SYMBOLISM
What is...
THE CAVE?
How are the prisoners situated in the cave?
What is...
THEY ARE CHAINED TO THE WALL, UNABLE TO TURN THEIR HEADS OR MOVE?
How did the prisoner get out of the cave? Was it on his own or was he forced?
What is...
HE WAS RELUCTANTLY DRAGGED OUT--FORCED?
This allegory is used to demonstrate Plato's belief that the goal of education is to...
What is...
PULL PEOPLE OUT OF THE CAVE AND ENLIGHTEN THEM?
Much like where the prisoners remain, McPherson builds his own version of this to keep the outside world out.
What is...
a cave or blanket fortress
In the allegory, what is the symbol for us/the average person?
What is...
THE PRISONERS?
What do the prisoners see, and assume is reality?
What are...
SHADOWS?
What is...
ENLIGHTENED?
A PHILOSOPHER?
This allegory is based on Plato's belief in his...
What is...
THEORY OF FORMS?
In McPherson's text, the bee symbolizes this idea in his story.
What are...
the outside world/forces/pressures/etc.
In the allegory, if the light is meant to symbolize enlightenment, what is the darkness intended to symbolize?
What is...
IGNORANCE?
The allegory is told through a conversation between which two people?
Who are...
SOCRATES & GLAUCON?
In the allegory, how does the prisoner feel about his fellow prisoners when he returns?
What is...
HE PITIES THEM?
This allegory reinforces the Western philosophical belief that one cannot be enlightened by being taught or told, instead enlightenment is understood by...
What is...
EXPERIENCE?
This idea connects both texts: characters limit themselves because they are used to familiar patterns, just like Plato’s chained prisoners.
What is...
What is the theme of people limiting their own potential due to habit or comfort?
In Plato's Theory of Forms, the ultimate form is the "Form of the Good," which is the source of all other forms. Knowing this, what is the symbol for the Form of the Good in the allegory?
What is...
THE SUN?
TRUE or FALSE: When the prisoner got out of the cave and began to see things, he immediately realized that his perception of reality had been flawed.
What is...
FALSE?
Plato wrote this allegory to explain a traumatic event in his life. What was it?
What is...
THE KILLING OF SOCRATES?
In the allegory, when the prisoner looks at the Sun, he has a realization. How does this realization demonstrate Plato's beliefs about the Form of the Good?
What is...
HE REALIZES THAT THE SUN IS THE SOURCE OF ALL OTHER THINGS, WHICH IS WHAT PLATO BELIEVED THE FORM OF GOOD WAS?
McPherson describes his neighbors in his story as being a repressive force keeping him in his house, who would the neighbors represent in Plato's allegory?
Who is...
the marionette players/puppeteers
What do the chains symbolize in the allegory?
What is...
THE THINGS THAT HOLD US BACK OR DISTRACT US FROM REACHING ENLIGHTENMENT?
When the prisoner returned to the cave to enlighten his fellow cavemen, what do they begin to believe about leaving the cave?
What is...
THAT THOSE WHO LEAVE THE CAVE COME BACK WITHOUT THEIR "EYES" OR THEIR SIGHT?
What is...
ONE'S SOUL?
Plato believed that common people were not equipped to rule, and that only philosopher-kings should rule. In the allegory, what is the symbol for philosopher-kings?
What is...
THE PRISONER WHO ESCAPED THE CAVE?
In both texts, this moment occurs when a character realizes the world is more complex than they believed—similar to the prisoner stepping outside the cave.
What is...
Enlightenment or moment of realization