Plato's "Allegory of the Cave" examines how human understanding is limited by our experiences. Similarly, the novel "Enclave" by Ann Aguirre depicts a society living underground in darkness from birth to death. The protagonist Deuce is exiled above ground, where she discovers the truths taught by her elders were false and encounters a new world. Like the cave allegory, the novel warns about the dangers of a closed society and human adaptability even in dire circumstances.

2. In his written work, “The Allegory of the Cave”, Plato sought to explain the
human scope of understanding within the realm of forms. Through this
story, Plato wanted to explain that we accept our existence based on our
conceptual experience. We give names and meaning to what we know to be
true through familiarity and observation. We can only grasp concepts under
our available conditions.
Ann Aguirre’s “Enclave” is a dystopian novel that in some ways echoes
Plato’s story of the cave. In “Enclave”, we are able to visualize a society of
people who have spent their entire lives underground. From birth to death,
these people have experienced their entire lives in a dark and barren setting,
surrounded by smoke, shadows, and danger around every corner.
Plato’s Allegory: A Comparison

3. The Hero
The hero in the story is a young girl named Deuce. Deuce is given her name
in a ritual ceremony that marks her fifteenth year of age, which is
customary in her society. Due to such a high mortality rate, members of the
enclave are only given names if they survive their first fifteen years. Before
the age of fifteen, children are simply called “brats” and instead of names,
they are given a number for identification purposes. Those who live to their
twenties in the underground are considered the “elders” as it is unheard of
for anyone to live to be much older than that.
Deuce has grown up in an underground enclave amongst a small population
of people. There are other enclaves in the underground realm, but they
each tend to keep to themselves, unless there is a need for supply trade or
other necessary communication. The scarcity of food among other dangers
creates a difficult setting for large populations to live together in the
underground. The members of Deuce’s enclave must live under a strict set
of rules and codes of conduct in order to ensure survival.

4. The Hero (Continued)
Each enclave member is given a specific job or purpose when they reach their
fifteenth year. Some members are to become breeders, who’s soul purpose is to
maintain the population, and take care of the brats. Others are builders and laborers,
who are responsible for furnishing the enclave with all purposeful items, working the
kitchen, and completing general tasks. Deuce’s purpose is to be amongst the
hunters, and as a huntress, she is expected to be strong and fearless. Deuce has been
trained from a very young age for her position as a huntress, and she takes pride in
her calling. Where others are fearful of the grounds outside the enclave, Deuce is
trained to enjoy combat and has been taught to embrace death if it may come to her.
Hunters and huntresses are assigned partners. They are sent out to patrol outside
the enclave on daily routes. The purpose of the patrols are to serve as protection and
to find food, specifically meat to bring back for the enclave. Deuce is assigned a
partner named Fade, who is considered an outsider among the enclave members.

5. The Freaks
One of the dangers the people of the enclave must face is the presence of a mutated and
diseased race of humans who have evolved into mindless flesh-eating monsters. The
freaks, as they are called, dwell in the darkest corners of the underground. They prey on
any kind of flesh and will even eat their own dead.
Through a series of events, Deuce and her partner Fade discover the nearest neighboring
enclave has been overrun by freaks and that there are no survivors. Deuce and Fade
realize at this point that the freaks have begun to show some signs of intelligence and
reasoning, a trait the freaks had previously not been known to have. In desperation,
Deuce and Fade try to warn the elders of the impending danger that their enclave will
surely face, but their warnings are dismissed as ridiculous imaginings.

6. Deuce’s Dilemma
On top of new concerns over the activities of the freaks, Deuce begins to notice
hidden flaws and hints of corruption amongst the motives of the enclave’s leaders.
She doesn’t want to believe there could be corruption in the system of rules that have
been set out by her elders, but her concerns become confirmed after the death of a
fellow member who was also aware of the hidden corruption.
Determined to remain safely in her position as a huntress among her peers, and to
avoid further trouble, Deuce attempts to put her worries aside and continue following
the rules as set out by her elders. But, when one of her closest friends who had been a
fellow brat during Deuce’s younger years is accused of a serious offense, against her
better judgement, Deuce steps in and takes the blame for the offense she was sure
her friend couldn’t have committed. The consequence of such an offense is to be
immediately exiled to the “topside”. Not being willing to let Deuce be exiled alone,
Fade steps in and also confesses to the crime that they are both sure no one has
committed. The two are immediately sent away and are set on an unknown journey
to a world above ground that Deuce has never seen before.

7. A New World
In the remainder of the story, Deuce experiences her first view of the world
above ground. At first, she is very afraid, because she was always told by her
elders that the topside is very dangerous. She had been raised to believe the
topside had been completely destroyed many, many years ago. She’s been
told all that remains of the topside is a barren wasteland, the air and water
poisoned and deadly. Survival is sure to be impossible.
But, it’s not long before Deuce begins to see that what she had always been
taught about the topside was not the real truth, and with Fade’s help, she
sets out on a vast journey in search of other survivors. On her way, Deuce
faces the challenge of understanding this strange new world, a place in which
she is no longer a huntress, but simply a girl who must struggle to survive.
Likewise, she must also learn to understand the growing feelings she has
toward Fade, who is now her only companion in a big and dangerous world.

8. The Warning
Ann Aguirre’s “Enclave” seems to impress upon her readers the dangers of
what society might look like when broken down to a critical degree. To
imagine a world where humans are left to fend for themselves in a depleted
population, we are forced to acknowledge some striking aspects of our core
nature.
Like Plato’s “The Allegory of the Cave”, we are shown how adaptable we are
as humans in what might seem like the most unfit circumstances.
Deuce was raised in a society that never experienced sunlight, or the taste of
fresh rain. Food sources were limited and a ceaseless alertness to potential
danger was their normal nature. The people of the enclave had adapted to
this kind of living, and were not interested in experiencing anything other
than what they knew. The possibility that there was an entire world up
above them to explore was beyond their awareness, so the enclave dwellers
simply never strayed from home.

9. In our current United States super-power society, we like to believe ourselves to be
free thinkers. For the most part, we feel we are in control of our own destinies. We
choose our jobs, our homes, our lifestyles, our friends, our lovers, our food and our
clothes. We can read what we want to read, go where we want to go, and do what
we want to do. The possibilities are endless for us it seems.
But, are we really in control, or have we simply adapted to how our society is set up?
Is there any other way of life we could be living that is better than what we live in
now? How would we know what to choose if we have never been given the option?
If our world was destroyed or significantly altered, would we learn to embrace such a
change? Or, would we stumble and falter under our sudden loss of stability, while
consumed by our fear of the unknown?
Our Society

10. Note: All images in this presentation were acquired via flickr.com.