius when he says to Neo, "It is the world that has been pulled over your eyes to blind you from the truth." Both Neo and the prisoner can be seen as heroes because they want to help the people who are still blinded by their false conception of reality. Neo is successful in fulfilling his prophecy of becoming "The…

    • 565 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics