The cave

Jose Saramago's opening of the novel refers us to the myth of Plato's cave in his book "The Republic": Oh, how strange is the scene he describes, and how strange are the prisoners who are like us. The allegory of "Plato" about human nature depicts a cave underground with a long entrance through which light passes, and in the cave are people imprisoned since childhood. The novel "The Cave" was published by Al-Jamal Publications as part of distinguished translated novels with a meticulous translation by the late Saleh Almani. About the book "The Cave": Their legs and necks are chained, forcing them to stay still, only looking ahead and behind them, and at a higher position than theirs, there is a burning fire far away from them. Between the fire and the chained ones, there is an elevated platform, and along the platform, a low wall has been built like a barrier separating the audience from the chained and the magicians who perform their tricks. Saramago's allegory is that the modern human lives the same situation as the characters in Plato's chained prisoners; he spends his time confined in narrow rooms, contemplating images on television and computer screens, far from direct contact with nature or with other humans. That is why the family of "Alijor," around whom the events of the novel revolve, chooses to abandon everything and go on a journey with no known destination, without knowing how or where it will end. The man driving the small enclosed truck is named Sebriano Alghor, a potter by profession, aged forty-four, although his appearance initially suggests he is younger. The man sitting next to him is his son-in-law, named Mercial Gatcho, who has not yet reached puberty. However, the features of his face do not allow anyone to estimate that he is that age. Both of their names are attached, as we noticed, with strange nicknames, whose origins, meanings, and reasons they do not know. An excerpt from "The Cave": He reduces his existence to a set of technical interactions devoid of spirit, and in the face of this "commodification" of human existence, this modern life where the value of the human diminishes.