Thinking Outside the Box

In both Plato’s “Allegory of the Cave” and Sartre’s “No Exit” people are limited on what they know due to isolation. In “Allegory of the Cave”, the people are chained down, the chains a symbol of their narrow minds. The prisoners are prisoners because they want to be, when one is freed and sees the world around them they become enlightened. In “No Exit”, the people are also isolated and rely on others for their knowledge. They could be enlightened by those around them but never really know what was out in the world and experience things for them selves. Both Plato and Sartre make the point that to gain knowledge you can not rely on your surroundings like the prisoners, or on the people nearest you like in “No Exit”, you must broaden your horizons and want to gain knowledge outside ones comfort zone.
Plato focuses on the ignorance of people and to the prisoners, to a certain point the phrase ignorance is bliss applies to them. They are imprisoned but that is what they know and given the chance, they prefer to "bear those ills [they] have then fly to others [they] know not of." In "No Exit" the characters are there by their own will. They were not forced there like the prisoners. Sartre's "No Exit" contains characters who despise each other, but their distaste for each other is a reflection of their dislike for specific aspects of themselves reflected in this play. They have characteristics they are not proud of but that are made apparent in the play.
Comparing Plato's and Sartre's works, there are many differences and similarities. Both would most likely agree that to really learn you must not stay stationary; you must go beyond your comfort zone to "the undiscovered country".