1. Context: How does the time and place one live in, as well as shared social values, affect one's political identity?
1.1. The poor might want the government to help them and provide them with essentials, while the rich might want the government to be more hands-off so that they can do what they want to earn more money.
1.1.1. The system of capitalism, which allowed the elite to profit, often clashed with socialism, which supported the wellbeing of the people.
1.1.2. The Scientific Revolution, which caused people to think more logically, later inspired the Enlightenment, in which people used logic to make changes in government, therefore causing changes in political identity.
1.2. Times of unrest and dissatisfaction with leaders led to revolutions that caused reforms in the role, form, and purpose of government.
1.2.1. According to "Common Sense" by Thomas Paine, "There is something exceedingly ridiculous in the composition of monarchy; it first excludes a man from the means of information, yet empowers him to act in cases where the highest judgment is required" (Paine, Common Sense).
1.2.2. "Julius Caesar" by Shakespeare states, "We, man, he doth bestride the narrow world/ Like a Colossus, and we petty men/ Walk under his huge legs and peep about/ To find ourselves dishonorable graves./ Men at some time are masters of their fates./ The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars,/ But in ourselves, that we are underlings" (1.2.142-148).
1.3. To fight for their demands in government, people used different methods to pressure authority.
1.3.1. In "Frankenstein", Frankenstein's monster killed Frankenstein's brother to force Frankenstein to listen to his creature's demands for a bride.
1.3.2. During the Industrial Revolution, people used strikes to pressure their employers and the government into listening to their demands so that they could have better living and working conditions.
1.4. During times of changes in general thought, people began to apply these changes to the government, forming new political identities.
1.4.1. The Scientific Revolution, which caused people to think more logically, later inspired the Enlightenment, in which people used logic to make changes in government, therefore causing changes in political identity.
1.4.2. In "Julius Caesar", the people were convinced by Brutus that Caesar was a tyrant, causing many of them to support Brutus over Caesar.
2. Conflict: How can political identity be both the cause and the result of political conflict? How does conflict help people to clarify their beliefs?
2.1. People' with opposing political identities can cause them to clash, but the conflict can cause other people that are neutral to to take a side, developing their political identities.
2.1.1. Britain's sole purpose for having colonies was to profit, but the colonists wanted a self-government, causing conflict between the two countries during the American Revolution.
2.1.2. According to "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, Caesar and the conspirators had different ideas about the power of government, causing them to conflict. Caesar: "I could be well moved, if I were as you./ If I could pray to move, prayers would move me./ But I am constant as the Northern Star," (3.1.64-67). The Conspirators: "I know where I will wear this dagger then;/ Cassius from bondage will deliver Cassius" (1.3.92-93).
2.1.3. The First and Second Estate (Privileged Estates) often clashed with the Third Estate (lower class), since the First and Second often didn't take the Third Estate's condition into consideration and only cared about their own power.
2.2. People can use logical arguments, social status, and/or passion to move people, especially when people don't think about the consequences and motives first.
2.2.1. Kings and queens would often ignore the people's complaints, since they thought highly of themselves. They used divine right to justify their power so that the people, who were devoutly religious, could not challenge them.
2.2.2. Robespierre convinced people to kill tens of thousands of French citizens, by using his ethos to claim that they were traitors.
2.2.2.1. French Revolution
2.2.3. According to "Julius Caesar" by William Shakespeare, "In several hands in at his windows throw,/ As if they came from several citizens,/ Writings, all tending to the great opinion/ That Rome holds of his name, wherein obscurely/ Caesar's ambition shall be glancèd at" (Julius Caesar, Shakespeare).
2.2.3.1. In "Julius Caesar", Antony and Brutus both used logos, pathos, and ethos towards the Plebeians to convince them of different things about Caesar.
2.2.3.2. Frankenstein's monster used logical arguments from the Bible to create a strong argument against his creator's negligence of responsibility.
2.3. Because of their different struggles, the beliefs of different social classes on the role of government often conflict.
2.3.1. In the DOROMAC, Lafayette wrote, "[The representatives of the French citizens] believing that the ignorance, neglect, or contempt of the rights of man are the sole cause of public calamities and of the corruption of governments, have determined to set forth [the natural rights of man]" (DOROMAC).
2.3.2. As shown in "Frankenstein" by Mary Shelley, some people wanted their leader to take more responsibility, while others in the elite classes didn't want to be responsible for those that they deemed inferior. Frankenstein's Monster: "'Yet you, my creator, detest and spurn me, thy creature, to whom thou art bound by ties only dissoluble by the annihilation of one of us You purpose to kill me. How dare you sport thus with life?" (Shelley). Frankenstein: "Begone! I will not hear you. There can be no community between you and me; we are enemies." (Shelley).
3. Power: How does having more or less "power" affect a person? How does having or not having "power" impact the way a person sees the world and makes choices?
3.1. Having a lot of power often causes one to become selfish, while having little power can cause one to value the well-being of others, causing people to want the government to protect different things.
3.1.1. In the Industrial Revolution, entrepreneurs, who were more privileged than the workers, often took the workers for granted and gave them little to no rights. The workers, on the other hand, were upset by the lack of rights that they had and united to protect themselves and their welfare.
3.1.1.1. Wage labor
3.1.1.2. Working conditions
3.1.2. In "Frankenstein", by Mary Shelley, Frankenstein's monster, who is hated and has no place in the world, tries to help a family, while Frankenstein, who has power over his creature, chooses to deny his responsibility and care for himself.
3.2. People with power can easily manipulate others using their ethos, causing a shift in people's political identity.
3.2.1. Kings used divine right to make themselves seem credible and supported by God, causing the devoutly religious people to obey the king.
3.2.2. In "Julius Caesar", Brutus easily convinces the Plebeians that the conspirators did a good deed by using his status to persuade them to listen to him and convince them that what he was saying was credible.
3.3. The beliefs of the poor on political topics can be easily influenced by others as they do not have access to education, which can impact one's political identity.
3.3.1. a
3.3.2. b