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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 one ingredient Circe uses in her potion to protect Telegonus?

2. What does Circe tell Telemachus about her history with Scylla?

3. What does Penelope tell Circe became of Medea?

4. Why is Telemachus angry with Circe?

5. Who does Circe think may lead her to the halls of the dead someday?

Short Essay Questions

1. What kinds of stories does Odysseus tell Circe about his life during Chapter 16?

2. What does Telemachus give to Telegonus as a parting gift?

3. What happens to Telegonus on Ithaca?

4. How does Telemachus reply to Athena when she makes her request of him?

5. What was Telemachus trying to do when he saw that Telegonus and his father Odysseus were in a tense conversation on the shores of Ithaca?

6. What does Circe use as leverage against Helios when she summons him to ask him to lift her exile in Chapter 25?

7. What is Circe's most significant act of transformation, which she preforms on herself in Chapter 27, meant to achieve?

8. In Chapter 24, what does Telegonus tell Circe he is surprised about having to do with her protective spell on Aiaia that keeps the gods out?

9. Why does Telegonus leave Aiaia for the first time?

10. What does Circe think Athena must feel when her son Telegonus says he will go to Italy in Telemachus's place?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Write an essay analyzing the sources of the difficulties and tensions that arise between Circe and her son Telegonus as Circe raises him in exile with her on Aiaia.

Essay Topic 2

What does Circe learn about herself and about the nature of parent-child relationships as she gives birth to Telegonus and raises him from infancy into adolescence? Write an essay explaining your answer, citing specific references from the text to support your arguments.

Essay Topic 3

How does Circe come to view her lover, Odysseus, after she gets to know him during the time he and his men spend on Aiaia? What does she see as his strengths and his flaws, and why do you think she eventually decides to have his child? Write an essay explaining your answer.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 721 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample