The Allegory Of The Cave By Plato And The Truman Show By Andrew Niccol

In life, the world one lives in seems to be the reality, without people questioning its credibility. As Iris Murdoch once said, “[People] live in a fantasy world, a world of illusion. The great task in life is to find reality.”(Iris Murdoch Quotes). In The Allegory of the Cave by Plato, prisoners are trapped in a cave and chained to face a wall and only see shadows of objects that pass behind. However, one prisoner is released and forced out into the reality, allowing the reader to understand that the world one sees and experiences is not the reality, but rather an illusion. Similarly, in The Truman Show by Andrew Niccol, Truman Bank is living in Seahaven Island, a place created for a television show that is all about Truman. Throughout the

Firstly, in both works, the protagonists are trapped in a false reality since birth. In The Allegory of the Cave, “there are men living at the bottom of a cave,” (Paquette 8). These men “have been there since childhood and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move.” (Paquette 8) and see what is outside the cave. This part of the allegory is significant because the men perceive this world as the reality. The prisoners only know and believe the experiences within this cave and have no knowledge of the truth outside, since the truth is unknown. Likewise, in The Truman Show, Truman Bank has been stuck in a false world, Seahaven Island. With being born two weeks premature, Christof, the director of the show, knows Truman is the one to choose due to “[Truman’s] eagerness to leave the womb,”(The Truman Show film Script). Ultimately, the show, which is “originally meant to last one year… [turns] into a cradle to grave situation.”(The Truman Show film Script). This example is important because Truman is stuck in this world for since birth. This world is what Truman understands to be reality, but does not know that it is truly an illusion. Truman only knows of the experiences in this world, with no source of comprehension outside of it. In both works, the prisoners and Truman are constricted to live in a world that is not the reality. Both are

Both the allegory and the movie have individuals who control what the protagonists believe to be reality, and prevent others from finding the truth. In The Allegory of the Cave, there are puppeteers who control what the prisoners see. The puppeteers make “all kinds of objects [parade] before the fire, including statues of men and animals whose shadows dance on the wall in front of the prisoners.”(Paquette 8). Due to this, the prisoners’ “reality [consists] of nothing but shadows.” (Paquette 8). This example is significant because the puppeteers decide what the prisoners will see and believe to be real life. The puppeteers completely control by the prisoners, who never question or challenge what is being shown. Also, the puppeteers decide to release the prisoners into the real world, conclusively making them in control of everything Likewise, in The Truman Show, the director, Christof, decides what Truman knows to be reality. Christof controls what Truman sees, the people Truman associates with, any fears, and even the food he consumes (Niccol). For instance, Christof is responsible for getting rid of Truman’s love, Sylvia, and introducing him to Meryl, Truman’s future wife (Niccol). This example shows how Christof controls everything that Truman experiences in life. Even when Truman finds glimmers of the truth, Christof does anything necessary to stop Truman from finding