Matrix Questions #1

1. Explain how Neo's experience in and out of the Matrix parallels the Allegory of the Cave. Be specific using examples from each text.

They are similar because when they come out of the narrow world they were in before, they feel pain because they have never experienced the things that they are experiencing now. There are lots of new things in the actual world of the matrix just like there are new things in the world outside of the cave.

2. Morpheus poses the question, "what is real? how do you define real?" We're going to read literature that poses that very question. What tools and indicator do we use to define and describe the world around us? Is reality a definite concept measurable and quantifiable, or is it a fluid concept defined by perceptions? Why?

I think that we use our own mind to define the world around us. I think that what is real is a fluid concept by what we think in our mind. If we cannot grasp a concept, we just think that something is unreal and that it is foolish to even think that it is a real thing. I think the reason for this is that we are scared of the things that we cannot grasp and so we just deny those things.


3. The Matrix is part of the science-fiction genre, and while we may not be controlled by technology in the literal sense as The Matrix describes, does our current society in 2008 parallel the the world of The Matrix in certain ways? Has technology actually the lessened the quality of life in some ways? Why or why not?

Technology has allowed for new types of criminals such as hackers and scam artists. This makes it dangerous for us to be on the internet and to share our information with other people in fear that it might get stolen. So I would say that it has lessened the quality of life in some ways, but it has mostly improved life because it has made jobs easier and information sharing easier.