Sophie's World Response Essay

Sophie’s World Response Essay

There is a vast number of communities in the world today, and we are all a part of many different communities, all with their individual beliefs, cultures, values, and goals. In each community, there are individuals that share something in common that is important to them, such as their goals. I believe that every individual has an obligation to their community that they should always place before their obligations to themselves.

An individual has a responsibility to their community, and they should put their community’s needs above theirs, even if it means sacrificing their life, safety, or comfort. In the Allegory of the Cave, there are prisoners inside of an underground cave that have been chained so that they can see only what is in front of them, and on the opposite wall, there is a fire that projects shadows of objects to the prisoners. The prisoners have been seeing shadows their whole life, and they know only of the shadows. One day, one of the prisoners are released and let out into the “real world”. At first, he is surprised and confused about what has just been presented to him, but as he adapts to his new surroundings, he begins to realize the beauty of the truth. However, the prisoners of the cave have still not been enlightened, and are currently unaware of the truth outside. Therefore, it is the obligation of the enlightened man to come back to the prisoners and to inform them of the truth, even if it means that the man will die. As said by Plato, “it is the task of the enlightened not only to ascend to learning and to see the good, but to be willing to descend again to those prisoners and to share their troubles and their honors, whether they are worth having or not. And this they must do, even with the prospect of death.” In this story, an individual did what every individual should always do; he acted upon the bigger picture of life rather than to satisfy his own needs, even if it meant being humiliated or being...