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Analysis of the allegory of the cave by plato
Essay the truman show
Allegory of the cave by plato analysis essay
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Humans tend to automatically accept the reality which is presented to them, not giving a second thought about the reality being a false perception. In Plato’s Allegory of The Cave, three prisoners are chained to face the back of a dark cave. Various objects (people) walk on a pathway behind them, a fire behind them displays these objects as shadows, which are the only thing the prisoners can see, that is their reality. One of the prisoners is dragged out and forced to look at the sun and the real world around him. He begins to understand his real reality and goes to inform the other prisoners of his discoveries, the other prisoners do not want to know the reality; they want to stay in their illusionary world, so they disregard what the freed prisoner has to say. The Truman Show is a television program broadcasting a child’s entire life, on a 1950’s Hollywood set. This child, Truman is unaware that he is on a show and a set, slowly through his adventures …show more content…
The prisoner was “[dragged] up the steep and rugged ascent from the cave and [forced] out into the full light of the Sun” (Stickney 12). He was physically dragged out of his cave of ignorance, forced to witness the reality, whereas, in The Truman Show, Truman voluntarily ventured out on a journey to seek the reality for himself. Truman feels that he is stuck in a rut, and wants to venture out to Fiji, to find his love interest; Truman manages to fight his fear of the water, and stays persistent on finding the truth, as he fights the man-made storm (Weir). He voluntarily fights to find the actual reality, since he becomes suspicious of his illusionary world. The prisoner was forcefully dragged out to realize the truth, whereas Truman voluntarily goes on a journey to find the truth, showing the journey from ignorance to
Plato’s allegory of the cave include the light, the objects, and the shadows. The novel named “The Picture of Dorian Grey” contains a purposeful meaning for each key component. In the cave, individuals are shown the shadows of puppets which they consider their reality; however, it’s only a “fake” representation of reality. Just as Dorian Grey’s beautiful appearance was merely a “fake” copy of himself when he was pure and innocent, it never disappeared because of his immortality. Yet, when the individuals have been shown the objects, they are skeptical about the “true” reality, not knowing that they are seeing the truth behind the shadows. Similar to the picture of Dorian Grey, which portrayed his ghastly appearance, contained his true-self
In Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave,” he suggests that there are two different forms of vision, a “mind’s eye” and a “bodily eye.” The “bodily eye” is a metaphor for the senses. While inside the cave, the prisoners function only with this eye. The “mind’s eye” is a higher level of thinking, and is mobilized only when the prisoner is released into the outside world. This eye does not exist within the cave; it only exists in the real, perfect world.
Often times in works of literature and film, the story begins with a character not knowing the true nature of their situation, which is later on revealed to them. This occurs in Oedipus Rex by Sophocles, The Truman Show by Peter Weir, and the “Allegory of the Cave” by Plato. Although Oedipus, Truman and the Prisoners all began in a very similar situation in which they are being lied to and only seeing the shadows, the outcomes of their respective situations after being exposed to the truth and light are vastly different. Whether it be self harm, going back to try and convince others, or even just simply walking out, they all took a different approach to the situation.
The movie, 'The Truman Show' is about a reality television show that has been created to document the life of a man who, adopted at birth by a television network, is tricked into believing that his life, his reality, is normal and the environment that he lives is real. It is set in a town called Seahaven, which is essentially a simulation of the real world similar enough to the outside world that the viewing audience can relate to it. The town is a television studio inside an enormous dome in which the weather, the sun, the sky, and all the actions of the citizens are directed by a team of special effects people. The entire show is directed and produced by the creator of the show, Christof. Truman Burbank, the star of the show, is the only one who doesn't know that he lives in a giant studio and is surrounded by an illusion of reality. The entire world watches Truman's movements twenty four hours a day, seven days a week through the use of thousands of miniature hidden cameras.
In Lawrence and Lee’s Inherit the Wind, the play discusses topics such as religion and
Freedom in mind, freedom in nature, and freedom in subjectivity of individual are three kinds of freedoms. However, freedom should be expressed within the limits of reason and morality. Having freedom equals having the power to think, to speak, and to act without externally imposed restrains. As a matter of fact, finding freedom in order to live free is the common idea in Plato with "The Allegory of the Cave"; Henry David Thoreau with " Where I lived and What I lived for"; and Jean Paul Sartre with " Existentialism". Generally, Plato, Thoreau, and Sartre suggested that human life should be free. They differ in what that freedom is. Plato thinks it is found in the world of intellect, Thoreau thinks freedom is found in nature, and Sartre thinks freedom is found in subjectivity of individual.
Strictly entertainment in its finest sense, Plato would be appalled to find the number of ‘reality’ TV shows that draw millions of viewers and experience almost cult-like followings. Watching a show that depicts a glamorous lifestyle with little or no regard for rules is identical to those prisoners who were chained to observe the shadows upon the wall believing them to be real. Even the name, ‘reality’ television, is indistinguishable from the shadows viewed by the cave dwellers. “Then in every way such prisoners would deem reality to be nothing else than the shadows of the artificial objects.” (paragraph 13)
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.
In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and the song “The Cave,” by Mumford and Sons, they both treat the metaphor of a cave as a dark, bad, and evil antagonist that restricts you from seeing the truth and reaching your full potential. The cave can be seen as a permanent chain or an opportunity for change.
In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, he creates a matrix of two worlds, the world of being and the world of becoming. The two worlds are set up as a binary system where one is the negative and the other one is the world of Truth, where the positive is. The two worlds are opposing one another creating this binary system that sets up two completely worlds and a hierarchy. The world of becoming (the negative) consists of our body, senses, the mortal, appearances and the changeable. The world of being (world of Truth) consists of our soul, reason, the divine, the immortal, and wisdom, Forms, essences and the unchangeable. According to Plato, it is the world of being that should be privileged over the world of becoming because only the world of being
Through my study of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and Saint Augustine’s “The Confessions”, I discovered that both text involve a journey of finding real truths before acquiring a faith. This suggests that faith and reason are compatible because one must embark on journey in which they are educated about real truths before they are able to acquire a faith.
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
“Beware of false knowledge; it is more dangerous than ignorance” –George Bernard Shaw. The bodies politic in Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and the Bible, the Commonwealth and Israelites, both have shallow beliefs and believe what they know to be true. The Platonic Prisoner, from Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, and Moses, from the Book of Exodus in the Bible, both attempt to influence others with their newfound knowledge and wisdom because they feel the obligation to do so.They end up with different overall responses from their body politic as their relationships undergo change. For relationships to function, the bodies politic need to trust each other as well as courage. Relationship also need perseverance to last.
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 Truman Show, Truman discovered the meaning of freedom and broke away from all the lies and machinations and became truly free. He made one of the toughest decisions to leave behind his old life and start a new life on his own terms. Life is full of tough choices but it is better to choose for yourself and live with the consequences than have someone else decide your life for you.