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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 is the name of the man who Theseus think is coming to punish him because he retrieved the item out of the sea?

2. Why did someone give the bull medicine to make him mad?

3. What is Theseus and the other cranes considered to be?

4. Why does the king ask Theseus to take his life?

5. What do Theseus and the bull dancers smuggle and begin to hide?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain what Theseus learns about Asterion's true identity.

2. Analyze the differences between Theseus and Asterion.

3. Describe how Theseus is hurt during a bull dance.

4. Explain the relationship between Theseus and Ariadne.

5. Explain what Theseus learns about the customs and prophesies of the Creates.

6. Describe what Theseus and the cranes do to cause a scene when they arrive at Crete.

7. Define the relationship between Theseus and the cranes.

8. Evaluate Theseus' feelings after taking the king's life.

9. Describe the House of the Axe and how Theseus feels about being there.

10. Recall what Theseus learns about bull dancing while traveling to Crete.

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Theseus' character travels through many areas of ancient Greece, from Troizen to Eleusis to Athens to Crete. The setting of The King Must Die is very important to the story.

Part 1) Define setting, describing the different settings throughout the text.

Part 2) Explain how important the setting is to the plot of the story.

Part 3) Compare the setting of this novel to another novel. Was the setting simple or complex?

Essay Topic 2

Aigeus is Theseus' father and the king of Athens; their relationship is an important element to the novel.

Part 1) Compare and contrast the characters of Aigeus and Theseus. How are they similar? How are they different. Give some examples from the text.

Part 2) Explain whether you believe it a good thing that Aigeus sent Theseus away as a child. Should he have tried to raise him?

Part 3) Who do you think should have been the ruler in the end if Aigeus hadn't committed suicide? Aigeus or Theseus?

Essay Topic 3

The gods are an essential component in The King Must Die in great and small ways.

Part 1) What are some examples from the text that show Theseus' devotion to his deity? How do his beliefs differ from the other characters?

Part 2) How can straying away from the gods be seen as forgetting what is important in life? What do the gods represent to the people (like in Eleusis and Troizen)?

Part 3) Crete is destroyed by an earthquake. Can this be seen as the god's wrath against a city that doesn't believe anymore? Is Theseus successful in life because of his strong beliefs?

(see the answer keys)

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