Final answer:
The 'great man' theory and the 'everybody' or 'history from below' perspective are debated through Carlyle and Tolstoy's arguments, influencing how we perceive history and individuals within it.
Step-by-step explanation:
The different excerpts you've been working with touch upon figures from history, literature, and everyday life that represent various narratives and perspectives.
The character of Henry Flagler can be seen through various lenses: as a 'great man' of industry, akin to the type Carlyle might admire, or as one player in a broader societal narrative, as Tolstoy would argue.
Assessing Flagler's impact or imagining the life of a man in a grocery store reflect the ongoing debate in historiography between the 'great man' theory and 'history from below'.
When examining figures like Henry Grady, we consider the economic and social changes that shaped the post-Civil War South, reflecting industrial desires and changing societal structures.
Similarly, discussions around personal narratives - whether it's a reflection on past servitude like in Douglass' speech or the mysterious man pondering his own power - shed light on individual experiences within historical epochs.
Therefore, our interpretation of historical figures or assumptions about people based on appearance often say as much about our own perspectives and biases as it does about the subjects themselves. Whether one favors Carlyle's or Tolstoy's view might depend on one's belief in the power of individual agency versus collective action.