Tuesday's Blog Questions

First, please answer Chris's question below here. Then approach this question.

Within your reading, can you find any comparisons to Plato's "Allegory of the Cave"?
here is a summary from Brian Rice of Associated Content

The “Allegory of the Cave” by Plato represents an extended metaphor that is to contrast the way in which we perceive and believe in what is reality. The thesis behind his allegory is the basic tenets that all we perceive are imperfect “reflections” of the ultimate Forms, which subsequently represent truth and reality. In his story, Plato establishes a cave in which prisoners are chained down and forced to look upon the front wall of the cave.

When summarizing the “Allegory of the Cave” it’s important to remember the two elements to the story; the fictional metaphor of the prisoners, and the philosophical tenets in which said story is supposed to represent, thus presenting us with the allegory itself.The multi-faceted meanings that can be perceived from the “Cave” can be seen in the beginning with the presence of our prisoners whom are chained within the darkness of the aforementioned cave. The prisoners are bound to the floor and unable to turn their heads to see what goes on behind them. To the back of the prisoners, under the protection of the parapet, lie the puppeteers whom are casting the shadows on the wall in which the prisoners are perceiving reality. The passage is actually told not from the perspective of the prisoners, but rather a conversation occurring between Socrates and Glaucon (Plato’s brother). While the allegory itself isn’t the story, but rather the conversational dialogues between Glaucon and Socrates (Plato often spoke his ideas through Socrates in his works), the two are not mutually exclusive and thus will not be treated so.

Garrett's question: answer these three questions:

Which Characters within your book can be compared to objects or organisms that work within the cave?

(to extend on Garrett's question, in what ways are the characters in your book working with reality and in what ways are they fantasizing or fictionalizing their environments?)

Think about a time in which you've realized that you had been believing in something that was not in fact reality. I'm simply speaking of Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, but maybe you believed something so strongly, or a reason you could never remember, that it became a reality. What was this incident, how did realizing it was reality change your outlook?)

When finished, answer Chris's question below. Keep in mind that these responses must be both word processed and 250 words long.