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Social Studies
5 April 2016
Flatland Discussion Questions
1. When A. Square decided not to talk to his wife about what he had just experienced, he did not
make a smart decision. His knowledge about the third dimension was an analogy that even
women could understand. Women are not the smartest, and there word is not trusted as much as
men. So he should have told his wife about his experience and about other dimensions higher
than the second dimension, then he could use her feedback to see how he should tell all the
others about his news, and not have to worry about getting in trouble.
2. A. Square chose to use a demonstration instead of telling about his Revelation because his
Revelation would not have been taken seriously. He would have been thought of as a freak or
something, because he would be telling a crazy, unbelievable story. A. Square using
demonstration was wise. It is logical and the analogy has good evidence, but it is just hard to
believe for close-minded people.
3. This story is similar to A. Squares story because it talks about how people will hate you
because of me. Both also talk about how they will be put in a trial and both put into jail. The
difference is that in the very last verse, it says that you will win life, but what we know is that A.
Square just stays in jail, only telling his brother what he has learned, and that is when the story
ends.
4. Intellectual Cowardice was demonstrated when A. Square had his trial, which wasnt a fair
trial. The President asked him questions he knew A. Square couldnt answer and put him in jail
because of it. Intellectual Cowardice is also when A. Squares grandson ran out of the room
laughing, when A. Square had just said he agreed with him. A. Square had intellectual courage

when he went out to tell others the news, because he knew they wouldnt believe it, but tried to
teach it to them. Then he admitted that he didnt know the questions The President was asking,
but he believed that truth would prevail.
5. If I was a normal Equilateral and I thought about applying Occams razor to A. Squares claim,
I would say that his claim did not make sense. It is the simplest answer. There is no way to
comprehend height or upward. There is no way to demonstrate it and prove its truth. The
simplest answer is to go with what we already believe, what we have believed, and not try to
think more deeply about what seems impossible.
6. Prophets and inspired people are considered mad because their revelations do not make sense.
Everybody thinks that their news comes from that persons own mind, and cannot fathom the idea
that their thoughts came from someone else who taught them. Many people consider it mad and I
do agree, sometimes people come up with crazy theories. There are tons of religions out there
that believe they have been spoken to by their god(s), but there can only be one religion that is
truly true.
7. True: Truth does always prevails in the end. The government of Flatland hid the truth of the
third dimension, then A. Square found out about it. The truth won, and A. Square did end up
telling others about it, though they did not believe, it was still a possibility in their minds. In life
truth prevails, the truth is always found out in the end, and if it is not the truth, nobody would
know the difference.
8. I would prefer to remain ignorant, and live happily in Flatland. Though if I chose to know the
amazing truth, I would want to know more and more and more. I know that A. Square didnt
really get answers to the more and more and more, but I am a very curious person. I would rather

be ignorant because I know I would be happy with me thinking I know all the answers. If I was
in A. Squares shoes, I would probably be restless.
9. Freedom is knowledge. If you know the truth, you are free from the bondage that keeps you
back if you are ignorant. Those who know the truth and are not ignorant are free. Ignorance
keeps you back from knowing the full potential of your life and what it is made of and can be.
10a. When a person who knows the truth, but does not tell the world, he turns himself into an
acquaintance of liars and criminals. The government knew the truth, but did not tell any of the
Flatlanders, therefore they were ignorant. Then when A. Square learned the truth, all of the others
didnt believe him because of what the government had taught them.
10b. When truth is kept to oneself, it becomes disastrous. The government kept the truth to
themselves, so only the circles knew about the third dimension, then they punished whoever had
learned about it. The truth then became very dangerous in Flatland. Many shapes paid a
punishment for this truth overtime.
11. A. Square is like Prometheus because he knows the truth and can grasp it, and tries to spread
word. A. Square knows about the third dimension, and Prometheus knows about the possibility
of the fourth. Both are prophets of other dimensions, and pretty much no one believes them.
12. By this, A. Square means that he hopes that some of the people that heard him will learn
about the different dimensions and rebel against the government in hope that they can learn about
the dimensions, and not have limited knowledge. I think that one millennium, when the
government isnt so corrupt, and when a great messenger is picked, A. Squares hope will be
fulfilled and come true.
13. We do not know everything, therefore we need to stay open-minded and know that we dont
know the whole truth, and it might not end up as we would wish. A. Square did not know about

the third dimension, and it took him a while to learn the truth because he did not have an open
mind, neither did the Sphere when A. Square was finally able to comprehend the third dimension
and then mentioned that there may be higher dimensions than the third. The Flatlanders thought
that they were the biggest and the best, but only few knew the actual truth that the government
kept from them. The truth did not get A. Square in a nice, fancy mansion, it got him in a jail, but
it rid him of some ignorance.
14. I feel as though that the Sphere did betray A. Square. The Sphere came down, knowing the
history of what happens to Flatlanders who know the truth, and chose A. Square and told him the
truth. After he told him the truth, he left A. Square to his own devices, not leading him through
the steps of spreading the word. The Sphere was A. Squares teacher, and a teacher leads their
students (A. Square), through what they are being taught. Not leaving them with the basics then
ditching, like the Sphere.