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Directions: Is the world steadily improving? Generally the same? Or getting worse? You were asked to
take a position in class way back in August. Now, after a year of World History, use the chart below to
gather information in preparing for our Socratic. For each historical event and piece of literature answer,
in bullet point form, how the events connect to one another and to the world today.
Part I- Historical Events
Event
Enlightenment
Bulleted Points for Argument
1) How does the individual fit into
the “scheme of things” in the
modern world?
2) What is the relationship between
humanity and religion in the modern
world?
3) What are human rights?
4) Based on your view of human
nature-what is the ideal form of
government?
French Revolution
1) What does it take to have a
democracy?
2) What has the world learned from
this revolution?
3) How important are these lessons
for developing democracy in
countries today?
4) What rights should all people
have?
5) Is the French experience unique or
can other countries adopt
democratic forms of government
successfully?
Napoleon/Congress of Vienna
1) What is divine right?
2) How does Napoleon change
perspectives on this traditional
ascendency into power?
3) What impediments to change still
exist for democracy and how are
they overcome?
4) What does Napoleon’s usurpation
of power tell you about peoples’
willingness to accept a dictator after
a period of instability?
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Industrialization/Imperialism
1) How did technological change and
inventions impact peoples’ lives?
2) What is progress in society?
3) What defines civilization?
4) What motivates colonial
expansion?
5) What are the impacts of
colonialism on indigenous peoples?
6) As Americans, do we continue to
view others as less worthy than we
are due to our technological
superiority?
WWI
1) Is war really a choice or must it be
carried out?
2) What is the effect of nationalism
locally and globally?
3) Is it human nature to be violent?
4) When and why does propaganda
have a strong influence over
individuals?
5) What creates animosity between
people?
6) How has the shift to militarism
changed society and is it reversible?
Rise of Communism- Russian
and Chinese Revolutions
1) What is the reality of communism
vs. the idea of communism?
2) Why do so many revolutions fail?
3) Why would communism be so
appealing to a nation?
4) Why does communism lead to
dictatorships?
5) Where did Stalin and Mao go
wrong?
WWII/Holocaust
1) Who is most responsible for the
war and the Holocaust?
2) What was the effect of
nationalism in Germany, Italy, and
Japan?
3) Why do individuals like Stalin,
Churchill, and FDR seek power?
4) Why are charismatic leaders so
appealing?
5) Does “total power” always lead to
total corruption?
6) What is the effect of total war on
soldiers and society?
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Cold War
1) What is the price of becoming a
world power?
2) What happens to society and the
people within it with the
introduction of technology?
3) What is mutually assured
destruction (MAD) and how did this
change warfare?
4) What is the “military-industrial
complex” that President Eisenhower
talks about, what are its dangers,
and do you believe his fears are
justified?
5) Why do you think “communist”
countries oppressive dictatorships
and why must they control
information?
6) Why did the US use propaganda
during the Cold War and were our
motivations different from the Soviet
Union’s?
7) What does the fall of the Berlin
wall indicate about government and
about human nature?
Part II- Literature
Plato’s Allegory of the Cave
1) What affects the way you think
and behave? In other words, what
are the influences that have
informed you of who you are and
how you act on a daily basis?
2) What is Plato’s overall message?
What is the essential insight you
take-away from this message?
3) Why can’t the chained prisoners
hear or understand the released
individual? Why is this important to
your own view of reality: to your
own existence?
4) In what ways can you relate
Allegory of the Cave to your life?
Charles Dickens Tale of Two
Cities
1) What is the role of a citizen in a
democracy? Civic Virtue.
2) What are the responsibilities of
the government towards its
citizens?
3) Why did the revolution become
so violent?
4) How did Dickens use characters
to reflect the various views of
revolutionaries and reactionaries?
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5) Why did Dickens use resurrection
in the form of Sidney Carton?
6) What is the significance of Mme
and M Defarge?
Chinua Achebe’s Things Fall
Apart
1) How is civilization defined in
history and who writes the
definition?
2) Think back to your essay. What
are some of the positive features of
Ibo people that the colonists
destroyed? Likewise, what are
some of the negative aspects of the
Ibo people that the British helped
end?
3) In what ways has colonialism
helped and debilitated other
cultures?
4) Is there any form of colonialism
today?
Erich Maria Remarque’s All
Quiet on the Western Front
1) Does All Quiet on the Western
Front do a better job of showing
humans at their best or at their
worst?
2) Consider the different characters:
Paul, Kat, Himmelstoss, Kantorek,
etc. and think of several scenes that
show people acting heroically or
cruelly. What does this say about
what war does to human nature?
3) Remarque wanted to show the
reality of war. Did people learn any
lessons from his novel or do we
continue to romanticize the idea of
war in the modern world?
George Orwell’s Animal Farm
1) At the end of the novel, Clover
stares in disbelief at how Napoleon
and the other pigs look exactly like
the humans. Do you agree with
Orwell’s point about how absolute
power corrupts absolutely? Have
you seen any counter examples?
2) How has this novel added to your
understanding of communism,
revolutions, and human nature?
Elie Wiesel’s Night
1) Elie Wiesel’s account of human
nature tells a powerful account of
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his experience in the Holocaust.
2) He looks at himself as both a
messenger and a survivor. Did he
succeed as messenger? Why or why
not?
3) Do you think that a Holocaust
could happen again? Why or why
not?
Ray Bradbury’s Fahrenheit
451
1) In what ways does Bradbury
depict a society that is completely
disconnected from each other and
consumed with superficial desires?
2) Describe how burning books is a
form of censorship and relate this
to the burning of All Quiet on the
Western Front by the Nazis and to
Kurt Vonnegut, jr’s “You Have
Insulted Me”: A Letter.
3) To this extent, who decides what
to censor? How does this impact
our view of a society that chooses
not to read? What then are the
dangers to freedom and democracy
as we know it?
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