The "Allegory of the Cave"

Today in class, we read a story written by the philosopher, Plato. In the story, Socrates is talking with Plato's brother, Glycon. Part 1 talks about how the prisoners in the cave are chained to the wall where they can't see the big fire behind them nor the guards behind the wall in front of them. However, they can see the tips of the weapons that the guards carry and their shadows. Whenever the guards are talking to one another, they prisoners think that the shadows are talking. Part two talks about freedom. They choose one prisoner to release into the real world. Once they remove his chains, he automatically feels pain. He can now see the fire, but the light is too bright for his eyes which are used to the darkness. They literally have to drag him out of the cave. When they get out, they leave him out in the burning sunlight. It takes a while, but his eyes eventually adjust to the bright light. Now he can see the environment (river, people, land) that he's never seen before. However, he can't remember the talking shadows. Over time, the man went back into the cave feeling a little guilty that he was free but the rest were not. So he went back in thinking that he could persuade them to leave. Not only could he not persuade them, but he was also killed because he was acting like a threat. This reminds us of Socrates who was killed because he was thought of as a threat for corrupting the youth and impiety.