In a world where there is no sun; there is only darkness. Who would choose to live in a world of darkness? In "The Matrix" the reality of their world is that there is no sun, there is no light, and there is no life. There is only cold and calculating machines that cannot express emotion, nor appreciate beauty. This dystopian world however, is cleverly hidden from the masses. The world that most people see is the Matrix and not the barren waste land that is the earth. The Matrix is a virtual reality that machines have chained humans to in order to keep them pacified. It is a capitalist world set in the late 1990's. The machines have over thrown man as the dominant species and they use humans as battery's to power them in the real world. This reality sounds horrid, but in this world it is synonymous with freedom and I would gladly accept truth over a blissful lie.
   If ever faced with an ultimatum such as; leaving the false reality that is the matrix or staying in your comfort zone, what would it be? I would want to get out of the matrix and give those machines what’s coming to them. Most characters in the movie feel the same way, but there is one who does not; Cypher. In the text "The Allegory of the Cave", Socrates describes a world not to different from the Matrix. He speaks of a cave, which is occupied by a group of men chained to the walls -they are prisoners. There perception is based off exposure and having never seen the world outside of the cave; the group is ignorant to any other reality. When one of the prisoners leaves, he finds that he cannot return to his former life as he once knew it. He was enlightened, but in turn became an outcast.
   Cypher was at one point, a prisoner of the matrix. He was freed by Morpheus, but freed is an ironic term considering Cyphers opinion of his new reality. Cypher wanted to return to the matrix very badly. He could not be happy in the "real world" because it did not have what made him happy; a world of luxury and comfort. Cypher does not care if it is not really steak, so long as his brain thinks its steak. Fighting machines was not his idea of happiness. When the opportunity presented itself; Cypher killed some of his former friends in an attempt to return to the Matrix and bring himself into a blissfully ignorant, yet happy reality.
    This movie shows how there is no reality; only perception. The cave dweller may have been exposed to the real world, but he lost his sense of identity because he could not fit in with his former prison mates. His life and perception were forever changed. Cypher gained knowledge and was exposed to the hideous truth behind his reality, but was met with unhappiness and regret. If you learn anything from this paper or the matrix; it's that we cannot decide what is best for anyone else other then ourselves. It is up to us, the individual to decide what is more important; blissful ignorance or freedom bestowing truth.