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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. What does Penelope ask Circe for so she can mourn for her husband?

2. How does Circe feel after defeating Scylla?

3. What does Helios say about Circe in relation to the rest of his children?

4. What do the sailors who come to Aiaia in Chapter 19 help Telegonus with?

5. What does Circe do on her travels with Telemachus?

Short Essay Questions

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

2. What does Circe use as leverage against Helios when she summons him to ask him to lift her exile in Chapter 25?

3. What kind of a disposition does Circe's baby, Telegonus, have as an infant?

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

5. What does Circe teach Penelope before she and Telemachus set off on their journey to find Scylla?

6. What happens to Telegonus on Ithaca?

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

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

9. What was Telemachus trying to do when he saw that Telegonus and his father Odysseus were in a tense conversation on the shores of Ithaca?

10. What does Circe think Athena must feel when her son Telegonus says he will go to Italy in Telemachus's place?

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

Write an essay analyzing when and why Circle finally realizes the gods are so affronted by her powers of witchcraft. In your essay, explain why the gods recoil from Circe and others among them who have similar powers.

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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