Truth In Plato's The Allegory Of The Cave
Having faith and gaining knowledge of the truth can be a taxing journey, but it will always be worth it. In “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato, a prisoner living in a cave is forced to learn the truth. The shadows he sees are not real, but are made to seem like they are. He is taken up into the sun and learns the truth. Figuratively, the truth he learns is that God is real and the shadows being created by society are not. He has a choice to make on whether he will go back into the cave to tell others about what he learned, or stay and keep the truth hidden. Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” is really about religion.
In Plato’s story, the prisoners living in the cave have no idea that they are actually in a cave. The cave represents the Earth in the figurative sense, but Plato portrayed it as a regular cave. Literally, the prisoners “have their legs and necks chained” (par 1). They are chained up in a chair and the chains prevent them from “turning round their heads” (par 1). The chains represent their lack of knowledge of God, which doesn’t allow …show more content…
Once he’s up there “he 's forced into the presence of the sun himself” (par 17). The sun represents God. He gets to come into contact with God, who is the creator of the heavens and Earth. God is “he who gives the season and the years, and is the guardian of all that is in the visible world” (par 25). When he is in the presence of the sun he doesn’t directly look at it because at first he “ will see the shadows best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves; then he will gaze upon the light of the moon and the stars and the spangled heaven” (par 27). The man is in disbelief, so he takes in his surroundings on by one. Each stage he sees could represent the many things that are believed to be in heaven. His eyes are adjusting to the truth; he’s beginning to accept
In Plato’s story, the prisoners living in the cave have no idea that they are actually in a cave. The cave represents the Earth in the figurative sense, but Plato portrayed it as a regular cave. Literally, the prisoners “have their legs and necks chained” (par 1). They are chained up in a chair and the chains prevent them from “turning round their heads” (par 1). The chains represent their lack of knowledge of God, which doesn’t allow …show more content…
Once he’s up there “he 's forced into the presence of the sun himself” (par 17). The sun represents God. He gets to come into contact with God, who is the creator of the heavens and Earth. God is “he who gives the season and the years, and is the guardian of all that is in the visible world” (par 25). When he is in the presence of the sun he doesn’t directly look at it because at first he “ will see the shadows best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves; then he will gaze upon the light of the moon and the stars and the spangled heaven” (par 27). The man is in disbelief, so he takes in his surroundings on by one. Each stage he sees could represent the many things that are believed to be in heaven. His eyes are adjusting to the truth; he’s beginning to accept