View a FREE sample

This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Socrates argues that laws are___________.

2. According to Socrates, what are the three parts of the soul?

3. Who is Socrates walking with when he is stopped by a group of men urging him to come to Cephalus' house?

4. When he first meets Socrates, Meno asks the following question:

5. To understand Ion's poetically inspired spirit, Socrates employs a metaphor of which of the following?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Socrates' plan for the familial arrangement of the republic?

2. How is the story of the Symposium framed? How does this relate to the cultural values of the Greeks?

3. How does Socrates distinguish knowledge known through art from knowledge known through inspiration?

4. Why aren't the soldiers in Socrates' republic well compensated?

5. What is the purpose of Alcibiades late-night intrusion into the Symposium? What does he talk about?

6. Does Socrates believe that his theoretical republic is a realistic political plan for a city?

7. Is The Republic only interested in individual justice?

8. Whom does Adeimantus support? Why?

9. How should soldiers, according to Socrates, be trained in the ideal republic?

10. What is Polemarchus main mistake in defining justice as "benefiting one's friends and harming one's enemies"?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How does Socrates plan for his city's rulers to not be corrupted by power? Do you think his plan is practical?

Essay Topic 2

What is the role of the "philosopher king" in The Republic? Do you agree or disagree with Plato's vision of a land ruled by philosophers instead of by politicians? Be sure to discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each approach.

Essay Topic 3

Is the city that Socrates builds in the The Republic actually feasible? Why or why not? Use examples from the text to justify your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 1,207 words (approx. 5 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample