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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. Why does Hector fight the Trojans?

2. How does Patroclus betray Achilles?

3. How does Patroclus describe the appearance of Achilles’ hair as he is announced to the Greeks in the harbor?

4. What flaw does Odysseus identify in Achilles’ temperament?

5. How does Priam justify Helen’s presence in Troy?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is Achilles’ answer to the situation Agamemnon and Patroclus have set up?

2. Describe the Greeks’ arrival in Troy.

3. What are Patroclus’ feelings during the crisis over Chriseis and Briseis?

4. What is Achilles and Patroclus’ relationship with Hector like?

5. How does Thetis help Achilles’ renown when the Greek ships land at Aulis?

6. What is it that prevents the Greeks from sailing to Troy from Aulis?

7. Why does Patroclus ask Achilles to claim Briseis?

8. Patroclus recalls Chiron saying that no man’s life is worth more than another’s. How does he settle the questions this philosophical statement raises, in light of Achilles’ conflict with Agamemnon?

9. What new wrinkle do Achilles and Patroclus learn about the prophecies from Thetis?

10. Achilles visits his mother to learn more about the prophecy regarding his death. What is his response to this visit and Thetis’ news?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

How would you rewrite The Song of Achilles, if you were to adapt it and make it your own. What part of the book would you preserve? What part would you change? Explain your motivation for the changes you would make.

Essay Topic 2

Identify the most important plot points in The Song of Achilles. What is at stake in each of these moments? What possibilities do these moments present, and how are those possibilities channeled into specific actions or events? How does the plot chart its course among other alternative or possible plots?

Essay Topic 3

Analyze the role of women in The Song of Achilles. How are they portrayed? What traits distinguish them from the men? What flexibility do the female characters have, to change how they are perceived, or to exceed the rules for women?

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This section contains 962 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample