View a FREE sample

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

Short Answer Questions

1. Who is Marcus Tullius Cicero?

2. What is the House of Swans?

3. Who is the man prosecuting Cicero's client?

4. In Chapter 2, what ends up lying at Gordianus's feet?

5. In Cicero's opinion, why is the other man prosecuting his client?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the purpose of the author's inclusion of the scene where Gordianus and Tiro see a gladiator stabbed while they are walking to Cicero's house?

2. When Gordianus and Tiro see the tenement fire, what is the significance of that?

3. Describe your first impression of Gordianus.

4. Why does Cicero send Tiro instead of a lesser slave to the home of Gordianus?

5. What elements of Cicero's home seem to contradict one another?

6. Who do you think is smarter: Gordianus or Cicero? Why?

7. Explain why Caecilia would house Sextus Roscius (filius) in an unsavory part of her house, near the stinking indoor toilets.

8. Do you think Gauis's death was accidental or a murder? Why?

9. Do you think Elena really was pregnant? Or was she setting Roscius up to be attacked?

10. Why does Gordianus mention the fog at the end of Chapter 15?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

The first section of Roman Blood is called "High and Low." Discuss the significance of this phrase. In what ways does it apply to Roman society? And also to the murder mystery at hand? How does the author use the juxtaposition of the difference connotations of this phrase to add multiple layers to the book?

Essay Topic 2

At the end of the novel, Cicero tells Gordianus, "Crime is common. Honor is rare." Discuss that comment.

Essay Topic 3

Compare and contrast the two speeches in the section called Justice--one delivered by Gaius Eruscius and the other by Cicero.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 597 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample