Plato's Uneducated Cave

Throughout his readings, Plato makes many points showing us that his prisoners are like us, but inside an uneducated cave with uneducated prisoners. He points out that we have understanding because of our senses. The reflections that the prisoners see are the true reality in the outside world but are invisible and are only known with the mind. The prisoners’ face the dark wall while they see and guess what these objects are that pass by them as shadows. Plato uses a metaphor, ‘adjusting the eyes’ which shows us that education is difficult and requires some sufferings. As one prisoner breaks free from his chains he goes towards the light. While he is out and exploring, his eyes finally adjust and the shadows that he was seeing were actually
true and became a new reality. He demonstrates to his readers how the shadows represent objects in the visible world and that we can only see with our eyes. The learner has to adjust his or her thinking in order to understand a new concept. This is a very good metaphor because it really defines how Plato writes and how he is showing his readers the meaning of education and learning.