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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 argument between Encolpius and Ascyltus in the section called Puteoli end?

2. Which of the following statements has "The Satyricon" been called, now deemed to be worthy literature?

3. Who does Encolpius find weeping as he leaves the place the old woman took him?

4. Who is the "terribly elegant" gentleman?

5. How long does Trimalchio have to live?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Petronius treat sordid events in his story? How would other writers from the era have treated them?

2. Briefly tell the werewolf story.

3. What points to Titus Petronius as the author of "The Satyricon" other than writing style and language?

4. In response to Encolpius' complaints about education, Agamemnon recites a few lines of poetry. Who wrote that poem and summarize it.

5. Trimalchio is playing ball with young boys as his guests arrive. Encolpius reports seeing him urinate. How does Trimalchio urinate, then wash and dry his hands afterward?

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

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

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

9. Explain the egg delicacy served after Trimalchio arrives.

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

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

In both stories ("The Satyricon" and "The Apocolocyntosis"), authorship is questioned by various scholars. How does the consensus prove who wrote which? How do they know the stories are by different authors?

Essay Topic 2

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 3

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?

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