Analysing the Power of Allegory: Harnessing the Magic of Symbols and Metaphors.

Allegory is a term that describes the use of a single word to provide imagery of different meanings. The etymology of allegory can be illustrated from Greek's allegoria that represents a figurative language. In this case, the word describes a particular thing with different images while speaking about something else (Naddaff,2009).It is a brilliant use of symbols and metaphors to create illusions throughout the story. Allegory assists the author to deliver a particular story effectively.Socrates continues to work towards a more representation of the good in the world around humans. The cave is a representation of the world humans live. The condition of gloom is the symbol of the ignorance that revolves around the life of humans (Ferguson,1922). Humans move from the state of darkness to illusion with an objective of acquiri8ng the clear insight of things around them.

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Question Two

Why use Allegories

cultures have used allegories in different centuries. Most writers incorporate parable as a tool to create different meanings of their work. Allegory makes the narration of an author multidimensional and brings out various forms of definitions and understanding. Therefore, a particular story may have a different analogy in comparison with the literal meaning of the story. Through allegories, writers can depict their moral and political points of view. They are incorporated in kinds of literature as tools for teaching orals through the different layers of their work. The significance of allegory lies in the belief of an invisible truth at the surface that could only be obtained via enlightens.

Question Three: Meaning of Symbolic Expressions

According to Plato, the search for knowledge could raise men from the darkness to the light. The "the allegory of the cave" was the most beautiful metaphor from Book VII of the platos republic. The case metaphor meant to illustrate the implication of education on the human soul. Socrates introduces Glaucon to a group of prisoners who had been chained since their childhood. People in the cave represent the society, and the prisoners represent the people who are in the society string at the shadow of things. In this case, Socrates suggested that the process of philosophical education is progressive (Ferrari, 2000). Therefore, he states that assistance and sometimes force is necessary to enable the human to get thoughts, ideas, and reality.

Socrates figures out the shadow on the wall, the wall itself, and the objects responsible for casting the shadow on the wall. The first thing that one realizes in the cave with walls is the shadow. Also, the reflections come from the objects in t water. When the prisoner looks at the sun, he realizes that it is the source of the shadow and thinking within the cave (Ferrari,2000). The people carrying the objects casting the shadow are a representation of the contemporary authority such as the government and the religious leaders. Socrates interprets a person who forces prisoners out of the cave as a teacher. Therefore, the prisoner who notices the source of the shadow on the wall discoveries the truth of the world.

According to Socrates, the prisoners can have the capabilities t break the chains and involuntary looks at the fire, interpreted as enlightenment. The fire burns the prisoner and immediately retreats. He affirms that prisoners do not embrace an understanding of reality. Light is a metaphor for the human's knowledge and capabilities to handle the truth in nature. When the prisoners finally look at the sun, he feels sorry for the other prisoners still retained in the dark world that the cave represents(Ferrari,2000). The prisoner goes back the cave to enlighten his colleagues about the truth in the world outside the cave. Socrates noted that the reality of humans changes when they attain philosophical education.

Plato highlights the meaning of the disorientation of prisoners when they struggle to adjust to light after leaving the cave. Since the cave represents the physical world, prisoners mazy face challenges and fights in their quest for knowledge and truth. The philosopher uses the light as a metaphor for an understanding of the the human's ability to attain truth. When the prisoner who has already seen the sun goes back to the cave to tell stories of the world outside the cave, he upset everyone who views him as a dangerous person. The prisoners fear to attain the knowledge due to the struggle that entails. In the end, Plato suggests that the philosophical journey requires one to think in the direction that counters the societal reality.

Question Four: Philosophical Education

Plato thinks that philosophical education is a recipe of the orientation of the whole self. In this case, education is a transformative experience in the life of humans. According to Plato's ideology, education is not all about changing ideas and practice, but turning around of the human soul s to reflect an advanced way of thought (Plato & West, 1984). The philosophical method of attaining knowledge is the movement and transformative of the self. The philosopher gave an example of a prisoner with the desire to transform through the attainment of education(Weiss, 2012). The prisoner who desires to turn does not only turn the head but also the whole body and soul. Therefore, education is the transformation of oneself through turning around and enabling of spiritual awakeners.

References

Ferguson, A. S. (1922). Plato's Simile of Light. Part II. The Allegory of the Cave (Continued). The Classical Quarterly, 16(1), 15-28.

Ferrari, G. R. (Ed.). (2000). Plato: The Republic. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Naddaff, G. (2009). Allegory and the Origins of Philosophy.

Plato, T. G., & West, G. S. (1984). Four Texts on Socrates Plato's Euthyphro, Apology, and Crito, and Aristophanes' Clouds.

Weiss, R. (2012). Philosophers in the" Republic": Plato's Two Paradigms. Cornell University Press.