Exploring the Text

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  1. What occasioned this article, according to Jane Addams’s explanation in the opening paragraphs?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What occasioned this article, according to Jane Addams’s explanation in the opening paragraphs?
  2. What are the “difficulties in philanthropy” (par. 2) and the “incessant clashing of ethical standards” (par. 14) on which Addams focuses? Discuss how she reveals these complexities in at least one of the examples she provides.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - What are the “difficulties in philanthropy” (par. 2) and the “incessant clashing of ethical standards” (par. 14) on which Addams focuses? Discuss how she reveals these complexities in at least one of the examples she provides.
  3. Where in the text does Addams speak primarily as a scientific observer of social conditions? Where does she speak more as a passionate advocate of social reform? Do you think these voices complement or undercut each another? Cite specific text to support your responses.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Where in the text does Addams speak primarily as a scientific observer of social conditions? Where does she speak more as a passionate advocate of social reform? Do you think these voices complement or undercut each another? Cite specific text to support your responses.
  4. How would you describe the ethos Addams establishes? Pay particular attention to how she presents (or avoids presenting) her own privileged background as the daughter of a wealthy family.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - How would you describe the ethos Addams establishes? Pay particular attention to how she presents (or avoids presenting) her own privileged background as the daughter of a wealthy family.
  5. How does Addams manage to question the values of an increasingly market-driven and competitive society without criticizing American values? Or does she?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - How does Addams manage to question the values of an increasingly market-driven and competitive society without criticizing American values? Or does she?
  6. Identify passages or specific language choices in this essay that may have sounded condescending to Addams’s audience or that you find patronizing or condescending from a contemporary perspective. In what ways is she trying to avoid ethical absolutes in her discussion of the poor, especially when referring to immigrants? Does she succeed?

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Identify passages or specific language choices in this essay that may have sounded condescending to Addams’s audience or that you find patronizing or condescending from a contemporary perspective. In what ways is she trying to avoid ethical absolutes in her discussion of the poor, especially when referring to immigrants? Does she succeed?
  7. Addams frames her discussion of the “problems of charity” in two traditions: democracy and Christianity. What purpose(s) does she achieve by threading the discussion of democracy throughout the essay but referring to Christian texts only at the end? Keep her audience in mind as you consider this question.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Addams frames her discussion of the “problems of charity” in two traditions: democracy and Christianity. What purpose(s) does she achieve by threading the discussion of democracy throughout the essay but referring to Christian texts only at the end? Keep her audience in mind as you consider this question.
  8. Have we solved what Addams saw as the “clashing” of ethics and morality in the relationship between benefactor and beneficiary? What tone do we attach to the word “charity” today? Is the belief that wealthy people should also be philanthropists more or less a part of our current expectations than it was a century ago? Discuss your view on these issues, using examples from contemporary life.

    Question

    ALMF/kS1zzW73MouRsoXk1h0lKY=
    Exploring the Text: - Have we solved what Addams saw as the “clashing” of ethics and morality in the relationship between benefactor and beneficiary? What tone do we attach to the word “charity” today? Is the belief that wealthy people should also be philanthropists more or less a part of our current expectations than it was a century ago? Discuss your view on these issues, using examples from contemporary life.