The Allegory Of The Cave Vs A Rose For Emily

1041 Words5 Pages
At first glance, one would probably assume that “The Allegory of the Cave” and “A Rose for Emily” do not have much in common. Although these literary works have seemingly different plots about prisoners in a cave or a troubled woman who can’t escape the reality of her own home, they can be tied together. After closely examining the prisoners from Plato’s allegory and Emily, the main character from Faulkner’s story, both stories share common elements regarding the theme of isolation, characters fitting the time and place of the setting, and narration styles. The theme of isolation can be seen throughout “The Allegory of the Cave” and “A Rose for Emily” and is a main characteristic when describing the main character of each story. Isolation, as defined by Macmillan Dictionary, is “the state of being separated from other people, or a situation in which you do not have the support of other people” (www.macmillandictionary.com). In Plato’s allegory, the prisoners are isolated in the cave and refuse to leave and face reality. They are convinced that the shadows and their world within the cave is what’s real and are afraid of what else is out there in the world. One can certainly relate to this feeling of isolation and Plato was trying to show us how a human being can feel alone and prefer to stay in the unknown rather than going out and facing what is really happening. In Faulkner’s story, Emily is completely isolated within her home. The house plays a big role because the town rarely sees her because she refuses to leave her home. She feels safe within those walls and believes her world inside that home was reality. Emily had a sense of security in her home and one can also relate to this feeling. Faulkner was trying to depict a person who was completely out of touch with reality and did not want to face it. The men in the cave share a similar feeling and would rather
Open Document