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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 does Geryon touch inside his coat pocket outside the school in "Justice"?

2. What question does Geryon ask Herakles in "Sex Question"?

3. What does the narrator say that Geryon loved in the opening of “Total Things Known about Geryon”?

4. The subject in the opening line of “Lava” imagines being what alone in the dark?

5. What is the first claim that is made in Appendix C: "Clearing Up of the Question of Stesichoros’ Blinding by Helen"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Why and how is Virginia Woolf alluded to in "She"?

2. How is Geryon's visit to the volcano explored metaphorically in Section 7?

3. How are volcanoes explored metaphorically in Section 6?

4. What are examples of foreshadowing seen in “Sex Question” through “Somnambula”?

5. What major character in the verse novel is introduced in Section 5?

6. What is suggested by the references to the color red in Section 6?

7. How is the color red explored metaphorically in Section 7?

8. What sexual abuse is described in "Each"?

9. Who do you think is referred to by the word "Him" in "Meanwhile He Came"? Why?

10. What is the purpose of the book's introduction “Red Meat: What Difference did Stesichoros Make?”

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the story of Stesichoros being blinded by Helen of Troy. What caused Helen to blind Stesichoros? How did Stesichoros reverse his fate? What arguments are made regarding this story in Autobiography of Red?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss the theme of coming of age in Autobiography of Red. What aspects of growing up are highlighted in Geryon's story? How does Geryon change as he grows from a boy into a man?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the themes of identity and the "Other" in Autobiography of Red. How are these themes developed through character, setting, and action? How does the author support these themes through symbolism and imagery?

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