The Myth of Love - An Athology that relates most to me

Teachers Instructions were to pick a essay out of the book 75 Readings: An Athology that relates most to me. I picked "The myth of the cave" By Plato bridgewater.edu/~jjosefso/The%20Myth%20of%20the%2 0Cave.htm. She want's me to write a descriptive essay on how it relates to me and include a short + long quote. this is what I have so far:

The Myth of Love

I feel the story that I identify most with especially is "The Myth of The Cave", by Plato. The way Plato describes reality is so true:

And now, I said, let me show in a figure how far our nature is enlightened or unenlightened:--Behold! human beings living in an underground den, which has a mouth open towards the light and reaching all along the den; here they have been from their childhood, and have their legs and necks chained so that they cannot move, and can only see before them, being prevented by the chains from turning round their heads. Above and behind them a fire is blazing at a distance, and between the fire and the prisoners there is a raised way; and you will see, if you look, a low wall built along the way, like the screen which marionette players have in front of them, over which they show the puppets.( )

This relates to me in that I feel we are all prisoners chained up and unable to see reality, only illusions.

Five years ago, I decided that there had to be something more worth living for. I searched until I found this thing called love; I was immediately fooled by its power. I was too chained up and could only see the illusion of the beauty of love on television and in fake relationships.

I was happy just watching, my shadows, my illusions just pass by. Happy and lovely, couples hold hands as if they were truly in love I too was one of them, except my love was not illusionary, I was not fake; his love was. Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only one who can see this, if I am the only one who can love.

As Plato explains, "And if he is compelled to look straight at the light, will he not have a pain in his eyes which will make him turn away to take refuge in the objects of vision which he can see, and which he will conceive to be in reality clearer than the things which are now being shown to him?" ( ). I, too, felt sharp pains when I found the truth that everything I had believed in so deeply was just a false illusion, a shadow on the wall. When I found this out I did not want to believe in what I saw I wanted to go back into my cave and believe what I had believed in before, but did I really want to live my life in a lie?

I began to look closely at the world around me when my world fell apart. I began to see all the lies the "lovely" couple told each other. Slowly everything started to make sense. Would it be better if I left the cave and never looked back? Probably but I was weakened by the bright light, the pain was too much to handle so I returned to my cave and continued to live a lie. Maybe later on I'll free myself again and see the light as good, but for now I can only see bad.

This paper is due the 16th of April and I really need to get an A, please help me make it better, any help is greatly appreciated.

Thank you,
Aslo if you know where I can read "The truth about lying" by Judith Viorst please let me know, I've tried searching for it but haven't found it

Greetings!

I'd be happy to help you with some editing. Here are some suggestions:

I feel the story that I identify most with especially is "The Myth of The Cave", by Plato. - That's a bit redundant; say either "most with" or "especiialy," but not both. Also, put commas (and periods) inside quotation marks, unless you're using British English.

I was happy just watching [no comma] my shadows, my illusions, [add comma] just pass by.
...couples hold hands as if they were truly in love. [add period] I too was one of them

You do a good job of relating the Plato quotes to yourself. I did, however, find the references to the "lovely couples" a little confusing. Who are they and why do you say they tell each other lies? You say the "couples hold hands as if they were truly in love"--what makes you think they're not? I understand how your experiences relate to the Plato references, but it isn't clear why the couples are in there.

You also might want to expand a little more on what Plato was talking about, the underlying meaning. You're off to a good start, though!

Thanks,

Sarah, EssayForum.com

I'm not sure where to find the Viorst work, but I'd recommend checking your school library's database. If you already have, without luck, try asking a librarian. Good luck!