Analysis of The Allegory of the Cave Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Analysis of The Allegory of the Cave - Essay Example Glube’s analysis will be considered. The cave is incredibly dark since there is no adequate light inside it, making difficult, even for the inhabitants to see objects. Inside the cave, there are chained people on their feet and necks making it difficult to move. Equally, there is another world just out of the cave, which is separated by a wall. Numerous people walk on this wall causing reflection of the shadows into the cave, which the prisoners perceive as real. However, in actual sense, this is just an illusion. This scenario contrasts sharply with the outer world, which is characterized by light and visibility of everything (Grube, 112). This makes a prisoner released from the cave to dazzle in the light, however as he stays longer, he is acclimatized. He expresses sympathy to the prisoners in the darkness. He sees it better for one to be a prisoner in the other outer world. As a point of departure, the Allegory of the cave represents a dialogue between the protagonist Socrates and Glaucon, the interlocutor. The people in the cave are seen bound by chains and believing that the reality lies in the shadows of the artifacts. It is unbelievable how these people manage a life confined in darkness, because the fire represented is behind them. This is a metaphorical application, which gives a picture of their state while in the cave. Their senses are bound and they are confined to their sense of ignorance, which makes Socrates to wonder how these people will respond if they were â€Å"released from their bondage and cured of their ignorance† (Grube 187). Socrates believes that there is a possibility that, the prisoners will be confused to differentiate between the real artifact and its shadow. Accordingly, Grube notes that the primary intention of education as articulated by Plato is not to impart knowledge but to change the behavior and