Thinking Outside the Box

Plato and Satre share a strong similarity between their idea of what the human limitations are and how to overcome them.  The greatest example comes from the fact that in order to conquer one's own fears, it is the responsibility of that certain person to find who they truly are.  For Plato this self enlightenment came in the form of being released from the shadows of misconception that we as human beings all too often fall into.  He believed that in order to find the true morality of one's own being, one must escape from the beliefs and values the world delegates and rather pursue a destiny in which the "true being" is found.  On the other hand, Satre affirmed that the cultivation of life itself can only be discovered by liberating oneself from the evils that others seemingly force upon each other.  Understanding that one must sift through the many people that he or she encounters until finding the one that only conveys positive desires is the final step into finding who we really are.  Although both portray very dynamic views on life, Plato and Satre ultimately share an unbreakable bond.

Both authors make great use of hell as an extended metaphor.  Plato's immediate setting is without a doubt a cave, however by further analyzing the setting one can find that it is without a doubt hell on Earth.  Satre instead directly makes use of the setting of hell as an extended metaphor.  Without the reader even perceiving a different setting Satre makes use of numerous literary elements to describe his wicked setting.  In conclusion, both authors create a sense of how we as humans are often faced with the challenges of an overwhelming life.