great works ii – 2850 jta 12:25-2:05: love letters from the world

Here is the image I created illustrating the resemblance as well as the difference between Felipe’s journey in Fuentes’ “Aura,” and the freed slave’s journey in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.  The y and x axes on the graphs are the same for both graphs.  The y-axis represents happiness, while the x-axis represents reality.  Falling on the positive side of the x-axis, for example, means that the character lives in reality, while being on the negative side means that the character lives out of reality.  The illustrations each show 4 points, each point representing a major moment of change in the character’s lives.

First, let’s analyze Felipe’s journey.

At point 1, Felipe lives unhappily, in the real world.  Point two represents Felipe finding the flyer for the job, while point three shows the shift of reality happening when Felipe first steps foot in Consuelo’s home.  Point four represents the end of the story, when he finds his happiness, but distances himself from reality.

Now, let’s analyze the freed slave’s journey.

At point 1, the freed slave is far from reality, and unhappy for he is imprisoned.  Point two represents his freedom, when he is first unchained from the ground of the cave, As he steps out of the cave, he crosses the y-axis on the illustration.  At point three, he tells his fellow prisoners of the reality outside the cave, and is killed at point four.