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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. How does Clytemnestra describe her awareness at the beginning of Chapter 5?

2. In Chapter 6, who is the father of Ianthe's child?

3. In Chapter 4, where will Dinos meet Orestes?

4. In Chapter 4, after Leander's family is killed, how does Clytemnestra feel when she dines with Orestes?

5. On page 242, what can the guards feel when Clytemnestra comes from the garden?

Short Essay Questions

1. In Chapter 4 when Orestes returns, how is he treated?

2. On page 240, how does Clytemnestra describe the place where she is?

3. In Chapter 4, what does Clytemnestra ask Orestes to help her with in the morning?

4. What do Leander and the elders decide to do with Aegisthus and why?

5. In Chapter 4, what is strange as Orestes and Leander's walk away from the house of the man who herded goats?

6. In Chapter 4, after Orestes challenges Aegisthus, what does Electra tell him?

7. At the beginning of Chapter 5, what does Clytemnestra say about her condition now and in the future?

8. What does the narrator say at the end of Chapter 6 about time?

9. What does Orestes realize about the boys who were in the detention place with him in Chapter 6?

10. What village do Leander and Orestes finally approach in Chapter 4, and why does Leander believe they will be safe there?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In ancient Greece, men were powerful and women were subservient. How does Toibin give female characters the power to act and control their lives? How does he depict the lack of power that some male characters have? How is this depiction of agency a reversal of typical roles of men and women in ancient Greece?

Essay Topic 2

Leander is a young boy when he and Orestes are kidnapped. How does Leander’s character develop? How does his character demonstrate leadership?

Essay Topic 3

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?

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