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Benina Maldonado
Professor Mya Alapin
English 220
2 March 2015

The Republic Through My Eyes

The world is not always what we perceive it to be. Plato did a great job of illustrating this
in his allegory of the cave. There are three main points Plato uses to convey his message
throughout his writing of The Republic. The first one is his illusion of the cave and what
happens inside, next is the prisoners escape from the cave and finally the prisoners return to the
cave with enthusiasm to share his new found knowledge of the outside world, only to be let
down when his fellow prisoners do not even recognize him.
The illusion of the cave starts off with prisoners as adults in a lit cave. Images dance
upon the walls as they are being lit from the fire afar. The prisoners have no idea what they are,
just the illusions they see as they make their way dancing across the wall. This happens every
day with different images passing by. The visions are of animals, people who carry objects and
passer byers. To the prisoners this is all they know. As I examine this analogy, I cannot help but
to compare it to education. It reminds me of students contained in a classroom all day, working
diligently with limited freedom to look around, interact with their peers and the requirement to
learn in a conditioned environment. In this conditioned environment students are educated

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through different subjects. Their subjects are compared to the objects that dance across the walls
and from afar are being illuminated by their teachers. As the students start to learn what is good
for them, they begin to see that this stage in the cave represents belief: a belief that in all reality
there is a world beyond this cave (SparkNotes Editors). Plato was a big believer in education
and all educators should believe in their students and give them the tools they need to be
successful citizens in a multicultural society. An educators job should include lighting up their
students world with images, books, and numbers so that they can assist their students in goal
setting and achieving.
The next scene in The Republic by Plato, he paints a picture of one of the prisoners
being released from the dark cave. The prisoner has no idea of what is going on or going to
happen. He is dragged outside the cave for the first time in his entire life without any explanation
of what is to come or what is to happen. Upon his release, the prisoner is blinded by the light of
the sun and only when he can finally see does he become excited about his release. As I read
this, I was reminded of the parable of the blind man who sees for the first time. Just as the blind
man and prisoner were allowed to see, teachers, take the blindness from their students away and
allow them to see. Teachers strip away the blindness of their students and guide them to read,
add, subtract, multiply, divide and so forth. This gives the students the tools that they need to
thrive in todays society. It also lets them explore and see things from their own perspective and
point of view, and shows them how to be better students and not settle for mediocre. The prisoner
explored his options and did not settle for what was set out before him. The Internet
Encyclopedia of Philosophy writes the ones receiving this type of education need to exhibit the
natural abilities suited to a philosopher (Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy). The prisoner
sought out to see the buildings, the people, and other natural things, just as students do after they

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receive an education. Students should be taught to seek out the good in all things no matter how
hard life can be. They should also be taught to never give up even if the struggle is harder than
the fight. Educators should be there to support them in any way possible. Educators use many
strategies to reach students and assess what works and what does not. These strategies include
differentiated instruction, portfolios, data folders, graphic organizers, and plus deltas. The goal
of education is to drag every man as far out of the cave as possible. Education should not aim at
putting knowledge into the soul, but at turning the soul toward right desires (SparkNotes
Editors).
The final scene depicted in the cave analogy is when the prisoner returns to the cave. In
the video, The Cave: An Adaptation of Plato's Allegory in Clay (bullheadent), the prisoner is
very ecstatic to tell his former inmates of what he saw. He starts to describe the buildings,
people, and other objects that he saw in the outside world. The prisoner describes the light as he
sees it radiating from the sun. He describes how he can feel for the first time the warm sun light
on his face, the over whelming smell of the trees and the aroma of the food cooking. He
exemplifies the sight of the animals and their unkindly scent of manure. This is all new to him
and he has accepted this new adventure for what it is just as students do in the ever changing
world of education. There are so many changes our students are facing on a daily basis in the
education system. They are being taught to seek higher education, use higher order thinking, and
skills needed to be ready for college. They are being taught at a young age to think outside the
box, how to seek information from all sources possible and to also seek out the value in what
they are being taught. To illustrate this, Benjamin Jowett is his translation of The Republic
stated, now, when all these studies reach the point of inter-communion and connection with one
another, and come to be considered in their mutual affinities, then, I think, but not till then, will

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the pursuit of them have a value for our objects; otherwise there is no profit in them (Jowett,
The Republic). As educators build their students up to be the best they can be, they work together
with their students to achieve goals they set in the classroom. They provide these tools to their
students so that they can utilize them throughout any other situation they may face in life. To
allow their students an opportunity to see the benefits of their hard work, they return to the
classroom every day and allow their students to talk about the things they learned and to share
about their glories and failures. In return, the students are included in the community and school
family because just like the prisoner, that is all they have come to know. The prisoner returned to
the cave to share his findings, even though he was not recognized and understood by his former
inmates. Although his voice echoed through the cave, the classical conditioning that his former
inmates were accustomed to did not allow them to distinguish that it was their friend. This is
relevant to the classroom in the idea that educators are role models for students. Students learn
by their educators example which is much like the caves environment. Students gain only what
the classroom setting allows. It is important for educators to include background knowledge and
scaffolding when planning instruction time. This ensures that students outcomes are much
different than the prisoners and they are not faced with the unknown.
In conclusion, Platos The Republic can be compared to education and can be used to
send a message to educators concerning their role of importance in the classroom. Educators are
role models teaching strategies, techniques, and other skills to be successful scholars much like
Plato was. When students first start out in the classroom, they are in a cave much like the
prisoners and cannot yet see the light of what they are being taught. Educators have to drag them
out of their caves, teach them to tackle their insecurities, and help them see the light of
education. They need be the light for them, shining radiant beams on the dark areas they struggle

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with. They are educating them to see other perspectives, think outside the box and become
productive citizens in a multicultural society. Educators need to focus on teaching their students
that the world is not always what they perceive it to be.

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Reflection

1. As I embarked on this journey of reading Platos The Republic I was not too sure on
what to expect. I found it very difficult to understand, so I had to look for a version that I
could understand. As I began to write, this passage reminded me of teaching. So I chose
to write more towards an education point of view.
2. I did my research on the internet looking at many websites and picking the ones I thought
would help me write a good paper. I found it helpful to use an advanced search on
google, which allowed me to use specific words to search for.
3. In my writing, I was not very confident, because I did not know what to write about in the
beginning. As time went on I finally got a feel of what I wanted to convey to the people
reading my essay. I really liked getting feedback from my peers and their suggestions
were incredible. I do not feel comfortable when it comes to other people reading and
analyzing my work, but now I know why. My paper came out a lot clearer that before,
which is part of the writing process.
4. My final copy of my point of view on Platos The Republic is very strong thanks to the
writing process we have done over the last few weeks. The feedback our peers and
instructors have given us make it easier to turn in a work of art. I feel very confident now
and feel as though my PowerPoint presentation expresses my opinion of what I think
Plato is saying.

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Works Cited

SparkNotes Editors. SparkNote on The Republic. SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2002.

Web. 26 Feb. 2015.
http://www.sparknotes.com/philosophy/republic/section7.rhtml

Plato: The Republic," by Antonis Coumoundouros, The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,

ISSN 2161-0002, http://www.iep.utm.edu/.

"Education and Plato's Parable of the Cave." Education and Plato's Parable of the Cave. Journal
of Education, n.d. Web. Jan.-Feb. 2015. http://www.plosin.com/work/PlatoCave.html

"The Internet Classics Archive | The Republic by Plato." The Internet Classics Archive | The
Republic by Plato. Trans. Benjamin Jowett. N.p., n.d. Web. Jan.-Feb. 2015.
http://classics.mit.edu/Plato/republic.8.vii.html