The Republic: The Allegory Of The Cave

In The Republic, Plato presents a dialogue of Socrates, in which he seeks to uncover truths about what constitutes a just society, and what kind of men would rule such a society. Socrates presents an allegory about the feeing effect of education, and how the lack of knowledge affects our nature- the allegory of the caves. While the allegory of the caves presents a basic picture of the prison of man’s ignorance, and his journey out of ignorance, the rich symbolism of the allegory appears in modern works, and can be a useful frame for viewing faith. The symbolism in the allegory of the cave is critical because every element is symbolic of something greater. The first and foremost object in the allegory is the cave itself “an underground

Orwell’s novel of enforced ignorance, 1984, details the persistent state of cave-dwellers who learn to accept ridiculous slogans such as “War is peace, freedom is slavery, ignorance is strength” (Orwell, 24). The environment they are in presents only one reality, a false one, so they accept it, just like the cave dwellers. Winston, the protagonist, instinctively remembers that “Big Brother” is perpetuating a false reality, and frequently repeats the phrase, “Let us meet in the place where there is no darkness” (Orwell, 267). This mirrors the cave elements of shadow and sunlight: “ ”(Plato, ). In the totalitarian city of Airstrip One, where Winston lives, they’re always told that they have more food even though they get noticeably less. Big Brother even changes the language to remove all unnecessary words such as synonyms and antonyms, creating words like doubleplusgood and ungood, and removing the ability to express evil concepts, such as free will. This control of reality through language parallels the cave dwellers controlled reality of puppets and shadows. “ ”(Plato) He struggles to find his way out of the tunnel, but is beaten back into the “cave” of ignorance: “He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother”(Orwell, 637). Although ultimately prevented from living in the

Ender, the protagonist, does not even seem to be in a “cave” for the vast majority of the book, he is just one of many selected children who believe they are training for a future war. Enders game twists the plight of the cave dwellers, because the shadows they see are a false unreality- the game, which they thing is a training exercise, is actually real. Despite this twist, the characters have learned a false reality, being taught to think the truth is not true. Unlike Plato’s cave and 1984, however, Ender’s Game, ends in the sun of clarity. After the protagonist actually destroys the enemy he thought was a game, the enemy’s “soul” or higher intellect is able to offer forgiveness and hope to Ender. “Quote from enders game about the aliens forgiving him”. While Plato focuses on philosophy and personal enlightenment as the light at the end of the caves tunnel, the experience of hope and peace in this science fiction novel seems much more