The Matrix: The Allegory Of The Cave

I will cover the Allegory of the Cave in regards to the Matrix. My four examples of how this theme is presented in the film are being deceived into believing a falsehood, the unreliability of the senses, accomplishing of great feats, and teaching others about truth. I will refer to the protagonist of the Matrix as Neo and the protagonist of the Allegory of the Cave as Prisoner.

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
the shadows he observed was the real world since that was all that he saw. When he was released, he saw the world for what it truly is and concluded that the shadows are just copies of things in the real world. In both forms of literature, the protagonists are led to believe a falsehood that they eventually reject when they come in contact with reality.

Both Neo and Prisoner were tricked by their senses into believing the world they lived in was the true world. In the Matrix, Cypher, the man who betrays Neo, is eating a steak and is saying how he knows that the steak is merely a simulation telling his brain that it is delicious and juicy. Similarly, Neo can see, smell, taste, hear, and feel in the Matrix just as he can in the real world. His sensations lead him to falsely believe that he is living in the real world. In the Allegory of the Cave, Prisoner relied on his senses and that caused him to believe the shadows were the real world since that was all he saw. When he escaped, he realized that the senses betrayed him. In both forms of literature, the protagonists rely on their senses to make sense of the world only to realize that their senses are unreliable.

Both Neo and Prisoner accomplish amazing feats.
In the Matrix, Neo is able to do things that most people would consider inconceivable. For example, he can move so fast he can dodge bullets and even fly. In the Allegory of the Cave, When the prisoner escapes the cave he lived in his whole life and travels outside, he learns infinite wisdom from that experience. In both forms of literature, the protagonists accomplish tasks that seem impossible.

Both Neo and Prisoner share their knowledge with others. In the Matrix, Neo says he is going to show the people a world without machines. A world without rules and boundaries where anything is possible. He wants to show people the truth so they do not keep living a life without any real substance. In the Allegory of the Cave, Prisoner returns to his fellow men who also only know shadows. He tells them about the real world and how everything they know is simply an illusion. In both forms of literature, the protagonists share the truth of the world with others.

I have gone over the many similarities in both the Matrix and the Allegory of the cave such as how both protagonists have been deceived about what is real, that they cannot trust their senses, that they can accomplish great endeavors, and that it is their responsibility to tell others the
truth.