Odyssey Review sheet
Multiple Choice
Identify the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
Critical Reading Identify the letter of the choice that best answers the question.
____
1. What does Odysseus order Telemachus to do when Odysseus gives him a signal?
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
2. The brief episode involving Argus, Odysseus' dog, closes with which of the following?
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
In one motion, Odysseus strung the bow.
Odysseus stood watching the unruly suitors like a captain surveying a rough sea.
The suitors, both strong and weak, tried and failed to string the bow.
The setting of Odysseus' final challenge is his native island of Ithaca.
6. Which of the following characters is the father of Odysseus?
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
a scene that interrupts the sequence of events in a narrative to relate earlier events
a sudden realization on the part of the epic hero
a scene that foreshadows an epic hero's destiny
an extended comparison or contrast between present events and past events
5. Which of the following is an example of a simile?
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
Read the end of the work first, and then go back and start reading from the beginning.
Compare and contrast your reactions to ideas and situations with the characters' reactions.
Write a short summary of the work that covers all of the characters and plot events.
State the theme of the work—its message or insight about life or people.
4. Which of the following correctly defines a flashback?
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
Eumaeus removes Argus from the hall.
Odysseus fails to recognize Argus.
After Argus recognizes Odysseus, the dog dies.
The suitors object to Argus' presence in the hall.
3. Which of the following strategies is most helpful when you try to understand the historical and cultural
context of a literary work?
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
remove the weapons from the hall
reveal Odysseus' identity to Penelope
leave Ithaca and set sail for Pylos
string the great bow
Polyphemus
Helios
Poseidon
Laertes
7. Why does Odysseus blind the Cyclops rather than kill him when the giant is asleep?
a. His men convince him that they will all be cursed by the powerful god Poseidon if they
kill the Cyclops.
b. Odysseus is moved by compassion for the Cyclops.
c. Odysseus realizes that he and his men need the Cyclops to roll aside the huge stone that
blocks the cave's entrance.
d. Odysseus and his men lack the physical strength to kill the giant.
Vocabulary and Grammar
____
8. Which of the following is the best synonym for assuage?
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
influence
pacify
antagonize
imitate
9. Which of the following statements about a simple sentence is correct?
a.
b.
c.
d.
It always has a compound subject.
It always has a compound verb.
It may contain a subordinate clause.
It consists of a single independent clause.
____ 10. Which word best completes the following sentence?
Despite Calypso's ____ for him, Odysseus insists on returning to Ithaca.
a.
b.
c.
d.
ardor
bereft
assuage
insidious
____ 11. Which of the following correctly describes the following sentence?
Odysseus' men tie him to the mast, and the hero listens to the song of the Sirens.
a.
b.
c.
d.
simple sentence
compound sentence
complex sentence
compound-complex sentence
____ 12. Which of the following is the best synonym for contempt?
a.
b.
c.
d.
scorn
complaint
dislike
permission
____ 13. Which item correctly identifies the following sentence:
After Odysseus returned to Ithaca, Athena disguised him.
a.
b.
c.
d.
simple sentence
compound sentence
complex sentence
compound-complex sentence
____ 14. A simple sentence cannot have which of the following?
a.
b.
c.
d.
a comma
a compound subject
a compound verb
a subordinate clause
Critical Reading Identify the letter of the choice that best completes the statement or answers the question.
____ 15. The episode about Argus, Odysseus' dog, is important to the plot because it emphasizes
a.
b.
c.
d.
the length of Odysseus' absence from home.
Eumaeus' awareness of Odysseus' disguise.
the epic's main theme of loyalty vs. treachery.
the qualities that people and animals have in their youth.
____ 16. The epic hero Odysseus most clearly demonstrates the realistic, human side of his character when he
a.
b.
c.
d.
resists the temptations of Calypso and Circe.
refuses to taste the honeyed Lotus plant.
ties his men beneath the Cyclops' rams.
weeps upon meeting Elpenor's ghost in Hades.
____ 17. To understand the historical and cultural context of a literary work, which of the following is most helpful?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Skim the work first, and then read it slowly and carefully.
Consider how the work has affected subsequent poems, novels, or essays.
Read the author biography, footnotes, and other textual aids.
Consider how you would set the work to music.
____ 18. Which statement most accurately describes the role of Zeus in Odysseus' adventures?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Zeus encourages Odysseus' crew.
Zeus controls the weather by which Odysseus sails.
Zeus strengthens Odysseus' enemies.
Zeus protects Odysseus' crew from harm.
Essay
19. Suspense is a feeling of tension or uncertainty about what will happen next in a narrative. Write an essay in
which you discuss how Homer creates and maintains suspense in Part 2 of the Odyssey. In your essay,
identify which characters and events involve the element of suspense, and comment on how effectively you
think Homer uses this technique. Be sure to support your main ideas with specific references to the selection.
20. Thinking About the Big Question: Do heroes have responsibilities? Odysseus is brave, crafty, cunning,
clever, and obedient to the gods and the laws. In an essay, describe one event from the Odyssey, Part 1, that
shows how these strengths help Odysseus be a responsible hero.
21. An epic hero possesses the character traits most valued by the society in which the epic originated. Based on
this portion of the Odyssey, write a brief essay describing the character traits most valued in ancient Greece.
Support your main ideas with specific references to the epic.
22. Thinking About the Big Question: Do heroes have responsibilities? Think of an example from Part 2 of
the Odyssey in which Odysseus displays a strong sense of responsibility to his family. How does Homer
portray the epic hero as highly aware of his responsibilities to his wife and son? Support your main ideas in an
essay with references to the text of the epic.
23. As an epic hero, Odysseus is a larger-than-life character. In an essay, identify and discuss Odysseus'
characteristics—both his strengths and his weaknesses. Be sure to support your main ideas with specific
examples or quotations from the epic.
Odyssey Review sheet
Answer Section
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. ANS:
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18. ANS:
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ESSAY
19. ANS:
A
PTS: 1
Critical Reading
C
PTS: 1
Critical Reading
C
PTS: 1
Critical Reading
A
PTS: 1
Critical Reading
B
PTS: 1
Critical Reading
D
PTS: 1
Critical Reading
C
PTS: 1
Critical Reading
B
PTS: 1
Vocabulary and Grammar
D
PTS: 1
Vocabulary and Grammar
A
PTS: 1
Vocabulary and Grammar
B
PTS: 1
Vocabulary and Grammar
A
PTS: 1
Vocabulary and Grammar
C
PTS: 1
Vocabulary and Grammar
D
PTS: 1
Vocabulary and Grammar
A
PTS: 1
Critical Reading
D
PTS: 1
Critical Reading
C
PTS: 1
Critical Reading
B
PTS: 1
Critical Reading
DIF: Easy
OBJ: Comprehension
DIF: Easy
OBJ: Comprehension
DIF: Easy
OBJ: Reading
DIF: Easy
OBJ: Literary Analysis
DIF: Easy
OBJ: Literary Analysis
DIF: Easy
OBJ: Comprehension
DIF: Easy
OBJ: Comprehension
DIF: Easy
OBJ: Vocabulary
DIF: Easy
OBJ: Grammar
DIF: Average
OBJ: Vocabulary
DIF: Average
OBJ: Grammar
DIF: Easy
OBJ: Vocabulary
DIF: Easy
OBJ: Grammar
DIF: Average
OBJ: Grammar
DIF: Average
OBJ: Interpretation
DIF: Average
OBJ: Literary Analysis
DIF: Average
OBJ: Reading
DIF: Average
OBJ: Comprehension
Students should mention the obstacles facing Odysseus, Telemachus, and their small group of faithful
household members. In the conflict with the suitors, Odysseus faces long odds but triumphs. The situation
with Penelope is also suspenseful, as each partner tests the other. Evaluate students' essays for clarity,
coherence, and specific references to the text.
PTS: 1
DIF: Easy
OBJ: Essay
20. ANS:
Students may mention the way in which Odysseus rescued the men from various troubles, such as the Cyclops
and Scylla and Charybdis, as an example of his craftiness, cunning, and ability to contend with enemies. His
actions in the Land of the Dead and in the episode of the Cattle of the Sun God show he tried to obey the gods
and laws.
PTS: 1
DIF: Average
OBJ: Essay
21. ANS:
Students should recognize that Odysseus, as an epic hero, is a model of the characteristics most admired in
ancient Greece. They may mention the following characteristics: physical strength, mental quickness, bravery,
respect for the gods, leadership abilities, perseverance, fairness, honesty, and self-control. Events that
demonstrates some of these qualities include Odysseus' outwitting the Cyclops, his bravery in battling Scylla,
and his resistance to the temptations of Calypso, the Lotus-Eaters, and the cattle of the sun god.
PTS: 1
DIF: Average
OBJ: Essay
22. ANS:
Students may choose almost any of the plot strands of Part 2 to support the central idea that Odysseus feels
responsibility for his family and their welfare. The suitors threaten not only the hero’s life, but also his
marriage and the inheritance he has accumulated for his son. These dangers, in turn, mean that the hero must
struggle to overcome the heavy odds against him and destroy the suitors.
PTS: 1
DIF: Average
OBJ: Essay
23. ANS:
Students should point out that Odysseus' strengths include craftiness, cunning, the ability to contend with
enemies and difficult situations, pious respect for the gods, and dutiful attention to laws and prophecies.
Odysseus' weaknesses include his curiosity and appetite for adventure despite the dangers involved, his pride
and boastfulness about his own ingenuity, and his inability to make his crew obey crucial warnings, as in the
episode of the oxen of the sun god.
PTS: 1
DIF: Easy
OBJ: Essay