Reading Comprehension: C. S. Lewis, "Equality"

Mr. Steel

1. Why does Lewis link being a "democrat" with his belief in "the Fall of Man"?

2. What criticism does Lewis offer of Rousseau's ideas concerning the nobility of human beings and democracy?

3. What does Lewis see as the "real reason" for democracy?

4. Does Lewis view equality as a good in itself? Explain why or why not.

5. What does Lewis mean when he writes, "there is no spiritual sustenance in flat equality"?

6. Why is it best to view equality as a kind of medicine, according to Lewis?

7. What is dangerous about treating equality as "an ideal," according to Lewis?

8. Explain what Lewis views as barbaric about idealized notions of equality and their effects on society.

9. Explain how Lewis' analogy of physical nakedness and clothed-ness on the one hand is used to depict something important about legal equality and spiritual inequality on the other hand.

10. What does Lewis say about the importance of equality and inequality in romantic relationships or marriages?

11. What is the symbolic significance of the British monarchy, according to Lewis?

12. Why is the desire to honour inequality inescapable for human beings, according to Lewis?

13. What does Lewis mean when he says, "Hierarchy within can alone preserve egalitarianism without"?