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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. In Chapter 3, how many men are sent to find Orestes and the other boys?

2. In Chapter 1, where does the old and difficult woman with powers live?

3. In Chapter 3, after Electra learns her mother murdered her father, why does Theodotus's son want to see her?

4. In Chapter 3, after Clytemnestra orders men to search for Orestes and the other boys, what does Electra compare her to?

5. What was the name of the woman who returned with Agamemnon?

Short Essay Questions

1. What happened to the people who lived with the old woman?

2. How did Agamemnon and Cassandra die?

3. In Chapter 2, why does each boy have a slate?

4. In Chapter 1, what does Clytenmestra think that she should have done with Electra when she got home?

5. Toward the end of Chapter 3, what does Electra realize might free her and how does she try to gain freedom?

6. Who was to be in charge while Clytenmestra went to Agamemnon?

7. What causes Leander and Orestes to leave the old woman's house?

8. In Chapter 3, how is Electra's room an outpost of the underworld?

9. Why did Agamemnon order Iphigenia to be sacrificed?

10. In Chapter 3, how many times has Electra seen Aegisthus flinch or show fear and how does she describe when she saw fear in him?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Rather than kill their mother herself, Electra has Orestes kill her. How does Electra persuade Orestes to kill their mother? What are her motives for not killing their mother herself?

Essay Topic 2

Clytemnestra is the one who stabs her husband, but Aegisthus is also guilty. How is Aegisthus tied to the crime? To what extent has Aegisthus influenced Clytemnestra? Why is he also guilty of the murder?

Essay Topic 3

Orestes is a young boy when the novel begins. How is Orestes’ character developed in the novel? What physical and internal journeys does he take, and how do those journeys shape the man he becomes?

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