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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 the translator suspect the modern reader will view the sexual nature of "The Satyricon"?

2. Who does Ascyltus accuse of being a hypocrite?

3. How is the chef who cooked the newly roasted pig saved?

4. What does Encolpius ironically threaten against the sex-craved boy?

5. What problem does the translator note in his translation of "The Satyricon"?

Short Essay Questions

1. Explain the egg delicacy served after Trimalchio arrives.

2. What is funny about the brothel to which Encolpius is led?

3. What was Petronius' title in the emperor's court and what significance was the title?

4. Who does Encolpius want to stab in the spleen and why?

5. What is the accountant's role at the dinner?

6. What joke involving a pig does Trimalchio play on his guests?

7. What happens when Encolpius and Ascyltus go to the marketplace to sell a stolen cloak?

8. What announcement does Trimalchio make at his dinner and what does the event seem to become?

9. Why do Trimalchio and his wife, Fortunata, fight at the dinner?

10. Who does Encolpius meet at a museum and what relationship develops between the two people?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

There are four points of view in which literature is written: first person, third person objective, third person limited and omniscient. Which point of view does the author use in "The Satyricon"? Is this the most effective point of view for this particular story? Why or why not?

Essay Topic 2

In "The Satyricon," what is the significance of Eumolpus' poetry about the history of Rome? What point is the author trying to make with it and the monologue that leads up to it?

Essay Topic 3

Define rising action as an element of plot. Discuss in detail the rising action in both "The Satyricon" and "The Apocolocyntosis." How does the author present it? How does the rising action flow? How does the rising action add to the story?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 755 words (approx. 3 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample