Examples Of Violence In The Allegory Of The Cave

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Violence is the Answer Violence has been a centerpiece in society throughout all of history, and is also seen in many literature works throughout time as well. In Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex, for example, violence was a common theme throughout the story with the acts of the murder of King Laius, Oedipus blinding himself and Jocasta committing suicide. Augustine’s Confessions, shows violence between his parents, or rather from his father to his mother, an act that is still seen in societies across the globe. Plato also uses violence in his work, “The Allegory of the Cave,” in a more hypothetical sense than other works tend to, but is still a theme nonetheless. While violence has been used in many different works from different cultures throughout…show more content…
Augustine mentions that his abusive father, Patricius, used violence towards his wife Monica, to assert dominance. This kind of violence is typically referred to today as “domestic violence,” and the practice still exists because many believe that their partners will change, much like Monica did with her husband, and stay in the relationship longer than the healthy amount of time. This practice is so popular today that there are countless outreach programs for women in the United States who are suffering from an abusive relationship, and there is even a legal defense that women now use when they too finally respond with a burst of violence, many refer to it as “battered women syndrome.” While the idea of domestic violence is looked down upon in the United States, there are places that exist where it is a societal norm. Women across the globe that live in these societies are not always given the chance to defend themselves because they have little, if any, power much like the Roman society that Augustine lived in. This concept of little power brings in the concept of control. Control is needed to keep order in a society, whether it is a large city like Carthage, or in a single-family home. For most families, control is obtained through trust and honesty, however, there are times when violence is needed to get a point across. For example, disciplining children, or in some societies,…show more content…
The fact that Oedipus uses these two practices of violence connects with the idea that Oedipus had to become blind to really see the truth. Oedipus learned of the curse that was placed upon him and fled his home of Corinth as to avoid said curse, however, this curse actually blinded him because he did not think to ask his parents what he should do and fled the town instead. This act made him blind because he did not realize that the King and Queen of Corinth were not his biological parents, and therefore, murdered a seemingly innocent man while traveling on the same path. This random burst of violence caused all of the problems that lead to his decision to punish himself at the end of the play. Punishment is a great use of violence as it can send out a harsh message without involving too many people, like when Oedipus blinded himself rather than killing all of the people in the Thebes that could have risen up against him after learning of his horrible acts. The actual act of Oedipus blinding himself was done off stage, the fact that Sophocles uses the chorus to describe the violent act in such detail, rather than portraying the act through masks that the actors would wear, shows how big of a role violence played in Greek society. While acts like patricide and blinding oneself are not as common as they were in ancient times, to say that
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