Are we trapped in Plato’s Cave?

In Plato’s famous allegory about the Cave, reality is not directly perceived. We are tied down, deep in a cave, in front of a fire, unable to see ourselves or anyone else, only their shadows; and as we see the shadows cast by cut-out forms dance and interact, we believe the shadows to be ourselves, and the walls of the cave to be the world. If a prisoner from the depths of the dark cave were to suddenly be released to the outside, they would be blinded by the light of the real world.

A Platonic Cave setting is one in which the cave is shown to be artificial. It doesn't have to be a cave; the person could be trapped in a dark dreamland, a drugged trance, or shrouded in an illusory alternate reality. Stories in this setting frequently have to do with peeling back layers of darkness, trying to get closer to reality.

Plato’s Allegory of the Cave makes the excellent point that we often imprison ourselves in ignorance and reject truth and higher learning because it’s unfamiliar. We can spend entire lifetimes kidding ourselves and becoming complacent with cheap imitations instead of finding glorious truth and light.