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This test consists of 5 multiple choice questions, 5 short answer questions, and 10 short essay questions.

Multiple Choice Questions

1. To Socrates, what would illegally breaking out of prison constitute?
(a) The rule of law.
(b) Justice.
(c) Retaliation.
(d) Piety.

2. Which god advises Strepsiades with respect to his faith?
(a) Apollo.
(b) Hermes.
(c) Hephaestus.
(d) Zeus.

3. Pheidippides recites a text written by which man?
(a) Plato.
(b) Euripides.
(c) Sophocles.
(d) Aristophanes.

4. What problem is Strepsiades dealing with at the beginning of The Clouds?
(a) He has a great crisis of faith.
(b) He is fleeing from the law.
(c) He is overwhelmed with debt.
(d) His mother has been murdered.

5. What would happen if Socrates fled to a city that was poorly-governed?
(a) He could take advantage of foolish people.
(b) He might be able to establish a political career.
(c) He could not live a good life.
(d) He would be killed for a bounty.

Short Answer Questions

1. Why has Strepsiades run into financial difficulties?

2. What action does Strepsiades take with regards to Socrates at the end of Clouds?

3. What stance does Strepsiades ultimately take in regards to Socrates' teachings?

4. Why does Socrates believe obedience to the law could not represent disrespectful behavior?

5. What text does Pheidippides recite at the party Strepsiades throws for him?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is the nature of Strepsiades' most pressing problem? What does he hope to learn from Socrates? What does Socrates in turn teach him?

2. How does Socrates, in Crito, state his case for why he will remain in jail and face his death sentence? What forms are in use?

3. How does Aristophanes' general attitude towards Socrates differ from that of Plato's?

4. What represents the "last straw" in Strepsiades' relationship with his son? Why does he refuse to speak to him in the end?

5. How can Aristophanes' characterization of Socrates be summed up?

6. What is Crito's opinion of Socrates, following his trial?

7. What is Socrates' attitude toward his impending death at the end of Crito?

8. How does Strepsiades react to Socrates' course of study in the Thinkery? How does Socrates in turn respond to Strepsiades?

9. What violent action does Pheidippides visit upon his father? How does Pheidippides justify his action?

10. What does Aristophanes accuse Socrates of in The Clouds?

(see the answer keys)

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