Sherry Simon's Book

From Bright Lights, Big City by Jay McInerney (1984).

"You ask her is she wants to stay for another drink, and she asks what you want to do. Eventually you ascend the stairs to the street. You think of Plato's pilgrims climbing out of the cave, from the shadow world of appearances toward things as they really are, and you wonder if it is possible to change in this life." (page 93)

So, another example.