Thinking Outside the Box

 "No Exit" by Jean Paul Sartre and "The Allegory of the Cave" are both pieces of writing that explain how the people are limited to knowledge about the world. Both of the writings portray their main idea in a different yet similar way. "No Exit" only shows the main idea by dialogue while "The Allegory of the Cave" shows it by actions and dialogue among the characters.

In Sartre's play, knowledge is limited in the way that people view hell as. Nobody really knows what hell is like and most people just stick to the idea that it is just like Dante's inferno with flames all over the place. In the play, hell is described completely different from what it is said to look like. Sartre describes hell as a room full of people who cannot get along whatsoever, can't sleep, lights are always on, and there are no exits. The play also demonstrates that people are limited to the outside world because of the people around them. For example, Garcin wants to leave once the door is opened but Inez then begins calling him a coward. At that moment, Garcin has been influenced by Inez even though it is ironic that he is a coward for stepping out. Garcin had the opportunity to learn about what was out there but he refused too.

On the other hand, "The Allegory of the Cave" by Plato deals with prisoners who are stuck in a cave, shadows, and shackles. The limitation of one knowledge is reflected by the shadows, the cave and the shackles. The prisoners in the cave only see shadows and they have seen them for so long that now they think that that is what reality looks like. The cave is supposed to be the prison where people have locked themselves in to keep themselves from knowing what's going on in the outside world. The shackles are what hold the people back from going out to see what is going on in the outside world. Just like the characters in "No Exit", the characters are limited to knowledge because of the influences amongst the people. For example, the man who was able to go out and see reality was killed because all of them were stuck to the thought that reality are just shadows because of the influences they are surrounded by.

Limitations to the outside world are only created because people don't bother to take a chance and explore what is out there. People once they know something but knowledge can be expanded, only decide to stick with what they already have knowledge of. Sartre's "No Exit" and Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" are to pieces of writing that clearly demonstrate how people limit his/hers own knowledge.