What Is The Meaning Of Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

The story Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”, translation by Thomas Sheehan explains how people are living in cavelike dwelling like prisoners and not in the real word. It’s telling us how people are stuck in one place because they don't believe that there is something different from what and where they are living. In the story there was a prisoner that had escaped from the cave and was able to view the outside world and how different it was. Once he went back into the cave and told the other prisoners what he had seen they didn't believe him and they wanted to kill him. They thought that he was lying because like I said they haven't seen anything else besides darkness and shadows. The meaning of allegory is “a story, poem, or picture that can …show more content…
They are chained up and live in an under world cave. Unlike actual humans that live in the real world. The prisoners live in a world where you see no color no nothing besides darkness and shadows, “to see anything besides the shadows that are [continually] projected on the wall opposite them by the glow of the fire.” They didn’t know what the shadows were or how they actually looked. In my opinion I really don't think that the prisoners really cared about the outside world because they were used to living in the cave, and being treated badly. So that’s why Socrates said, “And if they can get hold of this person who takes it in hand to free them from their chains and to lead them up, and if they could kill him, will they not actually kill him?” saying that the prisoner who had escaped told them what he had seen outside they would want to kill him. When the prisoner escaped and went up into the real world he basically ruined his vision. Why, because when you have been in darkness for your entire life and then suddenly you are expose to light you see things differently. Your eyes will not be the same when you see darkness any more, “If this person who had gotten out of the cave were to go back down again and sit in the same place as before, would he not find in that case, coming suddenly out of the sunlight, that his eyes ere filled with darkness?” Another reason that the prisoners didn't believe the escaped prisoner was because if they did, they would be leaving their comfort zones. Another thing that could have happened was curiosity, some prisoners may be curious about what's in the outside world and go on and try to explore. It may cause problems for them or they may not want to go back into the cave where they were. Not many people like to leave their comfort