Alas, Babylon Lesson Plan

In Chapter 3, Randy has to make some difficult choices about the information that he has. How does the novel portray this moral quandary? Do you believe that Randy made the right decision to withhold the information from most people? Why or why not?

This is nearly an impossible question for students to answer, but it cannot be avoided. As they read, students will certainly feel moral judgments about the way Randy shares or withholds information. The answers to this question give them the opportunity to brainstorm and express those judgments. Discussion should center on the ethics of disseminating information that poses a risk to the public versus exacerbating the risk by...