The Adventures of Ulysses

Multiple Choice and Long Answer questions create ideal opportunities for whole-book review, unit exam, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which character trait of Ulysses is demonstrated through his role in the Trojan Horse plan, Ulysses telling Polyphemus his name is “Nobody,” and Ulysses disguising himself when he returns to Ithaca?

A) Bravery

B) Cleverness

C) Determination

D) Curiosity

2. Which character trait of Ulysses is demonstrated through the Trojan War, Ulysses’s encounter with the cannibals, and Ulysses following his men into Polyphemus’s cave?

A) Bravery

B) Curiosity

C) Hubris

D) Cleverness

3. Which character trait of Ulysses is demonstrated through his escape from Libya, his decision to leave Circe’s island, and his attempts to outmaneuver the wandering rocks?

A) Piety

B) Intelligence

C) Curiosity

D) Determination

4. Which character trait of Ulysses is demonstrated when he fails to credit the gods for their help with the Trojan Horse plan, taunts Polyphemus, and falls for Calypso’s flattery?

A) Piety

B) Hubris

C) Intelligence

D) Determination

5. Which character trait of Ulysses is demonstrated when he sacrifices the Ciconian bulls, tries to keep his men from eating Helios’s cattle, and asks for help escaping from Calypso?

A) Determination

B) Bravery

C) Piety

D) Hubris

6. Which of the following stories demonstrates the dangers of greed?

A) “Keeper of the Winds”

B) “The Sirens”

C) “Scylla and Charybdis”

D) “Ino’s Veil”

7. Which of the following stories shows a character violating the ancient Greek value of hospitality?

A) “The Ciconians”

B) “Keeper of the Winds”

C) “Ino’s Veil”

D) “Circe”

8. Which character most clearly embodies the value of loyalty?

A) Calypso

B) Circe

C) Penelope

D) Nausicaa

9. Which character most clearly demonstrates the devastating effects of lost honor?

A) Achilles

B) Ajax

C) Eurylochus

D) Eumaeus

10. Which immortals arguably help Ulysses the most throughout the story?

A) Calypso and Athene

B) Athene and Hermes

C) Hermes and Zeus

D) Zeus and Calypso

11. Which motif appears in “Keeper of the Winds,” “The Lotus-Eaters,” “Nausicaa,” and “The Cattle of the Sun”?

A) Sleep, unconsciousness, and dreams

B) The difference between appearance and reality

C) Ulysses’s superhuman strength

D) Humans being unjustly punished by the gods

12. Which motifs both appear in “Circe,” “Calypso,” and “Scylla and Charybdis”?

A) Difficult choices and misplaced trust

B) Misplaced trust and arrogance

C) Arrogance and transformation

D) Transformation and difficult choices

13. Which motif appears in “Calypso,” “Nausicaa,” and “Circe”?

A) The rewards of obedience to the gods

B) Ulysses making impulsive decisions

C) Women falling in love with Ulysses

D) The danger of seductive women

14. Which motif appears in “Keeper of the Winds,” “The Cattle of the Sun,” “Ships and Men,” and “The Ciconians”?

A) The dangers of disregarding a leader’s opinions

B) Colors used to convey a character’s state of mind

C) Talking animals and monsters

D) Weather as a weapon wielded by gods

15. Which motif appears in “The Land of the Dead,” “Nausicaa,” and “Calypso”?

A) Honor among soldiers

B) Ulysses as a great storyteller

C) Prophets, seers, and oracles

D) Fruit and flowers

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. What idea do the Sirens embody that the reader also encounters in Ulysses’s adventures with Circe and Calypso?

2. Explain how the ball that Nausicaa and her servants play with marks the end of Ulysses’s journey and echoes an important symbol involved in beginning his adventure.