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SELECTION TEST LITERARY RESPONSE AND ANALYSIS

from the Odyssey, Part Two: Coming Home

Homer translated by Robert Fitzgerald
COMPREHENSION (40 points; 4 points each)
On the line provided, write the letter of the best answer to each of the following items.

______ 1. When Odysseus returns home, Athena advises him to disguise himself as a —
A swineherd
B soothsayer
C beggar
D soldier

______ 2. Which of the following events is an example of dramatic irony?

F Athena provides Odysseus with new clothes and a younger appearance.
G Telemachus returns to Ithaca unharmed.
H Eumaeus is sent to tell Penelope about Telemachus’s safe return.
J Telemachus does not recognize that the stranger is his father.

______ 3. When Odysseus reveals himself to Telemachus, his son —

A confuses him with the swineherd
B thinks only a god could make such a transformation
C accuses him of abandoning his mother
D asks for proof that Odysseus is his father

______ 4. The old hound Argos knows that Odysseus has returned because the dog —
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

F recognizes Odysseus’s face

G picks up the scent of his master
H recognizes Odysseus’s voice
J dies just as Odysseus appears

______ 5. Penelope proposes that her suitors perform a difficult task. They have to —
A kill Polyphemus
B string Odysseus’s bow
C pull Odysseus’s sword from a stone
D build a new palace for her

______ 6. To enlist the aid of the swineherd and cowherd in his battle with the suitors, Odysseus —
F explains that Athena has willed their participation
G offers them wives, cattle, and houses
H tells them that it is their duty to help him
J plays on their affection for Penelope

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______ 7. Who joins Odysseus in the fight against the suitors?

A The swineherd, the shepherd, and the cowherd
B Telemachus, Penelope, and Argos
C Penelope, her maids, and Eurycleia
D Telemachus, the swineherd, and the cowherd

______ 8. Telemachus executes the maids because they have —

F associated with the suitors
G neglected the dog Argos
H revealed Odysseus’s identity
J ridiculed Penelope

______ 9. To stop Odysseus from killing all the suitors, Eurymachus does everything but —
A blame everything on Antinous
B offer to repay Odysseus
C ask for a fair fight with Odysseus
D admit that Odysseus’s anger is just

______ 10. Odysseus proves his identity to Penelope by —

F summoning Argos with a secret name
G showing her the secret passage under their bed
H telling her how he built their bed
J telling her how the two of them met

LITERARY FOCUS (20 points; 5 point each)

On the line provided, write the letter of the best answer to each of the following items.

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

______ 11. When Eumaeus calls Telemachus “light of my days,” he is using a(n) —
A Homeric epithet
B character trait
C invocation
D exposition

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______ 12. In Part Two of the Odyssey, Odysseus exhibits the traits of an epic hero by —
F stringing the bow
G having the swineherd executed
H sparing Antinous’s life
J asking Penelope to prove her identity

______ 13. The Odyssey includes all of the following themes except —
A loyalty to family and friends
B the importance of truth
C overcoming obstacles
D the relationship between humans and gods

______ 14. Penelope’s test of Odysseus in Book 23 of the Odyssey —

F prolongs the story’s resolution
G shows how Odysseus has changed
H shows Penelope’s resentment of Odysseus
J results from the violence at the palace

VOCABULARY DEVELOPMENT (20 points; 2 points each)

Match each definition on the right with a Vocabulary word on the left. On the line provided, write
the letter of the definition.
______ 15. aloof a. gave generously
______ 16. candor b. honesty
______ 17. tremulous c. helps
______ 18. lavished d. flexible
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

______ 19. pliant e. glared

______ 20. disdainful f. add beauty to
______ 21. revelry g. merrymaking
______ 22. adorn h. unfriendly
______ 23. glowered i. trembling
______ 24. avails j. scornful

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CONSTRUCTED RESPONSE (20 points)

25. Which character (other than Odysseus) in Part Two of the Odyssey do you
think is the most heroic? On a separate sheet of paper, explain the reasons
for your choice. Support your ideas with at least two details from the
selection.

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

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Answer Key
Frank feels free to act on his feelings of Vocabulary Development
prejudice and bar the family from his 15. g 20. a
neighborhood.
16. h 21. c
Arthur is a lone voice for fairness.
17. j 22. f
Biographical influence: The theme of the
play indicates that Rose believed in 18. e 23. i
integration. 19. b 24. d
The conflict shows that Rose was against Constructed Response
discrimination.
Arthur’s lone voice against the neighbor- 25. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
hood plan is Rose’s voice rising against response follows:
prejudice. Circe reveals that Scylla takes six men
Rose used his play to point out an from every ship that passes her. Also,
important social issue in the United States Teiresias and Circe prophesize that the crew
in 1956. will die if they raid the cattle of Helios and
that Odysseus will return to Ithaca alone.
Collection 10 Given the Greek view of fate, Odysseus
may believe that losing six men to Scylla is
Collection 10 Diagnostic Test inevitable and, more logically, that telling
Literature, Informational Text, them so would cause panic. It could also be
Vocabulary, page 233 argued that Odysseus, always a clever
1. B 6. J strategist, realizes that he needs his crew’s
labor more than they need his leadership. If
2. F 7. A
Odysseus is right about his crew’s attitude,
3. D 8. G his decision is certainly pragmatic, if not
4. G 9. C morally sound. If he had not withheld
5. A 10. H information, the fate of his crew would not
have changed, but he would have joined
from the Odyssey, Part One: them at the bottom of the ocean, never to

Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

The Wanderings see home again.
by Homer
from the Odyssey, Part Two:
translated by Robert Fitzgerald
Coming Home
Selection Test, page 235 by Homer
Comprehension translated by Robert Fitzgerald
1. B 6. G Selection Test, page 239
2. H 7. C Comprehension
3. D 8. F 1. C 6. G
4. J 9. B 2. J 7. D
5. C 10. H 3. B 8. F
Literary Focus 4. H 9. C
11. D 13. B 5. B 10. H
12. J 14. J Literary Focus
11. A 13. B
12. F 14. F

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Answer Key
Vocabulary Development Vocabulary Development
15. h 20. j 6. defers
16. b 21. g 7. emaciated
17. i 22. f 8. emulate
18. a 23. e 9. annihilate
19. d 24. c 10. advocate
Constructed Response
25. Students’ responses will vary. A sample The Fenris Wolf
response follows: retold by Olivia Coolidge
The only character in these passages who Selection Test, page 245
is heroic in the classical sense of the word is Comprehension
Odysseus. Telemachus shows signs of
1. D 6. J
heroism, but he is really in the shadow of
his father. In a modern sense, Penelope 2. G 7. D
shows considerable heroism. She manages 3. D 8. G
to keep the suitors at bay for some time, 4. G 9. A
although it is not clear just how long they 5. C 10. G
have been at the palace. Her fidelity to her
Literary Focus
husband for the twenty years that
Odysseus is away shows some heroism. 11. B 13. D
Also, her testing of Odysseus by telling the 12. G 14. F
servant to move the bed—in order to make Constructed Response
sure that the gods are not playing a trick on
15. Students’ responses will vary. A sample
her—shows some of the characteristics of
response follows:
heroism. Certainly, the ruse demonstrates
that she can match wits with Odysseus. Scandinavian culture viewed good and
evil differently than other cultures.
Where I Find My Heroes Scandinavians regarded evil as a potential
Copyright © by Holt, Rinehart and Winston. All rights reserved.

by Oliver Stone part of everything and everyone. They toler-

ated Loki because he was handsome, and
Heroes with Solid Feet we know they valued beauty in men: Their
by Kirk Douglas god of beauty, Balder, was male. They also
Selection Test, page 243 admired Loki for his intelligence, which they
knew they needed. When the gods first see
Comprehension
the Fenris Wolf, Loki’s offspring, they hope
1. C 4. J that his good side may be stronger than his
2. J 5. C evil side and that he may be tamed. The
3. B story suggests that Scandinavians may not
have trusted cleverness, but they knew it
was needed for survival, at least until the
unavoidable end of everything.

Answer Key 349