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Comparative analysis between Platos Allegory of the Cave and the Matrix trilogy by Andy and Lary Wachowski depict interesting conceptual similarities. Platos Allegory is a story that describes how the society and the government have absolute control over ordinary citizens.  The matrix trilogy depicts a situation in which technology has made human prisoners following the defeat of the humans by Machines, (Navon 2).

Platos depiction of the freed man is analogous to Thomas Anderson alias Neo who is liberated after accepting that his former life was that of deception. After living a false life since birth, he is shocked and unprepared for the truth that awaits him following liberation, (Bass 2). The freed man in Platos allegory ends up suffering from mental and physical challenges similar to Neo.

The situations of prisoners in both scenarios are similar for example prisoners view of reality is distorted. In the Matrix trilogy, humans who are captives of the machines live a life in the virtual world, existing in an apparent reality. They are only able to see what the machines want them to see, (Bass 1).  It is only with training that Neo gains the ability to exist within both the Matrix and the real world. Prisoners visions of reality are imaginary as they are manipulated by their machine masters who make them accept that their experiences are true.

In both scenarios, both the humans and the prisoners have only known one life since birth hence do not realize that they are prisoners, (Bass 3). This enables their captors the opportunity to manipulate them by being fed false realities. The shadows in which the prisoners live may be compared to the matrixs codes which deny human captives the ability to know the truth by controlling the larger matrix, (Navon 6). Additionally, the puppet handlers in Platos allegory are similar to the agents who go to greater lengths to ensure that humans remain in their virtual reality living throughout their lives in a poor copy of the real world.
Cypher a crew member who betrays colleagues, killing a number of them can be compared to other prisoners who have not seen liberation, (Bass 2). Similar to prisoners living in the virtual world of the Matrix, prisoners in Platos allegory are chained in such ways that their view of the world is extremely limited, only being able to see the wall in front of them. The city Zion, the last remaining human city in a devastated world is 4 kilometers below the earths surface, and exists supported by energy from the earths mantle. In Allegory of the Cave, prisoners live in a dark underground cave in which citizens or rather prisoners have been chained since birth to a wall.

In the world of the Matrix, humans are neurally connected to a central computer system, a simulation of the real world, (Navon 4). All human prisoners are connected to the Matrix, and operate based on computer created rules used by machines to directly simulate reality, (Bass 2). Comparatively, Plato explains that prisoners have their legs and necks in bonds hence are fixed and are only able to the wall in front of them and are unable to gain varying perspective of the world they live in, (Bass 1). Conclusively, comparing the two works illuminate great insights of works that existed centuries apart.