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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. Where is Centurion Quintus Hilarion's home?

2. What does the spear that Esca carries mark him as, according to the narrator in Chapter 6?

3. What does the narrator describe Marcus's wolf cub hunting in Chapter 7?

4. How long does Claudius Hieronimianus say it has been since he left the Fretensis in Chapter 10?

5. What had an artist of a long-departed garrison etch into the bath-house wall, according to the narrator in Chapter 2?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Marcus's surgery described in Chapter 8?

2. How are the slaves described in Uncle Aquila's home?

3. Why does Marcus grant Esca his freedom in Chapter 10?

4. What happens when the chariots attack in Chapter 3?

5. How does Marcus feel about the end of his career with the Eagles?

6. What is Esca's history? For how long has he been a slave?

7. From what narrative point of view is the novel related?

8. What does the rose in the wine jar symbolize?

9. Why does Marcus worry he may be making a laughing stock out of himself in Chapter 3?

10. What bet with Cradoc does Marcus propose in Chapter 2?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss and analyze the character of Marcus Flavius Aquila in The Eagle of the Ninth. How old is Marcus when the novel begins? How old is he when the story ends? How would you describe Marcus's character arc in the novel?

Essay Topic 2

Describe and discuss the different tribes that are presented in The Eagle of the Ninth. Where is Esca's tribe based? Who are Cottia's people? What are the relationships between the tribes and the Roman military?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the historical context of The Eagle of the Ninth. When does the story take place? Where is it set? What were the social, political, and international atmospheres at this time? How does the author incorporate that history into her novel?

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