What's The Difference Between Here-America And Vietnam?

Superior Essays
“What’s the difference between here—America—and Vietnam?” I received this question every time someone found out that I was born and raised in Vietnam. Before I came to America, I lived in a Communist country that controlled almost every aspect of your life. I had to go to a state approved school—which my family had to pay for—that propagated a lot of media that shows America as an evil country. I grew up in an environment where your future occupation is usually the occupation of your father or family. For almost 30 years, the borders of Vietnam were closed to all western countries and any news from the outside world was heavily censored. Once I came over to America, I was placed in an environment that vastly different then what I was raised …show more content…
At the beginning he described the perspective of the prisoners and how we, in a way, are those prisoners. He also describes the environment of the prisoners; he stated that the prisoners are chained inside a cave. Here the “cave” symbolizes how we all live in a world that we consider reality. Ever since we are able to comprehend the world around us, we hold some perspective of that reality that may be false. Once the prisoner was freed and was allowed to look at the light behind him, Socrates asked Glauco “will he not be perplexed?” (Plato, pg. 202). This question explained the process of the prisoner trying to comprehend what he saw was a reality that was much different than what he had known his entire life. But now that he was able to see the objects that the shadow represents, his knowledge and perspective has changed. Plato then went on and explained that the prisoner has now been taken out of the cave and placed into the world. Up to this point, the prisoner has only known 2 things for certain, the shadows and the objects that casted those shadows. But once the prisoner’s eyes are accustomed to the light, the prisoner now has a better understanding of where he came from. Now that the prisoner has been taken out of the cave, the prisoner was able to see that there is a world outside of what he had known all his life. Here, Socrates told Glauco that the prisoner now has to go down and must inform the other prisoners of the world that lies beyond the shadows; for the prisoner has now acquired a new perspective of the world. As Socrates ask Glauco to place himself in the shoes of the prisoner, Glauco was able to come to a new understanding of what we must do to obtain a truer reality. As we break out of our caves, we must not neglect those that are still in those caves, but we must help them

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    In Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” demonstrates a different approach on illustrating the way society tends to view reality. In this section Plato identifies ideas of change that could have been implemented, but instead were rejected. Excerpts in Plato’s writing show how the public associates fear with change and also the unknown. Plato’s allegory explains his own theories more by connecting shadows of a cave to a boundary that humans have put up to ignore reality. With these notions Plato still advocates that human individuals can set themselves free from these caves.…

    • 599 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Allegory of the Cave depicts a dialogue between Socrates and Glaucon. Socrates starts by illustrating in this metaphor how our nature is enlightened or unenlightened. During their dialogue, Socrates presents to Glaucon a group of people that had been chained down from their necks and legs in a cave since their childhood. Socrates goes on explaining how these chains prevent the group of people from turning their heads. There is a burning fire behind them and they can only see shadows before them.…

    • 160 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    In Plato's text, the prisoners in the cave are living a different perspective of reality. Once a prisoner is freed, the knowledge of another world changes his reality. The individual experiences a different perspective of reality that he is not accustom to. The prisoner is then given this perspective and goes back to his previous world in the cave; however, now he is weaker and considered more of a laughing stock in that society. By simply coming back to his previous world, the prisoner…

    • 1211 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Decent Essays

    US and Vietnam are two completely different country on the surface geography and culture. However, the world becomes globalized, the countries exposed to many cultures and new experiences. There is a change that is due to everyone in the country together through different cultures but they remain separate traditions of their country. There are some similarities and differences between the US and Vietnam such as: education, food and social…

    • 70 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the "Allegory of the Cave," Plato is telling the story of his teacher Socrates in discussion with Glaucon a fellow philosopher. They are discussing a hypothetical situation. There is a group of prisoners who are held captive in the cave chained by the neck and feet. They cannot turn their head or move their bodies. All they can see are images in front of them and the glowing in the back of them from the side.…

    • 1041 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    When the prisoner is released from the cave, he will see the outside world as it truly is, with the sun and colors. This is new to him because he has only seen grey shadows his whole life, and never any natural light. Socrates claims that ¨when he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled, and he will not be able to see anything at all of what are now called realities.¨ and also that he would need to ¨Grow accustomed to the sight of the upper world. And first he will see the shadows best, next the reflections of men and other objects in the water, and then the objects themselves; then he will gaze upon the moon and the spangled heaven; and he will see the sky and stars by night better than the sun or the light of the sun by day?¨ (Plato 49-50 & 52-56). Here, the prisoner will feel sharp pains in his eyes because all he has ever seen before were the dull shadows cast from the fire behind him, but now he can experience the full power of the sun and all of its glory.…

    • 1475 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Moving To America

    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages

    It made history of Vietnam became sorrowful one; as a result, it was push factor my family fled to America. Luckily, I was sponsored by my father to America one year ago. But I understand that my father made so may sacrifices for my future. He hopes I can become a successful man like him. In my point of view, if I were in my family position, I would have escaped to find freedom and begin a new life.…

    • 1175 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    The prisoner sees the trees, animals, sky, and sun in all of their actuality. He then realizes that the sun has created the trees and animals he sees outside and his ability to see these objects by the sun creating light. Plato describes this realization, “At that point he would work out that it was the sun which caused the seasons and the years, which governed everything in the visible realm and which was in one way or another responsible for everything they used to see,” (516.b-c). Once the prisoner has reached this conclusion, it is able to be assumed that he has reached the most sought after knowledge of forms and of the form of the good found in the realm of the intelligible. After dissecting the cave analogy,…

    • 2154 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The prisoners knew what they knew, which was the shadows and sounds that were produced in the cave along with whatever they named these shapes. It isn't until the prisoner is freed and sees the sun that they discover "true reality". Because of this enlightenment, the prisoner realizes that everything that they had known was all untrue. This then leads said prisoner wanting to share this enlightenment to those who still remain in the cave since they felt truly bad for them and their lack of knowledge on what truly exists apart from the cave. This theory of forms was Plato's way of giving meaning to life by presenting us the idea that there exists a deeper and greater reality, which in the allegory's case would be the outside of the cave.…

    • 630 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Allegory

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The allegory implied that there is a difference between appearance and reality. I believe that this is true because what the prisoners saw in the cave was different than what they saw when the prisoner escaped and had the chance to go outside. For example, in the story, the fire did not look like one till the prisoner went outside and realized it was a fire. In the cave the prisoners were shackled to a wall and could not move or turn their head so what was in the cave was all they had known.…

    • 500 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    As Socrates begins to questions Glaucon, he asks him to imagine me who are “ ” ( ). Plato believes that all people are inherently these men, stuck in the cave, looking at shadows. Socrates proposes that after returning from outside the cave, it is an enlightened individuals duty to make sure they do not “linger there […] and refuse to go down among those bondsmen and share [his] labors and honors, whether they are of less or greater importance” (752). Plato writes of a much more positive view of man, who he believes to be able to go past society’s lies and assist his fellow citizens in learning of the truth. Plato eludes to the fact that life is only complete once the truth is known, therefore making the point of life achieving release from the cave’s confinement.…

    • 737 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In Plato’s Allegory of the Caves, a group of prisoners have been confined in a cavern since birth, with no knowledge of the outside world. They are chained, facing a wall, unable to turn their heads, while a fire behind them gives off a faint light. The prisoners see shadows projected on the wall from objects or people passing in front of the fire behind them and give names to the shadows, believing they’re perceiving actual entities. One day a prisoner is freed and is brought outside for the first time. At first, everything is weird and unusual.…

    • 558 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    They’re chained to the ground with guards watching them, facing a wall with what they consider as a fire behind them that shows various shadows from the outside of the cave. These people have been stuck inside of the cave all of their lives until one of the prisoners is set free. Plato begins to explain this thought saying “See what will naturally follow if the prisoners are released and disabused of their error” ( Page. 1…

    • 752 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The prisoners are led to believe that they are living in “the real world” since they had been in the cave since childhood. In the allegory of the cave Plato writes about forms. The world is made up of reflections of more perfect and ideal forms. The prisoners believed that the “material” cave is all there is to the world. Then one of the prisoner is forcefully set free.…

    • 224 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    He says that many people will be stuck at this lowest level of thinking because lack of perspective, or what we would commonly think of as an education. He is also slightly suggesting that the average person will always be shackled to their emotions and remain in ignorance. Plato says this is also the lowest form of human existence because you are stuck in ignorance and do not have any real understanding of the forms. Even if one of the prisoners was able to deduct for example, a tree as one of the shadows they don't have true knowledge about the matter because they don't know how it relates to the forms. An example Plato makes of this is that if a wicked man were to come back into the cave he would be able to manipulate the shadows and give the prisoners a false reality.…

    • 1892 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Superior Essays