Creative, And Independent Thinking In The Allegory Of The Cave By Tristan Teichmeier

“Welcome all! This is a glorious day, as we are beyond excited to have world-class writer Tristan Teichmeier here at the Pulitzer Prize Convention to read off his most recent work of brilliance, an essay on the impact of critical, creative, and independent thinking. Now, without further ado, we introduce to you Tristan Teichmeier.” “Ser especial” is what I always used to hear from my mom when I was little. It translates to “be special,” and is something I try and pride myself on every time I take on a challenge. My drive to be special is much like the critical, creative, and independent thinking characteristic of a Christian liberal arts education. Not to just think outside of the box— but to think through it, within it, and around it as well. To be the box. This characteristic has been present in time for centuries and is evident in multiple forms of literature. Through Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave, the novel Silence, and the film Memento, imagination is cultivated to a new level.
“Tristan, Tristan,” the crowd roars.
“Please, no need

The immortal philosopher, Plato, managed to fuse together critical thinking, creativity, and independence into a single story called The Allegory of the Cave. The story follows the daily lives of multiple prisoners in a cave who see nothing but projected shadows of inanimate objects on a wall. From there, each of their imaginations are set loose on what the shadows could be, leaving the reader with an eerie feeling of mystery. Arthur Holmes defines the critical/creative/independent thinking characteristic as something that “stretch[es] the understanding and enlarge[s] the vision.” This is exactly what Plato accomplished through his allegory. He took simple things like a wall, fire, and prisoners and created something that makes readers think deep and sharpen their minds past their initial