Essay Example on Comparing Plato's Cave to The Matrix: Reality and Perception

Comparing Plato's the cave to the movie the matrix displays a lot of information based on the works that are incorporated in the film. Plato's the cave being one of the most popular profession among the Greeks consist of an extended allegory whereby all humans as taken or seen as people imprisoned by their bodies about being perceived by their sight only. In this context, the cave Plato worked towards showing how reality is at some times taken to very different and viewed differently. Several prisoners appeared to chained in the cave, and this happened to them while they were still in their childhood. The prisoners were generally fastened to the others through the use of their heads and the condition in the cave was not that good since they were supposed to face the wall while in the cave throughout. They were always forced to face the wall and behind them existed a fire that they could not see. There was a puppet show that used to destruct them from seeing the light where people regularly walked while carrying particular objects. These prisoners, therefore, remained amused throughout due to the activities that people always s performed to them. In this context these human beings who have been prisoners for quite a long time only perceive the shadows of the things passing and also the people. They rely on the shadows and recognize the echoes they hear as reality. There is the similarity between the Plato's Cave and The Matrix film since in The Matrix film the human beings are displayed to trapped in the Matrix and their situation is similar to that of the people in the cave.

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The humans in the Matrix can only see what is displayed to them by the machines and in this context, they have a complete belief that whatever they see is real. These humans are seen to be accepting all that is contained in their senses, and they believe that it all exists. These humans cannot think beyond what their machines is has exposed to them. Despite that New suspect that is not real even though he does not know how the devices are set to work. Morpheus who is resistance to Matrix, give supports to New who in this context is seen as being capable of defeating the Matrix (Fick 15). In the Cave, everything is revealed clearly when one of the prisoners is set free by standing up and turning around, and when he is forced to look at the fire, he strains the eyes with a lot of pain. After the prisoner is dragged out of the cave, he comes into reality by seeing a lot of objects that he has not seen before and on seeing the real objects he has reflections of the shadows that he has always been understanding. He feels that all these were just copies of reality and in this context, this prisoner reaches a stage of cognition through seeing the most real in the world through various forms.

About the society, all the people imprisoned to spend their lives in the cave that live by creating shadows acts as the representation of the most influential people in the whole society. These people displayed in the cave have the power to create the shadows while in The Matrix those who are seen to the puppet handlers are controlled by the use of the machines through the incorporation of the artificial intelligence. The puppet handlers in this context are capable of creating a specific manipulation through the establishment of fake surroundings to develop the information that the prisoners receive (Fick 15). Therefore as the prisoners appears to be fooled to believe in the phony reality while on the other hand puppet handlers are also fooled since they are displayed to be living inside the artificial world which they have created for people to live in. The two human beings from the different world share the universal aspect of living in the dark side of the world and even when they are taken out into the light they completely resist to live by it. They, therefore, chose to remain in their dark side of life. They are both influenced by the fake reality which they are forced to live by it. For instance Neo is living in a world where matrix agents exist, and they are the significant controller of what is taking place there just like how the prisoners in the Plato spend their lives in the cave under the control of the form holders and they are all made to believe in the fake reality (Larisch 160). Both human from different artificial surroundings the chance to escape from such a world and they get the opportunity to get the real world. Neo get to understand the life he has been living throughout is full of slavery, this is after he acquires some reality from Morpheus and this leads him to this realization based on the agents and Matrix control. The prisoner who is let free from the cave realizes that all the shadows he has lived believing as the truth they are not they are just cast on the cave walls through the form holders. All the characters from this different world appear to be much shocked when they get to the world of reality. They therefore simultaneously a feeling that is full of fear through receiving their first reality about the world.

Neo is capable of seeing how the lives of these human beings are hooked to slavery through symbolic control which ties these people into the fake world. Morpheus is much interested in escaping from this bondage with another group of people since he got some truth concerning the life they are living about the fake world. Despite that Neo has also decided leaving Matrix there is a person who chooses to set them and this makes it more difficult for them to escape. This makes them get attacked by the agents as they attempt to escape. The character that has set them is Cypher a person who is characterized by hating the truth, and he wants to go back to the Matrix fake life that he refers to be very comfortable for him (Larisch 160). Cypher is not interested in knowing or experiencing the truth despite the life they are living in the Matrix. In this context, this human being who has decided to remain on the dark side even though he has seen the light is such a shocking incident. He also makes a deal with the agents to get him back to the life of Matrix. In this context, the government and the agents highly support the people living on the dark side. This result in the fooling of the whole society where they make people believe what they want them to think without giving them any chance of seeing the truth in the world (Partridge). The Plato's prisoners are capable of escaping from the cave without any help while those from Matrix are seen to seek advice to avoid. Most of them are much interested in experiencing the whole truth about reality because they have been living in a fake world where society is profoundly fooled. They all find a world that is full of enlightening even though others have an urge of going back to live a fake life.

The human beings are highly expected to live in the dark side even after seeing the light since some of them get to realize the truth they are not used to. When these human get to the point of being confronted concerning the real world, they get to a state of feeling uncertainty. The rate at which these human beings get to the realization of reality brings an overwhelming feeling leading them to throw up everything passes out. For instance, the prisoner who was fled from the cave into the world of reality could be seeing the real objects as just an illusion and refers to the shadows he is used to seeing as more real while in the cave. The exposure of these people to the reality is likely to make them turn around and decide to return to the false reality since they refer to it as being more familiar and also less painful (Larisch 160). According to Plato the prisoner freed might have reacted weirdly since he must have questioned everything that he saw. People in such situations especially those who have spent most of their lives in the dark world are difficult to get convinced. They get to question everything since they are not used to it. They get to wonder about the lives they are used to and starts comparing it with the reality being displayed to them.

In some cases, human beings sense that there must be something wrong somewhere. People who know the truth work towards enabling the people living on the dark side of the world to realize their worth and seek light in their lifetime. They are highly encouraged to free their mind from any doubt and get into a society that is living the reality though it seems to be very difficult for them.

Conclusion

The Comparing Plato's the cave to the movie the matrix displays a lot of information concerning how the society has been fooled over a long period and therefore this leads people to believe the fake life. Several issues in the community are addressed exposing the societal roles to the lives of human beings. Both humans in the Matrix and cave have no idea of living a life that is of reality, and instead, they end being adequately controlled. When these people are freed, it becomes challenging for them to adapt to the situation and they even go back to their bondage despite the fact they have seen that there is something wrong with their lives.

Works Cited

Partridge, John. "Plato's Cave and The Matrix." Philosophers Explore the Matrix (2003).

Fick, Thomas H. "Toni Morrison's" Allegory of the Cave": Movies, Consumption, and Platonic Realism in" The Bluest Eye." The Journal of the Midwest Modern Language Association 22.1 (1989): 10-22.

Larisch, Sharon. "Old Women, Orphan Girls, and Allegories of the Cave." Comparative Literature 40.2 (1988): 150-171.