Revising Blog 4: Summary of Plato's Allegory of the Cave and “My Place in the Cave.”

Summary of Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave”

In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave,” Socrates told a story to his pupil, named Glaucon to give knowledge.  He describes a cave underground where the prisoners are chained from neck, arms and legs and all they see is a wall in front of them. On the wall, shadows appear made from a fire behind the prisoners. The shadows are created from men carrying all sorts of objects, so the shadows look unusual. This is the world of reality for the prisoners. One day a prisoner escapes and see's the cause of the shadows and the light that makes them. He makes his way out of the cave slowly. He is blinded by the light of the outside world, but he adjusts to the light and see;s true reality. He decided to return to the cave and reveal the truth to the chained prisoners but they don't believe him because all they know is darkness and shadows in the cave. 

My Place in the Cave

         
         I'm thinking about my own life and i can compare it to Socrates description of the cave. The prisoners of "The Allegory of The Cave" had different stages.  I'm a prisoner still chained, i am looking in front of me on the wall in amazement  at the shadows that are created for us, by the people and objects walking above on the walkway. I am chained from my neck,arms and legs and can not look behind me. I want to be free, be able to see the light and feel it. All i see is darkness and all i feel is coldness in this cave. I hear crying and mumbling. I feel free now and not chained, i am blinded by the light. I open my eyes and see the light. I now believe something other then i cave.

        Real things are showed by shadows of the things that are being carried in front of the fire, and since I am  "chained" so that i cannot see anything but "shadows, this is what we the prisoners perceive as real. However, when i am "unchained" and led into the sunlight, this means that everything is modeled after an "ideal" form of what it is. Plato says that when we come "outside," which means that we open our minds to the ideas of the "forms" we can begin to understand the universe. But until we are "unchained" we will continue to believe that the "shadows" are the real thing.