Colleen Jones

HIS 1111

06/26/20

The story of “​t​he Allegory of the Cave”, ​is considered an allegory because it is a

story with a hidden meaning within it. The story is about three prisoners that are kept

inside a cave their entire lives. The setup of the cave is that the prisoners' backs are

facing the opening where sunlight can enter and the outside world is, along with a fire

behind them. Right in front of the fire, a small puppet show is set up.

The puppet show casts shadows on the cave wall in front of the prisoners. The

prisoners are chained up and are completely restricted including their heads. So these

shadows are the only things they see. The prisoners talk about these shadows and

guess what will happen next.

Since the prisoners have never left this cave, this is all they know. They think that

this is all there is, and that it is awesome. They have no clue that it is not how things

should be. Things all change when one prisoner escapes.

When one of the prisoners escapes and discovers the outside world, they realize

how the life they had previously was wrong. This prisoner, after seeing the real world,

goes to release the other prisoners. When the escapee tells the rest of the prisoners

that he is going to let them go so that they can go see this other amazing world, the

prisoners seem hesitant. They think he is totally crazy. He is only able to convince a few

to come with him.

 The hidden message in this story is based off of what everything within it

represents. The people within the cave represent the people who think their personal

experiences are what is correct in all cases. The shadows represent a fraction of the

truth. While these shadows were not lying, they were not 100% truthful about everything

else happening in the outside world. The prisoner that escaped, represents those who

set out to find knowledge.

The message here is to keep an open mind and not settle for the life you have

just because you have not experienced other things.