"Allegory of the Cave" Part 2

Read the excerpt from “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato then answer the questions.

Thoughts about the sun: its nature and functions

SOCRATES: And having done all that, by this time he would also be able to gather the following about the sun: (1) that it is that which grants both the seasons and the years; (2) it is that which governs whatever there is in the now visible region of sunlight; and (3) that it is also the cause of all those things that the people dwelling in the cave have before [their] eyes in some way or other.

GLAUCON: It is obvious that he would get to these things -- the sun and whatever stands in its light -- after he had gone out beyond those previous things, the merely reflections and shadows.

Thoughts about the cave

SOCRATES: And then what? If he again recalled his first dwelling, and the "knowing" that passes as the norm there, and the people with whom he once was chained, don't you think he would consider himself lucky because of the transformation that had happened and, by contrast, feel sorry for them?

GLAUCON: Very much so.

SOCRATES: And then what? If he again recalled his first dwelling, and the "knowing" that passes as the norm there, and the people with whom he once was chained, don't you think he would consider himself lucky because of the transformation that had happened and, by contrast, feel sorry for them?

GLAUCON: Very much so.

"The Allegory of the Cave" by Plato

Part A:

What does this excerpt reveal about Plato’s attitude towards perception and reality?

• It is sometimes worth the struggle to understand true perception and reality, but other times one might gain no advantage from understanding the world as it is.

• It is far better to have experienced reality and to understand the world as it is, having sharpened one’s own perceptions to develop truth.

• It causes guilt and pity for those who were left behind, so it is better to be ignorant of the outside world.

• It is neither better nor worse to experience reality, but to truly understand truth and perception one should just accept what is presented as reality.

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CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3

Part B:

What line from the excerpt best supports the answer to Part A?

• “. . . and, by contrast, feel sorry for them?“

• “ (1) that it is that which grants both the seasons and the years; . . .”

• "If he again recalled his first dwelling, and the 'knowing' that passes as the norm there, and the people with whom he was once chained, don't you think he would consider himself lucky?"

• “It is obvious that he would get to these things -- the sun and whatever stands in its light -- after he had gone out beyond those previous things, the merely reflections and shadows . . .”

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CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3

Which of the following best describes the purpose of Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave"?

• to inform the reader about the nature of knowledge and truth using symbols and metaphors

• to criticize ignorant people and validate intelligent people using imagery and tone for effect

• to entertain the reader by telling a fictional tale about a prisoner's escape from a cave

• to interest the reader in gaining new knowledge using a true story about learning

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CCSS.RI.7.6

CCSS.RI.8.6

CCSS.RI.8.9

CCSS.RL.7.6

CCSS.RL.8.6

Read the excerpt from “The Allegory of the Cave” by Plato then answer the questions.

“… and he who remembers this when he sees any one whose vision is perplexed and weak, will not be too ready to laugh; he will first ask whether that soul of man has come out of the brighter light, and is unable to see because unaccustomed to the dark, or having turned from darkness to the day is dazzled by excess of light. And he will count the one happy in his condition and state of being, and he will pity the other; or, if he have a mind to laugh at the soul which comes from below into the light, there will be more reason in this than in the laugh which greets him who returns from above out of the light into the den.”

In the context of this dialogue, which of the following choices best describes the symbolic significance of light and dark?

• light represents pain and dark represents comfort

• light represents laughter and dark represents sadness

• light represents happiness and dark represents sorrow

• light represents knowledge and dark represents ignorance

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CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3

Choose the best paraphrase of the following excerpt from the text:

“But then, if I am right, certain professors of education must be wrong when they say that they can put a knowledge into the soul which was not there before, like sight into blind eyes.”

• People aren’t naturally able to learn, so it is teacher’s job to create knowledge in their students.

• Since people who are trying to learn are like blind people, it is the job of teachers to change them so that they are able to see.

• Since everyone is able to learn, teachers don’t need to open their eyes, the just need to show them how to use their eyes.

• It’s impossible to try to teach people who are blind to knowledge, so teachers who try to do this are wrong.

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CCSS.RL.2.6

CCSS.RL.8.3