“The Allegory of the Cave”
Study Guide
I. Background:
1. What is an allegory?
2. What famous teacher/philosopher did Plato follow?
3. How did that teacher die?
4. What famous philosopher was a student of Plato?
II. Copy and label the diagram of the cave in the space below:
III. Reading Guide:
1. Who is the author of this text? What is the name of the main speaker?
2. What is the structural form of the text?
3. Why can’t the prisoners in the cave move their legs or necks to look around?
What is the only thing they are capable of seeing? What is their only source of
light?
4. What do the prisoners trapped in the cave believe is real?
5. Is the prisoner chosen liberated voluntarily? How do you know? Use textual
evidence to support your answer.
6. How does the released prisoner react when he is liberated and first sees the light?
Why does he react like this? Why will he need time to adjust to the world?
7. What is the experience of release like for the prisoner? Can he immediately
interpret the new images and realities? Why or why not?
8. Why does the prisoner have to return to the cave? Since we have established that
the remaining prisoners will not welcome his return, why should we send this
liberated prisoner back? What is the purpose?
9. State in your own words what this allegory is about. What is Plato really talking
about? What does this story about the journey from darkness to light symbolize?
(3-5 sentences)
IV. Making Connections:
10. Consider the literature you have read throughout high school. Are there any texts
that can be related to “The Allegory of the Cave?” Explain.
11. Socrates wrote, “Wisest is he who know that he does not know.” Explain how
this quotation relates to Plato and his allegory.