The Odyssey: Central Ideas and Character Motivation, Part 2

Pre-Test Active

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

TIME REMAINING

44:54

What motivates Odysseus to tell a lie to the Cyclops?

Read the excerpt from The Odyssey.

'My ship?

tremble,

Poseidon Lord, who sets the earth a-tremble,

broke it up on the rocks at your land's end.

A wind from seaward served him, drove us there.

We are survivors, these good men and I.

Odysseus knows that Poseidon is the Cyclops' father.

Odysseus is afraid the Cyclops will steal their ship.

Odysseus does not want to reveal their only means of

escape.

Odysseus does not know what has happened to his ship.

Odysseus does

Respuesta :

The correct answer is Odysseus does not want to reveal their only means of escape.

Explanation:

During this excerpt, Odysseus tells the Cyclops his ship was destroyed "Poseidon Lord, who sets the earth a-tremble, broke it up on the rocks at your land's end" and this is a lie because Odysseus and his men simply sailed to the island. Moreover, this lie is motivated by Odysseus' fear that the Cyclops destroy the ship because this is the only way the men have to scape the island. Indeed, this lie saves Odysseus and his men because the Cyclops then turns hostile and they need to escape from this island.

Q&A Education