A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PLATO’S “ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE” AND MEL GIBSON’S “PASSION OF CHRIST”

People always seek for truth. According to David Mascio’s “Mankins’s Quest”, “It is human nature to seek the truth.” Truth is said to be
something that does not change. In a world where the only the constant thing is change, the pursuit of reality is indeed a challenging journey
but the ability to reason given to us by God will help us discover what truth really is. Two great examples of stories that will show us how hard to
take responsibility for knowing the truth are Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and Mel Gibson’s “Passion of Christ” movie.

The Allegory of the Cave, or Plato's Cave, was presented by the Greek philosopher Plato in his work Republic (514a–520a) to compare
"the effect of education and the lack of it on our nature". It is written as a dialogue between Plato's brother Glaucon and his mentor Socrates,
narrated by the latter. The allegory is presented after the analogy of the sun (508b–509c) and the analogy of the divided line (509d–511e). All
three are characterized in relation to dialectic at the end of Books VII and VIII (531d–534e).

The Passion of the Christ (or simply The Passion), on the other hand, is a 2004 American biblical drama film produced, co-written and
directed by Mel Gibson and starring Jim Caviezel as Jesus of Nazareth, Maia Morgenstern as the Virgin Mary, and Monica Bellucci as Mary
Magdalene. It depicts the Passion of Jesus largely according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. It also draws on pious accounts
such as the Friday of Sorrows along with other devotional writings, such as the reputed Marian apparitions attributed to Blessed Anne
Catherine Emmerich The film primarily covers the final twelve hours before Jesus' death, consisting of the Passion, hence the title of the film. It
begins with the Agony in the Garden in the Garden of Olives (or Gethsemane), the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, the brutal Scourging at the Pillar,
the suffering of the Blessed Virgin Mary as prophesied by Simeon, the crucifixion and death of Christ, and ends with a brief depiction of His
Resurrection.
TITLE ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE PASSION OF CHRIST
AUTHOR Plato The Bible; Gospels of
Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John
PLOT
Exposition The story begins with a The movie is introduced with
description of the scene of a a biblical scene where Jesus
group of prisoners who are Christ is praying in the
chained to a wall since their Garden of Olives. He is the
childhood. Their limbs are Son of God and the Saviour
also immobilized by the who calls for the forgiveness
chains together with their of the sins of the humankind.
heads. Because of this, the
prisoners fixed on a wall and
can only see the shadows
projected in front of them by
the fire behind them as their
truth.
Rising One of the prisoners After the Last Supper, Judas
Action managed to escape from his Iscoriat betrayed Jesus. The
chains and see what is behind soldiers arrived and arrested
him. Although in pain, he Jesus, taking him back within
begin to see the real world as the walls of Jerusalem.
he finally see the light outside. Accusations of blasphemy
arose subsequently with the
trial of Pilate. The crowd
spared Barabas over Jesus
who was later on condemned
to his death.
Climax As he discover the reality Jesus Christ was sentenced
beyond the voices, echoes to death. He carried the cross
and shadows of the cave, the through the streets of
prisoner who escaped felt Jerusalem way up to
blessed and pitied his fellow Golgotha. The human cruelty
prisoners living in the cave. reflected as Jesus Christ was
He came back to tell them the nailed in the cross. He
reality he found outside, suffered and died after
wanting to bring them outside releasing his seven last
to see the reality together. words.
Falling With his eyes temporarily After Jesus Christ died on the
action blind due to his adjustment to cross, his body was buried in
sunlight, the other prisoners a new and unused tomb of a
were
2. Setting: not convinced
Theoretically and during
happened wealthy gentleman, Joseph of
early ages of man,
interpreted thatin dark and deepArimathaea,
the journey cave who is also a
with only fire behind the prisoners that
out inanimate
create of the cave wouldonharm
shadows disciple of Jesus.
cave walls.
4. Theme: them.
Distinction of Truth from sensory
Denouement
knowledge The other prisoners refused to On theBoth
thirdstories suggest
day after his
that what
believe him and even threaten burial, Jesus Christwe see is
resurrects
4. The truth is found by a former "world of not always the reality.
matter" believer. to kill him if he set them free, from death. He went to the
thus choosing to
isolate kingdom of heaven to reunite
themselves to the dark with theBoth
Almightyprotagonists
Father.
were killed for telling
ignorant world.
the truth to others in
ALLEGORY OF THE CAVE which the ideas arePASSION OF CHRIST MOVIE
(PLATO) different from what (MEL GIBSON)
they are believing.

1. Main Characters: Prisoners 1. Main Characters: Jesus Christ/God

2. Setting: Happened during the Christ era,,
between pre-historic and historic times, in
the Holy land (Jerusalem) based from the
Bible

3. Theme: Historical human truth vs

Religious or divine truth

4.The truth is already known to one (Christ)

since the very beginning of His life.