What is the Cave Allegory?
...s are made in the shapes of plants and animals, those familiar to humans. On a level below those creating the shadows are a group of men and women chained to the extent of being immobile, the are unable to turn their heads to see who is next to them also. These men and women are placed with their backs to the fire. As the prisoners watch the shadows on the walls they shout out what they believe the shapes of the shadows to be. Those prisoners who have been in the cave longer are better at guessing what each shape is than those who have been there less time. When a man enters the cave, free of the chains, he releases one prisoner into the sun. When the prisoner enters into the sunlight it is so bright compared to the dim lighting of the cave, he is unable to see and believes himself to have gone blind. As time goes on his eyes adjust and he sees he is in a better place. One day the man is forced to go back into the cave. Because the lighting is dim he is no longer able to identify what the shadows are. The Allegory of the Cave is a symbolic way of showing how people are en...