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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who does Telemachus tell Circe is the current king of Crete in Chapter 23?

2. What happens to Odysseus's men before they can return to Ithaca from Aiaia?

3. What does Penelope seem to feel guilty about concerning her son Telemachus?

4. Where does Telegonus want to travel to in Chapter 19?

5. How does Circe actually give birth?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Odysseus learn through the prophecy about how he will die?

2. What does Penelope ask Circe for to help her mourn for her husband?

3. What is Circe's most significant act of transformation, which she preforms on herself in Chapter 27, meant to achieve?

4. In Chapter 17, what choice does Circe begin to hope Odysseus might make?

5. In Chapter 16, why does Odysseus at first refuse to eat Circe's food?

6. What does Telemachus tell Circe about his father Odysseus's behavior when he returned from the wars to Ithaca?

7. What does Penelope teach Telegonus to do that he had never been able to do before?

8. What is the real reason Penelope wanted to come to Aiaia with Telegonus and Telemachus?

9. What happens to Telegonus on Ithaca?

10. What kinds of stories does Odysseus tell Circe about his life during Chapter 16?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Why is it enough for Trygon to know that a person who comes to seek his poison is willing to endure endless agony without actually asking the person to go through with it? What is it about Circe's character that allows her to push though her reservations and pass Trygon's test to win the valuable venom? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 2

How does Circe come to view her lover, Odysseus, after she gets to know him during the time he and his men spend on Aiaia? What does she see as his strengths and his flaws, and why do you think she eventually decides to have his child? Write an essay explaining your answer.

Essay Topic 3

Circe speaks, in her first-person narration, of her own recklessness as the novel progresses. Choose two or three instances in which Circe takes risks or engages in what she herself cites as reckless behavior and write an essay about her motivations and the results of her actions.

(see the answer keys)

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