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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. How does Chiron handle Thetis’ demand that Patroclus not train with Achilles?

2. What type of creature is Chiron?

3. What color sails do traders typically use on their ships?

4. Why does Peleus take in exiled boys?

5. Who does Thetis say must die before Achilles can be killed?

Short Essay Questions

1. How is Achilles’ identity unmasked?

2. What does Peleus tell his people about the news from Mycenae?

3. How do Achilles and Patroclus bring their relationship to its first crisis?

4. What leverage do Odysseus and Diomedes use to get Achilles to go to Troy?

5. Why does Patroclus’ father take him to bid for Tyndareus’ hand in marriage?

6. What is Chiron’s role in Achilles and Patroclus’ lives?

7. How does Patroclus end up fighting Achilles, and what is the outcome?

8. How do Achilles and Patroclus behave once Achilles says that Thetis cannot see them on Mt. Pelion?

9. How does Patroclus come to kill the boy whose death gets him exiled?

10. Why does Deidameia accuse Achilles of being ‘apathos,’ or heartless?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Would you recommend The Song of Achilles? For what purposes would you recommend The Song of Achilles, and what kinds of readers would you recommend it for? What other book would you recommend that would cover the same material or tell the same story in a different way?

Essay Topic 2

Write a character sketch of the author based on her style and content. What values does she hold dear? What are her hopes and fears? What kind of person do you think she is? Anchor your sketch in passages in the book.

Essay Topic 3

Explain the difference between Achilles and Agamemnon’s characters. How are they similar, how are they different? What are the essential differences between them? Are these two characters who ultimately need each other, or are they the type of people who need to be kept apart for danger of conflict and potential tragedy?

(see the answer keys)

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