Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave" and "The Matrix" are nearly identical in plot. The only differences are the presentation and time. Both stories share the exact same message, that there is more to everything than what meets your eye. They both use symbols to represent what is going on. "The Matrix" is set in post-apocalyptic times on Earth and "The Allegory of the Cave" is set in a cave during pre-modern times, but they both convey the same message.
             These stories rely heavily on symbols and symbolic meaning. In "The Allegory of the Cave" there are a group of people who have spent their entire lives chained to the inside of a cave. In the cave they are shown nothing but shadows cast on a wall by a fire and various objects. They know nothing about what is making the shapes on the wall or what is casting the shadows. They are never shown the fire or the objects. They just come to conclusions about what these things mean with their minds.
             Much like in "The Allegory" "The Matrix" uses a lot more sensational effects to say the same thing. In "The Matrix" people are held in individual "storage tanks" where machines have integrated their illusions into the minds of these people. They have written programs to create a "wall to cast shadows on". In other words the people are being shown things to keep their minds occupied.
             In both stories it is key for the ones in control to keep the peoples minds occupied. Once ones mind has escaped the confines of itself and its oppressor in is unstoppable. The ones who once were in control have lost all of their power. When you step out of the cave you begin to see where you have been tricked.
             Neo the "break-away" character in "The Matrix" is someone who has seen the light and will no longer allow himself to be oppressed. As with the man in "The Allegory" who ...