Example Of Essay On Enlightenment in Plato's Allegory Of The Cave

Socrates compares us to the “strange prisoners” because we ourselves have a distorted view of reality. Most of the time, we do not, or choose not to, turn our heads from what we see in order to get a glimpse of what is really going on. We let “puppeteers” feed us with the images that they want us to choke on.
The shadows are the images that we see as a reality. In society, they can be the images that the media or the government want us to see. Instead of knowing what is really going on, we accept the things we watch on the news or read about on magazines. In our lives, these shadows are how we see ourselves. Most people are so engulfed in technology that we do not have time to explore the beauty of life, and we become dark and sinister.
The enlightenment in the story is about the good and freedom in life. The job of leaders and those who see this good is to share it. Unfortunately, there are just people who are selfish and they do not share this enlightenment.
The enlightened prisoners are like the life events of Socrates’ life because he is brought to enlightenment, seeing something that the other prisoners have yet to behold. Instead of listening to him or understanding what he has to say, they make fun of him for his desire to ascend from the cave.
Since there are a lot of beliefs and religions out there, they can be seen as the images on the cave walls cast by shadows. Each person can only behold what lies after death through their own mind. This is sort of what Socrates had in mind when it comes to envisioning a perfect world somewhere because no one has seen it, heard it or has been there. However, the belief that there is such a world can be related to faith.