Question

What does Gardiner use to illustrate the concept of shared liberty in his essay?

• A. Traffic and pedestrians
• B. Education and discipline
• C. Nature and nurture
• D. Art and culture

Answer 1

Answer:

A. Traffic and pedestrians

• Gardiner begins with a humorous anecdote about a stout old lady who decides to walk down the middle of the road, ignoring the traffic.

• He starts this essay by describing an incident witnessed by him in Petrograd (now renamed Saint Petersburg in Russia); he saw that an old lady was walking in the middle of the road or street that caused confusion and danger to her and other drivers and pedestrians.

• She justifies her behavior by claiming her "liberty."

• This incident leads Gardiner to reflect on the concept of liberty in a societal context.

• When someone tells her that the pavement is a place for pedestrians, she replies "I'm going to walk where I want to walk. We got liberty now." The writer used this phrase to illustrate the danger of that person being "liberty-drunk" and forgetting that personal liberty must be in balance with the liberty of the people's lives in society.