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In the Allegory of the Cave Plato argues for enlightenment, but he also presents why choosing enlightenment can be dangerous and painful. The people who live in the cave believe that what they see is reality. Plato explains, that when a person is taken out of the cave that they will be "pained and irritated." Normally when some one is in pain they try and stop the pain in any way they no how whatever the cost is. The sun in this case is the source of the pain. When the man is being taken out of the cave he first sees the fire, when he looks at this fire “his eyes ache, so that he would try to escape and turn back to the things he could see distinctly” (Plato, 229) Now imagine the sun, it must be a million times brighter than a fire, the pain must have been unbearable. A normal person would run back into the cave trying to escape the pain. What sets this man apart from the normal man, why does he not run back into the cave, to the safety and security of his happy cave life? After the man has looked around and seen how muc