THE PLATO

PAPERS
by Peter Ackroyd

1/14
 Synopsis
• The book starts with some vague quotations with future
dates.These quotations create suspension before the story. In
A.D. 3705, London's greatest orator, Plato gives lectures about
the “ancient texts” from our time, which is called the Age of
Mouldwarp (AD 1500-2300).
• Plato talks about Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection
by Charles Darwin. He thinks that this book belongs to Charles
Dickens because only D letter is legible. He praises the writer for
his success in fiction.
• From the surviving texts we also learn about the ‘great comedian’
Sigmund Freud (pronounced as Fraud “to add piquancy to his
stage character”) and his work Jokes and their Relation to the
Unconscious.
2/14
 Synopsis
• Plato talks about Edgar Allan Poe but since the box on which his
name is inscribed only consists of E.A.Poe, Plato thinks that this
name is an abbreviation of “Eminent American Poet” and his work
Tales and Histories is seen as real incidents about American
people.
• Plato makes an “ancient” glossary and makes interpretations of
them. Such as:“dead end: a place where corpses were taken. One
such site has been located at Shadow-well or Shade-well in the
east of the old city. Another has been found at Mortlake.Those
who chose to inhabit these areas apparently suffered from a
‘death wish’”(5).

3/14
 Synopsis

• The times he is not lecturing we see the conversations he is

having with his soul.Plato asks his soul to tell him about people of
Mouldwarp. The soul threatens to leave him when Plato insists.
Plato questions his knowledge again and his soul leaves him.
• Plato goes to London through a cave and then describes the
appearances and actions of people.He talks about how the
concept of time limits and organizes the actions of people.He
says that people’s souls are struggling because of their owners’
behaviours.

4/14
 Synopsis
• Ornatus repeats the speech of Plato about a watch since Sparkler
has missed it. He says that time is a constructed concept. Then he
says that after his speech, Plato stated both his and their
civilization’s knowledge about history is misinterpreted.
• Plato is put on a trial for corrupting the youth and says it is not
wrong to be sceptical .Plato’s soul comes back. Plato tells judges
that if he will be sentenced for going against their beliefs the age
they live in is not different from the previous ones.
• Plato is found innocent but he is not pleased with the decision
because he thinks that he is not taken seriously by people and
sends himself into an exile. He leaves the city and never returns.

5/14
 What do you understand from the concept of
historiographic metafiction and what is its relation
with The Plato Papers?

• Hutcheon, who coined the term historiographic metafiction explains

that: "Historiographic metafiction, like both historical fiction and
narrative history, can not avoid dealing with the problem of the status
of their ‘facts’ and of the nature of evidence, their documents”
(Hutcheon 122).
• In a nutshell, it is questioning of the reliability of historical knowledge.
It deals with such questions: “How can we able to know the past?”
“Can there be an objective narrator?” “How can we be sure of what
we know about past?” etc…
• In this context, The Plato Papers employs historiographic metafiction
since what Plato says in his orations is full of errors and we come to
know that what he teaches as facts, are not facts but
misinterpretations. Ackroyd helps reader understand the present
through the perspective of future, not the past. For this reason he
selects a far distant time setting.
6/14
 Do the people in The Plato Papers have
confirmation bias? Give an example.

• Confirmation bias: " The tendency to notice and remember

evidence that is consistent with what we already believe and to
ignore evidence that is inconsistent with what we already
believe" (Price 19).
• They have. At first they do not object to what Plato teaches them
because they feel a sense superiority in comparison with their
ancestors. However, when Plato explains that his interpretations
are false, this new explanation does not confirm to their pre-
existing beliefs. Therefore people accuse Plato of corrupting the
youth, instead of thinking about the very possibility of Plato’s
explanations. First, citizens believe that he is going to be mad,
then think that he has been suffering from a dream or
hallucination. However, still, they do not even think about the
probability of what Plato said.
7/14
 What is the role of the Soul in The Plato
Papers?

• Soul is the only one whom Plato shares his worries about the
validity of his teachings. Plato asks many questions to Soul, yet,
Soul abstains from giving clear answers. He asks questions as
answers and helps Plato come to the realisation of reality all by
himself. In this respect we can say that he uses Socratic dialogue.
He is so important in creating an epiphany for Plato, as he is the
one who sows the seeds of doubt on his mind. Thanks to this
epiphany he is able to know that he knows nothing and this is
reality.

8/14
 What is pastiche and in which respects we can
call The Plato Papers as an example of
pastiche?
• Pastiche is “a piece of art, music, literature, etc. that
intentionally copies the style of someone else's work or is
intentionally in various styles, or the practice of making art
in either of these ways” (Cambridge).
• Its difference from parody is that pastiche imitates in a
respectful manner (In parody, also, there is imitation but for
the sake of mocking). The main source of The Plato Papers,
as its name suggests, Plato’s Republic. Ackroyd uses Plato as
main character, changes the trial of Socrates as trial of Plato
and benefits from the Socrates’ cave allegory. However, as
said before, these do not serve for mocking, but for
questioning, in a respectful manner.
9/14
 Quotation 1/4
• This dialogue leads Plato to start a
• “Soul: …What if you were meant to be journey into the cave and see the
wrong? What if that was the only way to Mouldwarp people’s world, under
maintain confidence in the reality of the theirs. It is understood that for so
present world? long Soul is accompanying Plato,
• … and by not giving clear answers to
his questions, Soul makes Plato
• Plato: So is that your purpose? To preserve find the reality all by himself. After
my ignorance? Plato discovers that cave, and
• Soul: I have no purpose. I am simply here. informs people about what he has
seen, they put him on a trial since
• Plato: I do not believe you. their beliefs do not fit with Plato's
• … experiences. As readers, we begin
• Soul: I will make an agreement with you. to think about what we already
You need to reach the limits of your know as real, and to question
everything after reading these
knowledge and your belief. Am I correct? lines.
• Plato: Of course.
• Soul: Then I will no longer protect you"
(54).

10/14
 Quotation 2/4
• "brainstorm: on certain occasions the • Here we see some examples from
amount of anger or anxiety in the brain Plato's glossary of ancient terms.
was believed to cause a violent change As we know, they are far from
in the weather. reality and this must be made
• free will: a term of some significance in intentionally to show us how we
the Age of Mouldwarp, connected with perceive the world depends upon
the belief that individual choice or ‘will’ language. As Patricia Waugh clearly
was of no value in a commercial market; states: "If our knowledge of this
it was therefore supplied free of charge. world is now seen to be mediated
• pastoral: the reverence for the past, through language, then literary
expressed by word of mouth. fiction (words constructed entirely
• rock music: the sound of old stones. of language) becomes a useful
This is a condition not previously model for learning about the
ascribed to Mouldwarp, but the phrase construction of 'reality' itself”
itself is evidence that some connection
was made between ancient objects and (Waugh 3). Therefore we can say
musical harmony" (7-9). that what Plato makes is just
constructing 'his reality' with
language which is made up of his
interpretations.

11/14
 Quotation 3/4
• "In many ways they were as • This is a part from Plato’s
barbarous and foolish as I defence in trial. Plato has
have described; but when I made many researches
looked into their eyes, or about the previous ages
whispered to their souls, I throughout his lifetime 'in
recognised that they were the book' (we already know
indeed our ancestors. That is it is fiction), yet the results
perhaps why I loved them. he has reached are just
They could not know that interpretations which are
they lived in a cave, hidden not totally real in our world.
from the light. But how can This is an example of
we be sure that, in turn, historiographic metafiction,
there is not a world of which implies the
brightness beyond our own?" probability of another
(70). knowledge which is far
beyond our pre-existing
understanding.
12/14
 Quotation 4/4
• "I know that other ages, like that • Plato’s scepticism is the main
of Mouldwarp, refused to theme here. He believes that
countenance or understand any without questioning, people
reality but their own. That is why can not learn, and they are
they perished. If we do not learn doomed to disappear sooner
to doubt, then perhaps our own or later (looks like survival of
age will die. Now you are the wisest?). In scientific
laughing at me again. Perhaps I terms, he wants to express the
have become a fool, to make you significance of 'falsibiality'.
wise" (88). The pre-existing beliefs, or so-
called facts may or may not be
true.
• Also, as another postmodern
feature, irony can be seen in
the last sentence. Plato sees
that while he is trying to make
people much closer to reality,
he becomes someone whom
everybody is laughing at.
13/14
 Works Cited
Ackroyd, Peter. The Plato Papers: A Prophesy. US: Anchor Books,
1999. Print.
Hutcheon, Linda. A Poetics of Postmodernism: History, Theory,
Fiction. London: Routledge, 1998. Google Book Search. Web.
29 Oct. 2016.
"Pastiche." Dictionary.cambridge.com. Cambridge Dictionary.
n.d. Web. 29 Oct. 2016.
Price, Paul C. Psychology Research Methods:Core Skills and
Concepts. Creative Commons Corporations. 28 Dec. 2012.
Web. 29 Oct. 2016.
Waugh, Patricia. Metafiction: The Theory and Practice of Self-
Conscious Fiction. London and New York: Routledge, 1984.
Google Book Search. Web. 27 Oct. 2016.
14/14