Survival: A Matter of Life and Death Socratic Seminar Questions

We will be using the following questions in our Socratic Seminar. The Socratic Seminar is one of your
summative assignments for this reading unit. Come up with assertions (verbal topic sentences/claims)
that directly answer the question. Write notes with evidence to support your claim. The evidence is
REQUIRED because it will help back up your assertion and it will help keep the conversation centered
around the novel. The talking points are equally important. They allow you to elaborate on the so what
of your assertion and evidence. Without this verbal matters, your conversations will seem flat and
boring. Not all of the questions will be used but you need assertions, evidence, and talking points for
each one.

1. Make a clear, logical generalization about the way(s) people adapt for survival.

Assertion Evidence Talking Points/Matters

I believe one way that people
adapt for survival is by acting off
instinct when in danger. For
example, if youre in a
circumstance where you could
possibly die then you are going to
do what you think is right. It just
depends on what kind of person
you are and/or who is involved.
There is nothing In this case, Rusesabagina happens to be the type of
particularly heroic about it. person to stay loyal and help others even if it means
My only pride in the matter is putting yourself in danger.
that I stayed at my post and
continued to do my job as
manager... (Rusesabagina
lines 19-21).

2. Make a clear, logical generalization about the way(s) people adapt for survival.

Assertion Evidence Talking Points/Matters

The most common way people
adapt to survival is making
themselves safe before helping
others. For instance, if youre the
type of person that would want to
make sure that you were safe in a
store robbery then you would
spend the time thinking how you
are going to get out and not
everyone else.
Ismay was savaged by the
media
and the general public for
climbing into a lifeboat and
saving
himself when there were
other women and children
still on board.(Wallace lines
4-6).
This matters because most people wouldnt want to put
themselves in danger for others safety. Here, the author
makes the claim that Ismay saved himself before the
women and children that were on the boat. After this he
was seen as an uncivilized coward but in reality most
people probably wouldve done the same thing even
though there are some who wouldnt because thats just
their personality and how they go about life.

3. Make a clear, logical generalization about the way(s) people adapt for survival.

Assertion Evidence Talking Points/Matters

Write your own open ended question for Socratic Seminar. This should not be something everyone
will agree on and should be connected to the play or the themes/ideas the play brings up. It should
not be the same as your peers, so think of this on your OWN.

Original Question: Do you think people focus on others in life or death situations or on themselves first?

Assertion Evidence Talking Points/Matters

As a generalization I believe
people tend to care about
themselves first even though there
are a few select that are different.
My family cared not the This is important because depending on who you are
least bit about this when I surrounded by could potentially decide your fate. Also,
was growing it shows that he was raised to treat everyone right and
up(Rusesabagina lines equal.
35-36).

Write your own open ended question for Socratic Seminar. This should not be something everyone
will agree on and should be connected to the play or the themes/ideas the play brings up. It should
not be the same as your peers, so think of this on your OWN.

Original Question: Do people think rationally when in danger or off of instinct?

Assertion Evidence Talking Points/Matters

I believe that people adapt for
survival by acting off instinct
when in danger, most of the time.
...the best you can say is Here it is mentioned that he saved 4 hours worth of
that my hotel saved about people and like I mentioned before he is the type of
four hours worth of person to help others so he acted off of instinct and did
people.(Rusesabagina lines what he could.
63-64)

Write your own open ended question for Socratic Seminar. This should not be something everyone
will agree on and should be connected to the play or the themes/ideas the play brings up. It should
not be the same as your peers, so think of this on your OWN.

Original Question: When faced with a life or death situation, is it worth it to try and save others who arent trying
to save themselves?

Assertion Evidence Talking Points/Matters

Write your own open ended question for Socratic Seminar. This should not be something everyone
will agree on and should be connected to the play or the themes/ideas the play brings up. It should
not be the same as your peers, so think of this on your OWN.

Original Question: When faced with a dangerous situation is it important to have strong mental perseverance?

Assertion Evidence Talking Points/Matters