The Cave’s False Reality
When we hear about a cave, the first thing we think about is pure darkness. A place that separate us from reality, apart from the outside world. In Plato’s allegory the cave plays a very important role; The cave is the center of what Plato wants to interpret. The interpretation of humanity allowing themselves to create a false reality. Douglas shows that interpretation with his experience of slavery. The cave that Plato describes is significant to our understanding. The metaphor of the cave to Plato and Douglas is a false reality that the farther away from the truth the longer you stay in ignorance.
The shadows, as mention in Plato, give off this illusion of a false reality; in Douglass’ text the “shadows” are the …show more content…
The allegory bluntly states that the prisoners are chained down and not able to see what is around them. Plato presented the following, “[…] [prisoners’] legs and neck chained so that they cannot move and can see only what before them” (1). This portrays that the prisoners are constricted to only what in front of them. They see only what they are allowed to see. Again to the prisoners this all they know. They don’t question the reason why they can’t see what’s around them. These “chains” holds them to believe only what they can distinguish and, lead them to believe a false reality. Douglass makes this concept much more simple by saying how there was an answer to the question as to why blacks where made slaves. He goes on explaining, “[…] God, up in the sky” made everybody; and that he made white people to be masters and mistresses, and black people to be slave. (Douglass 7). This indicates that the “chains” holding the slaves down was the belief that God made it this way. God was the “chain” to the slaves. To them if God created the blacks to be slaves so be it. The slaves were not going to question nor dissect the reason behind it. Hence, the slaves only sought what was before them. As mentioned, in order to keep the idea of a false reality there has to be a foundation to make that false reality perceive as reality. What’s sustainable about this approach is once …show more content…
This makes more sense when looking at Douglass’ point about the slaveholder keeping slaves in a false reality. Not letting them have intellectual freedom to defend for themselves. Douglas continue on by explaining, “Slaveholders never encourage […] communication with the slaves […] Ignorance is a high virtue in a human chattel, and as the master studies to keep the slaves ignorant” (5). This means that if slaveholder keeps the slaves ignorant they create a false reality to the slaves. This idea of keeping slaves ignorance teaches them that they are only suitable for hard work and not capable to reach a high capacity of intelligence. Thus, able to keep the business of slavery without a threat. The significance of this is with the ability to have the freedom to think and express there is no creation of a false reality because people will have the potential to question things. On this note, once broken from the “chains of the false reality the “shadows” will disappear and reality will be clear. Plato describes the process of that transition into facing reality. He writes, “… before was an illusion, but that now, when [ the prisoner] is approaching nearer to being and his eye is turned more real existence, he has a clearer vision” (Plato 2). This statement that Plato is writing is the moment when intellectual freedom is conquered. On the other
When we hear about a cave, the first thing we think about is pure darkness. A place that separate us from reality, apart from the outside world. In Plato’s allegory the cave plays a very important role; The cave is the center of what Plato wants to interpret. The interpretation of humanity allowing themselves to create a false reality. Douglas shows that interpretation with his experience of slavery. The cave that Plato describes is significant to our understanding. The metaphor of the cave to Plato and Douglas is a false reality that the farther away from the truth the longer you stay in ignorance.
The shadows, as mention in Plato, give off this illusion of a false reality; in Douglass’ text the “shadows” are the …show more content…
The allegory bluntly states that the prisoners are chained down and not able to see what is around them. Plato presented the following, “[…] [prisoners’] legs and neck chained so that they cannot move and can see only what before them” (1). This portrays that the prisoners are constricted to only what in front of them. They see only what they are allowed to see. Again to the prisoners this all they know. They don’t question the reason why they can’t see what’s around them. These “chains” holds them to believe only what they can distinguish and, lead them to believe a false reality. Douglass makes this concept much more simple by saying how there was an answer to the question as to why blacks where made slaves. He goes on explaining, “[…] God, up in the sky” made everybody; and that he made white people to be masters and mistresses, and black people to be slave. (Douglass 7). This indicates that the “chains” holding the slaves down was the belief that God made it this way. God was the “chain” to the slaves. To them if God created the blacks to be slaves so be it. The slaves were not going to question nor dissect the reason behind it. Hence, the slaves only sought what was before them. As mentioned, in order to keep the idea of a false reality there has to be a foundation to make that false reality perceive as reality. What’s sustainable about this approach is once …show more content…
This makes more sense when looking at Douglass’ point about the slaveholder keeping slaves in a false reality. Not letting them have intellectual freedom to defend for themselves. Douglas continue on by explaining, “Slaveholders never encourage […] communication with the slaves […] Ignorance is a high virtue in a human chattel, and as the master studies to keep the slaves ignorant” (5). This means that if slaveholder keeps the slaves ignorant they create a false reality to the slaves. This idea of keeping slaves ignorance teaches them that they are only suitable for hard work and not capable to reach a high capacity of intelligence. Thus, able to keep the business of slavery without a threat. The significance of this is with the ability to have the freedom to think and express there is no creation of a false reality because people will have the potential to question things. On this note, once broken from the “chains of the false reality the “shadows” will disappear and reality will be clear. Plato describes the process of that transition into facing reality. He writes, “… before was an illusion, but that now, when [ the prisoner] is approaching nearer to being and his eye is turned more real existence, he has a clearer vision” (Plato 2). This statement that Plato is writing is the moment when intellectual freedom is conquered. On the other