As children we are taught there is only one truth, and the truth is always the answer. Literary evidence from Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the play Othello, and the article “Don’t Let Stereotypes Warp Your Judgement” seems to prove it's not. In Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, Plato explained how people themselves has their own definition of truth. As the men are stuck in a cave, they only see the shadows on the wall as the truth.They developed themselves a false truth, but still a truth. Now look at Othello by William Shakespeare as Othello was tricked by Iago into believing lies Othello has created himself the false truth. He wasn’t able to unravel the truth about mankind, and the truth is stuck in the layers of lies in the stories of Othello, In Plato’s Cave the first thing that happened was having false truth. There were four prisoners trying to escape, showing their mindset filled with false truth,. This continues one day when one of the four broke free, and went outside to experience the light. When the freed man first went out he has said, “ Iit hurts” meaning the truth that he has created himself is disappearing and being recreated. For people being enlightened and know the truth can be shocking to them because they never would have expected it, …show more content…
The three prisoners saw the shadows on the wall. Plato writes, “And they see only their own shadows, or the shadows of one another which the fire throws on at the opposite wall of the cave” Since all they saw were the shadows, they weren't able to comprehend what was happening and were to stuck in their already given truths were actually distorted. As a result, they believed what the shadows cast were the truth. They were never given possibilities to have other thought than of what they were seeing every day. They didn't have a choice in trying to have their own way of truth or
In the Allegory of the Cave by Plato the people who can only see shadows create their own version of the truth based on what they know, “To them [the people stuck in the cave unable to move],’
When one of the person is allowed to leave the cave and see the real world they don’t believe it. Even more when they return to the cave to tell the others. The others won’t believe the person that left because all they know is the shadows. That’s why Plato says “[…] that the true analogy for this indwelling power in the soul and the instrument whereby each of us apprehends is that of an eye that could not be converted to the light from darkness except by turning the whole body.” (Plato 750).
In his Republic, we see a group chained and only able to see the shadows of things outside the cave – their truth is that everything is a shadow. This is everyone’s truth, this is right, until someone is released. Upon exiting the cave, they see the world around them and learn that the shadows on the wall are simple depictions of physical things beyond the cave. The sole adventurer outside the cave attempts to go back into the cave and tell everyone that what they know is wrong, that they are right because they have witnessed what is beyond the cave – the truth they are telling, their truth is the way and only way. Plato believed that “absolute, objective Truth” should “be housed in a particular privileged individual,” taken in the form of a philosopher-king (Salvatore 155).
Through all walks of life, one person’s jealousy, hatred, or stupidity affects innocent people’s lives and puts them in a position where they are most vulnerable. Vulnerability can be described as being susceptible to physical or mental attack or harm. In the play Othello, Shakespeare argues that Desdemona is the most susceptible to physical and mental attacks. Although other characters are potentially susceptible to attacks, Desdemona’s tendency to indirectly be caught in the crossfires of Iago, Othello, and Cassio’s actions makes her the character in Othello that is most vulnerable.
Since they could not move their heads, the shadows produced by the puppeteers are all the prisoners can perceive. They accept these images to be the truth, rather than just shadowy representations of what is actually in existence. In Plato’s theory, the cave represents people who believe that knowledge comes from what we see and hear in the world – empirical evidence. The raised wall and chains symbolize the limitations in our thinking. The cave shows that believers of empirical knowledge are trapped in a ‘cave’ of misunderstanding when Socrates proposes the question- what if one of the prisoners was to be freed and “compelled to turn his neck around and
Also, he wouldn’t be able to look at the shadows and discuss about them with the other prisoners like before because he was now a way more knowledgeable man than the rest. If he told the other prisoners what he had seen outside the cave and what they had been believing was mere a phantom, the uneducated prisoners definitely wouldn’t believe him and would rather stay in the cave continually. This passage is an analogy of what is like to be a philosopher trying to educate the public. The alienation of the returned prisoner is what all truth tellers might expect. A gory example is that in real life Socrates was sentenced to death by the Greek government for disrupting the social order.
In Othello you will find that everyone isn’t always how they may seem to be. They would lie just to become close to you and get what they want. In Othello Act 5, Scene 2 there are conflicts between Othello and Iago. “Emilia: Then you told a lie, a sick, wicked lie. I swear on my soul it was a lie.
However, if the prisoners had been educated like the freed prisoner, they would have known that there is much more truth to the world than just the shadows that Plato had
Othello falls for Iago’s lies because he sees Othello as a trustworthy man. The reason Othello’s trust in Iago is high, it is because of his honesty, giving him the name “Honest Iago,” and Othello has also known him for years. Throughout the whole story, Othello is lead to believe Iago’s lies and would trust him more than anyone else even his wife Desdemona. With Iago trying manipulate Othello, it works well causing him to do things leading to disbelieve the close people around him.
Plato says the prisoners that are chained up could not fathom the new truths; they are
Othello’s actions are motivated in the belief that Desdemona has been dishonest, however; Iago has blinded Othello with his dishonesty. Othello’s quest for honesty allows him to be manipulated by the fear of dishonesty and therefore he becomes oblivious to falsehood. Through Othello, Shakespeare raises the idea of honest reputation, and how quickly it can be ruined by dishonesty in the shape of
Iago embodies dishonesty using lies and deceit to entangle everyone in his trap. In Act 1, Roderigo questions Iago’s faithfulness to Othello. Iago answers by saying, “Whip me such honest knaves,” meaning he only pretends to be faithful and loyal to Othello, fooling him into trusting Iago (1.1.49). As the play progresses, people describe Iago as honest; however, Iago decieves everyone into believing his word. Othello frequently describes Iago as “A man he is of honesty and trust” (1.3.284) as well as “most honest” (2.3.6).
Othello Manipulation Essay Manipulation is a potent tool and can easily be misused to benefit the manipulator, depending on the purpose the manipulator aims. While harming the ones who are subject to its effects, the manipulators gain power or authority by deceiving people or tricking them into seeing a certain point of view. Both in Shakespeare 's Othello and an article called “Are You Being Manipulated by a Social Puppeteer?” by Joe Navarro, manipulation is directly mentioned or shown through characters. In “Are You Being Manipulated by a Social Puppeteer?”, Joe Navarro (2013) describes the three major personality types - the Narcissistic (self-centered), the Predator/Parasite, and the Emotionally
The play of Othello is a tragedy that exposes the characters in several ways, causing conflict and envy, eventually leading to a tragic end. To achieve this tragic end, Iago uses manipulation in order to change the views of, and bring out multiple personalities in the characters. One's perception of a situation is directly proportional to the demeanor of a person. When a person changes the way that they look at a situation, the entire way that they present themself; their attitude, behavior, and traits that they exude, change.
While Iago fills the characters’ minds with lies, the characters will act according to the lies thinking he is honest. Although his lies are sometimes subtle it affects the Othello is one of the victims who believed Iago. You can already tell that Othello has been fooled when he calls him “a man [of] honesty and trust”. The audience already knows that Iago is a liar and loathes Othello, so the audience can tell when Iago is being two-faced and that Othello truly believes in him. Iago’s impact on Othello makes him lose control of his