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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 did Ajax do in the middle of the carnage that he wrought?

2. In Part I, who is the Chorus made up of?

3. Where is Odysseus when Athena appears to him?

4. The Chorus thinks, during Part I, that Ajax's actions are a smear campaign carried out by the generals or by whom?

5. Who is Athena?

Short Essay Questions

1. How, and why, does Athena protect Odysseus when she brings Ajax out of his tent?

2. What does Ajax pray for before leaving the Chorus onstage?

3. What does Menelaus threaten Teucer with, if Teucer disobeys?

4. What does Tecmessa tell the Chorus the first time she appears, and in what tone does she say it?

5. When the Chorus first appears, what do they say and why?

6. How does Ajax plan to free himself from Athena's influence and why does he think it will work?

7. What does Ajax do with his armor, and why?

8. Describe Odysseus.

9. Why would Sophocles have the Chorus enter, in Part 4, complaining?

10. How does Ajax plan to use the sword to kill himself?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How do the actions of Ajax symbolize the struggles of man against Fate, which is a theme in the play? Support your answer with examples from the text.

Essay Topic 2

Discuss whether you agree or disagree, and why, with the following statement: The play just peters out at the end without a true ending.

Essay Topic 3

What two types of authority are in conflict in this play, and what does the conflict mean for the characters in the play? Use the play to find examples to support your answer.

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This section contains 637 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample