Review of "The Cyclops" from The Odyssey

They Odyssey is an epic poem because it

• has a main character who is strong and brave.

• is a long narrative poem about the deeds of a hero.

• features a monster that eats human beings.

• was performed orally before it was written down.

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When he first speaks to the Cyclops, Odysseus warns him that

• the Greeks will kill him.

• that Greeks want the island where the Cyclopes live.

• Zeus will avenge the Greeks if the Cyclops is not courteous and hospitable.

• Zeus will kill the Cyclops if he doesn't give the Greeks money.

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What do the following lines mean?

When the young Dawn with fingertips of rose

lit up the world, the Cyclops built a fire

• When Dawn touched the world, the Cyclops built a fire.

• At daybreak, the Cyclops built a fire.

• Dawn burnt her fingers in the fire that the Cyclops built.

• The world was set on fire by the Cyclops.

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An epic simile (also called a Homeric simile) is a comparison made between two events, feelings, or objects so that readers better understands something unfamiliar by relating it to something familiar.

Which of the following is part of a lengthy epic simile in "The Cyclops"?

• "young Dawn with finger tips like rose"

• comparing the stake going into the eye like being a ship builder: "and I leaned on it turning it as a shipwright turns a drill into planking..."

• Odysseus lying to the Cyclops and calling himself by a false name: "mother, father, and friends, everyone calls me Nohbdy."

• Odysseus being clever enough to lie about where his ship is hidden.

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Why doesn't Odysseus kill the Cyclops after the monster eats the first two men?

• He respects the customs of the Cyclopes.

• The Cyclops is protected by his father, Poseidon.

• Athena advises Odysseus to try a different tactic.

• The Greeks would be trapped it the Cyclops' cave, unable to move the large stone blocking the door.

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Odysseus gets out of the Cyclopes' cave by

• using a pole to move the heavy slab.

• clinging to the belly of a ram.

• plunging a spike into the Cyclops' eye.

• making an offering to Zeus.

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Which statement best summarizes the escape plan for Odysseus and his men?

• They beg Poseidon to make the Cyclops free them.

• They blind the Cyclops and then sneak away during the night.

• They hide in the rams' wool and let the rams carry them past the Cyclops.

• They roll boulders down a hill to distract the Cyclops, and then run.

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After sneaking out of the cave under the Cyclops' rams, Odysseus yells,

"‘O Cyclops! Would you feast on my companions?

Puny, am I, in a Caveman’s hands?

How do you like the beating that we gave you,

you damned cannibal? Eater of guests

under your roof! Zeus and the gods have paid you!"

What is Odysseus doing in this scene?

• He is taunting the Cyclops from the shore.

• He is calling upon the goddess Athena to help him and his men.

• He is mourning the death of his men.

• He is crying out to Zeus asking him to save him from the Cyclops.

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Which character trait causes Odysseus to reveal his name to the Cyclops in the lines below:

"Cyclops, if ever mortal man inquire

how you were put to shame and blinded, tell him

Odysseus, raider of cities, took your eye:

Laertes’ son, whose home’s on Ithaca!"

• cowardice

• dishonesty

• xenia

• hubris

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"Always I had in mind some giant, armed

in giant force, would come against me here.

But this, but you—small, pitiful and twiggy—

you put me down with wine, you blinded me."

The Cyclops' speech in the lines above expresses the idea that _____

• A hero must rescue a nation from invaders.

• A hero must be loyal to his friends.

• The victorious homecoming of a hero is important.

• A hero can triumph over a powerful opponent.

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