“Great minds have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds” (Albert Einstein). Faced with the inexplicable, people's visceral reactions often oscillate between fear and awe, nevertheless establishing the subject in terms of "otherness". Steven Millhauser's collection of short fiction, The Knife Thrower and Other Stories, explores this realm of otherness in terms of familiar human emotions. The title character of “Kaspar Hauser Speaks” illustrates the struggle to tame great minds (and normalize otherness) by mediocre minds in a plot that recalls a distorted reflection of the allegory of Socrates' Cave. Various descriptions of stages in Kaspar's life echo scenes from the cave dweller, although they are often tainted with societal implication. From existence in the cave, to painful exploration in transition, to the inspired desire to learn in the world of light, Kaspar is a reflection of the allegorical caveman in many ways. While Socrates illustrates the challenge of the first cave dweller's progression toward the light and the opposition encountered upon his return to the cave, Millhauser highlights the plight of the last cave dweller entering the light and, in turn, the conflict with the rest of the “enlightened”. Company. Beyond reflecting the allegory of the cave, Millhauser's purpose in writing this fictional account is to ask: what is lost when one is removed from the cave and "civilized"? Is it worth it? Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay “Is it possible for you...by the deepest, most sincere, and most sustained effort of the imagination, to understand what it means to have the sensations of a worm? (Millhauser 204) Socrates creates a world in which all of humanity is chained to the ground, constantly staring at the wall and the shadows playing before them. This is what they are created for and what they serve, the reality established by their creator. Millhauser depicts a similar world in which Kaspar is also "chained to the ground" and lives "in the dark", but unlike the cave dwellers he lives "without seeing light, without face, no voice" and "without even being able to to feel the loss of such things” (203, 205). Unlike the cave dwellers, Kaspar is guarded by a man he has never met but who comes to his prison at night to bring him a meager subsistence. Essentially, he is maintained in his dark state, a “creature babbling unintelligibly,” by human hands as part of a scientific experiment (201). Although this brutal and animal treatment appears cruel to the observer, Kaspar at the time is “pleased, or if not pleased, then not displeased” (205). Although solitary confinement seems brutal in hindsight, Kaspar is unaware of his self-image and is therefore blind to the negative aspects of comparing himself to his peers. In the darkness he knows only peace and neutrality, desiring nothing more because he, worm-like in his existence, knows nothing else. “I knew nothing but terror and pain” (203). The transition from darkness to light is not without difficulties and challenges. Once Kaspar is forced out of the cave, he is exposed to rigorous and sometimes painful socialization/education. Like the cave dwellers newly exposed to the sun and then blinded by the sun, Kaspar discovers that "for several days, [he] could not stand the light... symbol of knowledge" because his "eyeswere burning” to the point that “when he looked away, everything was white” (205, 207). Acclimatization and education to this new life proves difficult and confusing. Whether it was encountering a candle (the stick that “bite” him), observing a landscape (“ugly! a word he had recently been taught”), or a black hen ( to which "terror seized" him and he "tried to flee"), Kaspar embodies the difficulties of exposure to reality (203, 204). Kaspar and the cave's inhabitants are reluctant to see shapes in the realm of enlightenment after knowing only shadows They long for the simplicity and familiarity of cave life, without immediately recognizing the benefits of knowledge and experience. Fear and violence are the dominant feelings during Kaspar's first introduction into society. Still not recognizing reality enough to make many connections, Kaspar maintains a neutral self-image although at this point unable to recognize one. sense of self, Kaspar is all too familiar with the torture and hardships of escaping the cave. “I loved looking up at the brightness” (203). After much effort (and pupil contraction), Kaspar and the cave dweller acclimatize to the light and therefore learn. Objects become real, rather than mere shadows or puzzles. Kaspar, like the caveman, discovers a sense of awe and fascination with the world, wanting to know more and feeling “surges of curiosity” (206). No longer a source of confusion, light and its reflection become entities to be contemplated and appreciated. Discovering that “shiny, shiny objects pleased him” speaks to Kaspar’s admiration and quest for knowledge (204). Still fresh from the black cave, he finds himself staring with “childlike wonder as [he] looks up at the night sky full of stars” (209). His desire to know and explore is insatiable. Unlike life inside the cave and transitioning into the light, being outside the cave presents a visibly positive (albeit brief) circumstance. Learning is enjoyable, but when does acquiring knowledge prevent boredom or, worse, cynicism? At the moment, life outside the cave is characterized by emotions and feelings of liberation, fear, innocence and curiosity. Even though he still lacks a defined image of himself, Kaspar gradually recognizes his own limitations. Regardless, he embraces truth and light: "Sometimes I fall into a pit or a pit of sadness, a deep pit, a long fall...there is no bottom, I rise eyes and see faces looking at me, incredibly tall faces. " (202). While Socrates' allegory addresses the passage from the cave to the light in grave detail, describing darkness, confusion, and enlightenment, it neglects to explain the emotions surrounding the reflection of the the cave dweller about his past The contentment and desire to learn can only last so long until one realizes the futility of this quest for knowledge. Little by little, connections begin to form. to form awareness is no longer desirable because it is accompanied by blasé Kaspar gradually begins to realize that even his progress towards civilization and his distance from himself is not enough to cover his. "delicate lurch", controlling his facial contortions, giving him "the fluidity he desires" or the speed his "unnatural slowness" (202). 'is only a "jump that leaves the bruising of [his] heels in [his] own." (209).