Plato’s Cave Allegory in City of Ember
The secrets of the real world lie buried underground, hidden in a secret box; a box that only Lena has access to. In this movie, City of Ember, Lena and Dune uncover a round map that may lead them out of their underground life. It is during their trek to find the truth that I discover many similarities between the plot and Plato’s metaphysical views. There are many instances where the theory of forms is present. In addition to a metaphysical comparison, this film showcases elements of Plato’s cave allegory quite definitively. I will be writing about these instances throughout the paper. My perception of ‘the allegory of the cave’ is that Plato’s theory of forms is attempting to answer three questions: …show more content…
Plato’s metaphysical viewpoint is that society is blind and ignorant to Forms, such as nature and beauty and numbers. During the course of the movie, there are several people who are blind to the ‘truth.’ For example, Dune’s boss, Sadge the Pipe worker, has been brainwashed while working the pipes so long that he knows nothing else. He constantly says, “I 'm busy enough minding my own business,” when Dune tries to help him become aware of the seriousness of the blackouts that are happening. Without power, the City of Ember would 've crumbled. Additionally, Claree, the gardener, constantly reverted her focus back to work anytime she was approached by Lena about the truth. As Lena and Dune ventured toward escaping, Claree struggled with accepting the truth they presented to her. It is safe to say that even Luper the sneaky, store room worker struggled to accept the sad truth about the Mayor being evil. Nonetheless, eventually Claree accepted the truth, and helped harbor them while they were being hunted by the Mayor’s Guard. Lena was constantly scoffed at for her desire to be free by the woman she lived with after her grandmother’s death and Claree the gardener. By the end of Lena and Dune’s truth seeking, they had achieved their goal. It was through their increasing knowledge of forms, and grouping forms with identical forms, that they accessed the boats to
The secrets of the real world lie buried underground, hidden in a secret box; a box that only Lena has access to. In this movie, City of Ember, Lena and Dune uncover a round map that may lead them out of their underground life. It is during their trek to find the truth that I discover many similarities between the plot and Plato’s metaphysical views. There are many instances where the theory of forms is present. In addition to a metaphysical comparison, this film showcases elements of Plato’s cave allegory quite definitively. I will be writing about these instances throughout the paper. My perception of ‘the allegory of the cave’ is that Plato’s theory of forms is attempting to answer three questions: …show more content…
Plato’s metaphysical viewpoint is that society is blind and ignorant to Forms, such as nature and beauty and numbers. During the course of the movie, there are several people who are blind to the ‘truth.’ For example, Dune’s boss, Sadge the Pipe worker, has been brainwashed while working the pipes so long that he knows nothing else. He constantly says, “I 'm busy enough minding my own business,” when Dune tries to help him become aware of the seriousness of the blackouts that are happening. Without power, the City of Ember would 've crumbled. Additionally, Claree, the gardener, constantly reverted her focus back to work anytime she was approached by Lena about the truth. As Lena and Dune ventured toward escaping, Claree struggled with accepting the truth they presented to her. It is safe to say that even Luper the sneaky, store room worker struggled to accept the sad truth about the Mayor being evil. Nonetheless, eventually Claree accepted the truth, and helped harbor them while they were being hunted by the Mayor’s Guard. Lena was constantly scoffed at for her desire to be free by the woman she lived with after her grandmother’s death and Claree the gardener. By the end of Lena and Dune’s truth seeking, they had achieved their goal. It was through their increasing knowledge of forms, and grouping forms with identical forms, that they accessed the boats to