irst but last and to get there is a long and tortuous journey. Once the good is seen, they will see everything of a higher realm which is the true reality and be aware that goodness is the origin of everything that exists. The narrator states, ...whether true or false, my opinion is that in the world of knowledge the idea of good appears last of all, and is seen only with an effort; and, when seen, is also inferred to be the universal author of all things beautiful and right... (p. 1185). Instead of carefully making every decision of what is good, the very thought of goodness comes last. In Platos essay, to reach the goodness you have to find the enlightened path. Another difference between the two essays is the thought of the limitations of the unlighted and enlightened path and subjectivity. In The Allegory of the Cave, the prisoners have to struggle to understand and reach enlightenment. The escaped prisoner had to travel through the journey of the visible, image-making realm of the cave to the intelligible realm of reasoning and understanding. He was subject to transform between these two realms. At first he had to reason with what he saw outside the cave. It was hard for him in the beginning because, when he approaches the light his eyes will be dazzled and he will not be able to see anything at all of what are now called realities (p. 1184). It was difficult for him to go through the transition of dark to light or unlighted to the enlightened. But once he got used to the light, he could see the truth and understand that what he saw and what the other unlighted captives still see in the cave are actually an illusion. Although in Existentialism men are subjected to more than two sort of realms. Since an existentialist creates their own meaning of life there is no limit like there is in Platos essay. The meaning of life is then changed with every decision made because there is no God or enlightened path to goodness. T...
