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This test consists of 15 multiple choice questions and 5 short answer questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. What simile does Jocasta use to describe the people of Thebes?
(a) like soldiers who see their commander slain
(b) like people on a ship who see the helmsman is afraid
(c) like children who see their father's fear
(d) like people in a carriage who see the driver terrified

2. Who accused Oedipus of not being his father's real son?
(a) the local prophet
(b) his cousin, son of his mother's sister
(c) a stranger passng through the town
(d) a drunk man at a dinner

3. What does Jocasta chide Oedipus and Creon for?
(a) fighting when the town's in trouble
(b) not listening to the oracle
(c) making the gods upset
(d) not listening to each other

4. What does Jocasta question the chorus about, after Creon leaves?
(a) what happened between Oedipus and Creon
(b) the progress toward finding Laius's murderer
(c) the state of the farms and the townspeople
(d) the interview between Oedipus and Teiresias

5. What does Jocasta advise Oedipus about his fears?
(a) to ignore prophecies and live life as best he can
(b) to act to try to fulfill the prophecy
(c) to act to try to avoid the prophecy
(d) to accept the prophecy, since he can't change the future

6. What possible explanation does the chorus leader give for Oedipus' charge against Creon?
(a) Creon was guilty.
(b) Oedipus was mislead by Teiresias.
(c) Creon is being framed.
(d) Oedipus was angry.

7. Where did the old shepherd grow up?
(a) in Corinth
(b) in Laius' house
(c) in a distant village
(d) in a poor house in Thebes

8. When Creon turns the tables and begins questioning Oedipus, what is the first question he asks?
(a) whether Oedipus is married to Creon's sister
(b) whether there is some unknown explanation for Teiresias's information
(c) whether the townspeople believe Oedipus is guilty
(d) whether Oedipus killed Laius

9. Does Oedipus want to see the person the messenger says gave him the infant Oedipus?
(a) No, Oedipus is afraid of what the person might say.
(b) Yes, Oedipus wants to send the person out of town.
(c) Yes, Oedipus wants to question the person to find the truth.
(d) No, Oedipus doesn't think the person is important.

10. Where does Jocasta say that Laius was murdered?
(a) where two roads cross a stream
(b) where the flatlands begin to become steep
(c) where three roads meet
(d) at the kingdom's border

11. Who is with the approaching shepherd?
(a) Teiresias
(b) no one
(c) servants of Oedipus
(d) a priest of Apollo

12. What does Oedipus seem to think Jocasta is afraid of learning about his birth?
(a) that he's not born of natural parents
(b) that he's of low social status
(c) that he's older than they believed
(d) that he's Polybus' son after all

13. What does Oedipus ask, when Jocasta tells Oedipus the messenger's news?
(a) He asks a servant to bring Teiresias to him.
(b) He asks a servant to bring Creon to him.
(c) He asks the messenger to tell him the news himself.
(d) He asks Jocasta to leave him and go to the palace.

14. What does Oedipus ask about Polybus' death?
(a) what time of day he died
(b) what Polybus said before his death
(c) what the cause of his death was
(d) whether his mother knows of the death

15. Where did Laius order his infant child to be put?
(a) in a river
(b) on a mountain
(c) in a field
(d) in the ocean

Short Answer Questions

1. Where does the messenger want Oedipus to go?

2. What does Creon say Oedipus should do to get proof of Creon's innocence?

3. Who does the messenger say gave Oedipus to Polybus?

4. Who does the chorus think can help end the conflict between Creon and Oedipus?

5. What sentence does Oedipus want to give to Creon for his crime?

(see the answer keys)

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