An allegory is a tale that uses symbolic characters and objects. The Allegory of the Cave metaphorically presents a person's travels from ignorance to wisdom, and also reveals the philosopher's obligation to society. Socrates begins the story like this: Imagine prisoners living in a cave. Since childhood they have been chained facing the rear wall of the cave, unable to move their legs or to turn their heads. Now imagine that some distance behind them …showed first 75 words of 538 total…

…showed last 75 words of 538 total…over things of no eternal importance (over shadows of the imitations of reality). The educational journey, the road to knowledge, begins when shadows are recognized as shadows, and such recognition is painful. It always hurts to realize that one's past beliefs are mistaken. But without this pain knowledge can never be attained. Knowledge begins on the second level of the divided line, with the realization that one's former beliefs were merely reflections of actual things.