Christenson 1 Eluise Christenson Cuevas 5 3 November 2011 English 10 AP Prep Synthesis Essay Finding the Truth

Truth can be defined as having fidelity to an ideal circumstance. Humanity finds itself ignorant to truths contradicting its own. Through The Cave, Plato exposes societys ignorance to verisimilitude. The prisoners in the story have never seen the truth, only the shadows which reality casts. Lois Lowry also shows ignorance to the truth through the civilization in The Giver. The civilization was programmed to be emotionless and similar. Both of these stories symbolize ones curiosity and questions about reality. The eternal quest for the truth will never seize to exist, for humanitys ignorance is constantly being catechized. Imagine if all beauty was lost from the world, and all creativity vanished. That was the conditions in The Giver and The Cave; they are worlds within worlds, disconnected from everything else. In The Giver, Jonas lives in a civilization condemned to Sameness. When Jonas questions the Giver about the Sameness which prevents him from seeing colors or feeling emotions, the Giver profoundly says, "Our people made that choice, the choice to go to Sameness. Before my time, before the previous time, back and back and back. We relinquished color when we relinquished sunshine and did away with difference We gained control of many things. But we had to let go of others."

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(Lowry 95) Jonas has been exposed to the truth, opening his eyes to see the beauty of colors and emotions. Jonas has never had a reason to question Sameness until now, and with his new knowledge he is greatly opposed. The world has been shown to him in a light he could never imagine. The prisoner in The Cave experiences the truth as well. He is forced to look upon the world he has been kept from and leave his home, the Cave. The prisoner has a difficult time understanding the truth. Socrates asks, And if he is compelled to look straight at the light, will he not have a pain in his eyes which will make him turn away to take and take in the objects of vision which he can see, and which he will conceive to be in reality clearer than the things which are now being shown to him? (Plato 2) Both of these boys lose their innocence as they are forced to leave their Castles, thus altering their perception of reality. When both boys are shoved into a certain belief, they demonstrate how one must be forced into the truth, or their ignorance will triumph. If the truth had not been forced upon them, they wouldnt be able to believe it of adjust to it. Christians believe that Jesus life exemplified the way, the light, and the truth. Both Jonas and the prisoners lives are woven with the way, light, and truth. It is in this way that they are considered Christ-like figures. Even though Plato pre-dates Christianity, Plato wrote, Man would say of him that up he went and down he came without his eyes; and that it was better not even to think of ascending; and if anyone tried to loose another and lead him up to the light, let them only catch the offender, and they would put him to death. (Plato 4) This statement reminds

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me of the life of Jesus Christ; according to the bible, he descended from heaven, devoted himself to converting people to Christianity, and then was crucified. Lowry had the same concept of biblical symbolism when she wrote about how Jonas was selected, just as Jesus was selected to be the Messiah. Jonas has not been assigned Jonas has been selected. Lowry (60) Jonas was the chosen one, just as Jesus was. Religion is always being questioned, because only ignorant people dont question what they are told. Humanity will never know the truth about religion until death, for that is one of the mysteries of life. Light produces all that is good in the world, and is known as a symbol of happiness and benevolence. Light can be a symbol for many different things; it can indicate anything from beauty to a savior, but it always promises good things to come. In The Cave, the sun is the light, which symbolizes the truth that this prisoner is forced to look upon. When he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled, and he will not be able to see anything of what are now called realities. (Plato 2) At first the prisoner is unable to handle the truth; the new concept to too much to bear. It takes time to understand the truth, unless it is forced upon you. Then the task you must face is to intelligently consider it. Jonas intelligently faced his decision that Sameness was hurting the civilization and even the Giver, his mentor, was startled at his certainty, wisdom, and maturity. The Giver looked startled at the certainty of Jonass reaction. Then he smile wryly. Youve come very quickly to that conclusion, he said. It took me many years. Maybe your wisdom will come much more quickly than mine. In this excerpt, Jonas is sure of his self, and knows without a question what is right and what is

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wrong. He is no longer ignorant of the world; he is wise and has lost his innocence. Reaching the conclusion that everyone being the same is abominable thing took an abundance of wisdom. Wisdom only graces those who are forced to know the truth about life, and only when all innocence has been lost. Our instinct as humans is to question reality; who am I, where did I come from, why am I here. The question will always remain unanswered, but it is one of the beautiful things about life. The only thing that will help you discover the miracle that is the truth is time, because the older you become, the more you develop wisdom. The boys in these stories lost their innocence, but with that, they gained wisdom. It was wisdom they learned from their experiences that convinced them of the truth, not any other being.