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Questions: Allegory of the Cave

The Crucible is an allegory for McCarthyism in the 1950s. You may have also read other allegories such as Animal Farm. This
text is one of the original allegories. Your job is to figure out what this story of the cave represents about humanity. Good luck!

Identify the following folks and terms:
1) Allegory-Work that functions on
a symbolic level
2) Plato-Son of wealthy aristocrat.
Followed in the foot steps of
Socrates
3) Socrates- Tried and killed for
his philosophical ideas. Thought
of moral implications on society
4) Socratic Method/Dialogue-
Inquiry with dialogue as a source of
discussion to get to the topic at hand






Quick Reading Questions:
Answer the following questions. Your answers can be bullet pointed or written like notes
(does not need to be written in complete sentences). The purpose of these questions is to
ensure that you understand the meaning of the writing.

1) Knowing the meaning of the Socratic Method, why do a good portion of Socrates statements end
in question marks?
-Rhetoric used to make the reader ponder the statements to get the messages across
2) What is the name of the main speaker in this tale according to the introductory notes? Is it Plato?
-Socrates talking with Glacon. Soratic method
3) Describe OR Draw how the people in the cave are situated in Plato's parable. Make sure to
include the: cave, humans in the cave, chains, fire, the shadows casted on the caves wall, and
humans outside the cave. Then explain why they can't move their legs or necks to take a look
around? What is the only thing they are capable of seeing? What is their only source of light?
Humans-Chained
Light-Fire
View Cave wall with shadows
Hearing-Echos
Chains- Confine of society
Shadows- Fallacies of the world
People- True representation of society
Light- Shows hostility towards the truth
4) What do these prisoners trapped in the cavern believe is real?
The shadows and echoes that are reflected back against the cave walls
5) How do the prisoners react when they first see sunlight?
Repulsed by the light because it hurts their eyes
6) Why will the prisoner need time to adjust to the world outside the cave?
Adjusting to the truth and not the shadows
7) According to Plato, how would the people in the cave react to an escapee who tried to explain the
truth to them, or who came down and broke their chains to set them free?
Refuse to leave, doubting his declarative
8) What does the allegory suggest about the process of enlightenment or education? With this in
mind, what is the importance of intellectual freedom?
People will shy away from the truth because it is not what they believe
Analysis Questions:
Select ONE of the questions below and answer it in paragraph form. Your answer
should be at minimum six sentences long, utilizing at least two quotes to prove your
position. Do not forget the FULL STRUCTURE METHOD: topic sentence, quote,
analysis, quote, analysis, wrap-up.

9) Consider how the cave relates to The Crucible. How do Platos designated shackles of the minds
explain the events of the Salem witch trial? Your answer should use a quote from each of the
texts. Therefore, make sure to use the FULL STRUCTURE METHOD.
10) Consider the song The Cave from todays class. Select a line from the song and explain whether
Mumford and Sons cave is similar or different to Platos. Your answer should use a quote from
each of the texts.

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