Allegory of Cave essays

Allegory of Cave essays Compare the divided line and the parable of the cave The parable of the cave is a story where men are held prisoner is a cave. These men could not move because they were chained underground and all they could see are shadow of things from the fire that was burning. These men only saw shadows of things because of the fire and walkway. The light was projecting objects and these men would guess what each was. These men were never outside in their entire lives. They were trapped in a cave where darkness ruled and very little light was shown. There only contact with mankind was echoes they heard from people passing by. What kind of life is this for these men? They had no understanding of life outside the cave. Plato later asks the question of one of these men being freed and getting a chance to see real light. How would this man react? How would he adjust to the light? This man finally was able to see the real images of life. After taking all of this in the man finally got to see the real light, the sun. Now his eyes are opened ! for the first time in his life. Then the man comes back to the cave. He has to readjust his eyesight to the darkness. He is now miserable because he is back in the cave along with the darkness. The other men said he spoiled his eyesight. Now the other men would try to kill anyone who tried to remove them from the cave. Was the trip out of the cave worth it? Would you give up everything you did? Everyday for something new? The cave is a life of politics; everyone is with out true knowledge of himself or herself. His theory is first draw a line and then cut it into two sections. One section represents opinion and the other knowledge. Then, cut those two sections again. The sections of opinion are imagination and belief. The sections of knowledge are thought and understanding. The divided line is the level of human understanding. One must do a number of things to get past the four stages to reach true...