Plato’s “Allegory of the cave” describes a metaphor of how and what we perceive and believe to be reality. The prisoners in the cave have had nothing else to believe other then the shadows that they see. From a young age they have been chained up so they can not move nor see behind them, due to this their whole life they only have what they see in front of them to believe in. This shows that what we perceive as real from birth is all wrong from our interpretations of reality and goodness.
According to the text, “to look straight at the light , will he not have a pain in his eyes which will make him turn away to take and take in objects of vision which he can see, and which he will conceive to be in reality clearer than the things which are now being shown to him?” this is describing him finding out the real truth, and that truth that is real can hurt. As he grows accustomed to the new light and pain it is a metaphor for him ‘understanding’ reality and truth. The other prisoners make fun of him not because of anything he did but because they do not understand what he understands now, because they have yet to experience the goodness and truth. A similar analogy to this story is, “The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree”.
Our influences are our parents, siblings, social media, and grandparents. All these play apart in what we believe in. If our parents and other family members believed in one side of the political view we as being close to them would be influenced to also believe in that side. Or if as a baby we were taught to believe or behave in a certain way we would do exactly as we were taught.
This also relates to politics and our class because the person who saw and understood the truth has more experience then the others. This makes him a better leader to those who do not understand because he actually does. He can lead with goodness and truth since he has experienced those. This reading helps us understand how different peoples beliefs may be and how many of our beliefs are not actually true until we experience what truth and reality is for ourselves.
