1) The problem of appearance and reality is perhaps the central theme of Plato’s Allegory of the Cave.
a) What do you believe is the central moral of the Allegory of the Cave as it relates to the distinction between appearance and reality? What is the problem here? Why is it a problem?
b) Drawing on (Part a) the meaning of the cave allegory, how does this issue manifest in Shakespeare’s Othello? How does this problem manifest in Othello and why is the main character so vulnerable to certain false appearances?
c) Provide examples of the problem of appearance and reality in Othello: Compare and contrast the symbolic meanings of the shadows on the cave wall with various appearances in the play that appear to him to be “ocular proof” of his wife’s infidelities.