The Republic comprises ideas and hypothetical arguments that are quite abstract and removed from the commonplace thought of everyday people. Plato, and indeed his mentor Socrates, are very intelligent men in that their intellect and imagination can create and sustain unorthodox or uncommon ideas that everyday people do not bother to think about or do not have the mental faculties or intellect to do so. Plato recognizes this fact and uses dialogue between the character of Socrates and "everyday" people such as Glaucon to explain such strange ideas to the reader of "The Republic".

A very useful technique used to portray these intangible ideas is through various analogies relating commonplace objects and situations to complicated and in depth trains of thought. Some of Plato's analogies include that of the sun and its light relating to the form of good and truth, the line analogy relating to our varying degrees of understanding and comprehension and the cave analogy.

This 'cave analogy' is helpful in illustrati

This cave analogy describes a released prisoner returning to his chained and restrained friends with the experience of the true, outside world. This free prisoner cannot explain true concepts of goodness and justice to the prisoners as it in no way relates to their fundamentals. This knowledge of goodness is very abstract and cannot be explained using the vocabulary of a shadow reality. Also being told that one's whole existence and values are totally false would not only be too painful a blow for someone in the chained prisoner's place to take, but it would seem a completely ludicrous statement. After all, the whole population they know exists believes their "shadow existence", how could one person be right and everyone else be wrong? A person in modern-day terms who has a completely different set of beliefs and conception of reality is general defined as "insane". It is insanity the original prisoners see in the freed prisoner. This, we understand, is Plato's explanation of why he can not explain justice to his friends, or indeed any person who has not traveled the metaphorical journey to the outside of the cave.

Some common words found in the essay are:
Republic Socrates, Book VII, Glaucon Plato, cave analogy, Socrates Glaucon, United America, socrates glaucon, Plato Republic, goodness justice, everyday people, Allan Bloom, ESSAY Topic, released prisoner, glaucon plato, Republic Footnotes, socrates glaucon plato, journey towards enlightenment, translated allan, true goodness, cave analogy helpful, allan bloom, republic translated, republic translated allan, plato republic translated,
Approximate Word count = 1777
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)