Treating The Ophelia Syndrome And The Allegory Of The Cave

The written texts, “Diagnosing and Treating the Ophelia Syndrome” and “The Allegory of the Cave,” express the abilities to gain knowledge and to think as an individual. “Diagnosing and Treating the Ophelia Syndrome” describes a psychological disorder that disables a person to create their own opinions. Being able to control your own ideas and opinions is important to form one’s own identity. “The Allegory of the Cave” uses symbolism to describe a theory about two different types of knowledge. In this text, Plato tells a story about a prisoner who escapes from being chained up inside a cave, discovers the outside world, and then returns to attempt to teach the other prisoners about the truth. Finding the truth in things helps me to change my …show more content…
I have experienced authority figures telling me what is wrong and what is right. Sometimes what I believe in is not what everyone else believes in. This is something that affects my life greatly. Recently, I discovered that choosing my own actions allows me to feel accomplished with my life. I have feared of being myself because I imagined that everyone else around judges me according to what I do or say. To overcome the fear of being who I really am is important for my personal belief that I am the only person who can make the decisions that influence my life. “The Allegory of the Cave” and “Ophelia” both make arguments about learning by questioning authority. In “The Allegory of the cave,” the escaped prisoner learns from the real world and comes back to teach the other prisoners. However, the other prisoners do not believe what they are told. This upsets me because they are too stubborn to realize that the knowledge that they have is not real. This knowledge is only their own opinions that they have created. In “Ophelia,” Plummer explains that Ophelia from Hamlet was never able to think for herself because of the men around her. Even though Ophelia wants to have her own opinions, she is afraid to think for herself because she has always been told what to do or think by her …show more content…
This makes me feel like a robot who is being controlled by someone else. I can relate to the Ophelia Syndrome in the idea of wanting to be able to break free from the cage that does not allow me to be a human being. In “Diagnosing and Treating the Ophelia Syndrome,” Plummer describes how this disease impacts the real world. A student at a university can be may be rendered by the Ophelia Syndrome. A student may have a teacher that tells the student exactly what to study or write in a class. This makes it difficult for the student to develop his own ideas by not challenging the student to use his own mind. “The Allegory of the Cave” describes how in real life people can be blinded by their senses and are unable to see reality. The prisoners in the cave symbolize people who believe that knowledge comes from what is heard or seen. The escaped prisoner symbolizes a person who searches for philosophical