AI-generated practice question — model-generated for extra practice, not a previous-year CBSE board question.
The existence of competing printed viewpoints strengthens the argument for print's role in bringing about revolutionary change, rather than weakening it.
Print created a culture of debate and dialogue where all ideas — Enlightenment and monarchical — could be questioned and evaluated by the public. Writings of Voltaire and Rousseau made readers "questioning, critical and rational." By the 1780s, underground literature mocking royalty and cartoons showing nobles oppressing commoners spread "hostile sentiments against the monarchy." Even monarchical propaganda, by entering public debate, forced people to assess and often reject it. As the textbook states, print "did not directly shape their minds, but it did open up the possibility of thinking differently."
Source: Print Culture and the French Revolution, Chapter 5
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The examiner wants you to take a clear position and justify it using specific textbook examples (Voltaire/Rousseau, underground literature, cartoons, culture of debate). The key insight — that competing viewpoints fuel debate rather than cancel influence — is explicitly in the passage. Avoid sitting on the fence; pick a side and argue it. Three marks = brief intro + 2–3 evidence points + concluding reasoning.