We can consider The Schooldays a philosophical novel in different ways. In the first chapters the world that Simón, Inés and Davíd share seems to be an illusion, a limbo governed by goodwill that reminds me, at least to a certain point, to the setting in Plato's Republic. In The Childhood Simón did not really know how to deal with many of the characters because they were passionless and this limbo became a purgatory for him. In both novels there are many conversations between Simón and David that remind me of Socratic disputes. Davíd keeps asking Simón questions to understand the world. Simón keeps answering in a rational way, but the child never seems to learn from it and becomes restless. On the other hand, Davíd keeps saying Davíd is not his real name (of course there are other reasons for this) but this reminds me of Plato's Theory of Ideas. In fact, in The Childhood Simón told Davíd "We are like Ideas. Ideas never die". Do they live in a world of Ideas beyond our material world?
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