Alfonso Zavala
English 2
Dr. Anita Johnson
09/08/2014
Imagine having been born blind; not able to observe the world in any form except for what we are able to touch, taste, smell, or hear. Living in this darkness, we would lack the knowledge to distinguish between the different shades of color; undoubtedly, they would be an alien concept. Describing a sunset would be nearly impossible; we would not be able to hear it, touch it, smell it, or taste it. Is this not a frightening thought? Indeed, it is. Now, imagine being given the gift of sight after spending many years in that world darkness. The first thing we would notice is how bright this brave new world is. Getting used to this newfound brightness would take a very long time but, little…show more content… We would finally know what a sunset looks like, what the color red is, the waves of the ocean crashing against the sand would no longer be just a thunderous sound. The objects of our past world, whether they are people or otherwise, of which we had preconceived notions would be significantly different. The world we used to know and the world we know now are not as they seem. We can observe a similar theme in both Neil Postman’s essay “The Word Weavers/The World Makers” and Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave.” Just like the example above, having an established view of the things around us, through a particular view, can limit our vision of the big picture. An analysis of both Postman’s and Plato’s writings will allow us to understand Postman and Plato’s views on the way human beings perceive the world, and to expand on “The…show more content… Plato believes that humans who rely too much on sensory perception are not viewing the world around them as they should; in other words, they are ignorant of everything around them. This is exemplified by his cave wherein the prisoners, who mostly relied on their senses, are lacking the overall big picture of the world. Plato, via Socrates, writes:
… Here they have been from their childhood, and have had their legs and necks so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show