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📖 Literature Questions & Answers. Page 6

Q

What obstacles does Gregor face in The Metamorphosis?

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After turning into a bug, most of the obstacles that Gregor from The Metamorphosis encounters are physical. The newly-attained insect body is foreign and hard to control. It...
Q

What’s the Metamorphosis’ genre?

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A novella is a short story, compared to more detailed narrative forms. There are not many characters, and it includes one storyline. It depicts an unexpected plot twist or ending. The...
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What is the setting of The Metamorphosis?

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The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka takes place in an unnamed European city. The primary setting is an apartment of the Samsa family. An entire story develops in Samsa's house; its...
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Why does the office clerk come to the Samsa house?

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The chief clerk is Gregor’s strict supervisor at his job. He visits the Samsas because his subordinate missed the morning train to work. The unfair boss is unhappy with Gregor’s...
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What does The Metamorphosis’ ending mean?

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The novella ends with Gregor Samsa's death and the family's trip to the countryside. Gregor's death has a symbolic meaning, as it freed from suffering. The family feels a sense of...
Q

Who is Tiresias in the Odyssey?

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Tiresias is a character from Homer's Odyssey. He is also well-known for Sophocles' Antigone and Oedipus the King, and Ovid's Metamorphoses. In Homer's epic poem, the protagonist meets...
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Who are the suitors in the Odyssey? What is their fate?

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The suitors in the Odyssey are men who want to marry the "widowed" Penelope. They never succeed. In the end, they are killed by Odysseus for squandering his wealth and harassing...
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What are the major conflicts in the Odyssey?

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Conflicts in The Odyssey can be divided into three main categories — man vs. gods/nature, man vs. society, and man vs. self. There are a few instances of each type of conflict in the...
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Who is Calypso?

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In Homer's poem, Calypso is a nymph. She kept Odysseus imprisoned on the island of Ogygia for seven years. The goddess symbolizes temptation. Calypso offers Odysseus immortality if he...
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What Was Odysseus Revenge on the Suitors? Was it Justified?

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When Odysseus returns home, he massacres the suitors trying to marry his wife in his absence. He sees the murder as the only possible way to regain control over Ithaka. The slaughter...
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How long did it take Odysseus to get home?

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Odysseus has been away from home for twenty years. A man spent ten years fighting in the Trojan war, helping the Greeks. After the fall of Troy, it took him ten years to come back home...
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What are the allusions in the Odyssey?

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In contrast to the Iliad, the second work of Homer, the Odyssey, contains many allusions. They are mostly related to ancient methodology. Allusions help evaluate characters’ trials and...
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How Long did Odysseus Stay with Calypso?

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Calypso is a nymph that captures Odysseus for seven years. They live on a magical island of Ogygia before Odysseus manages to escape. When Odysseus lands on Ogygia during his travels,...
Q

What does Theoclymenus believe about Odysseus?

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Theoclymenus tells Penelope that Odysseus is back on the island. He states that the king is busy gaining information about suitors’ evil deeds. The king is preparing his revenge....
Q

Who is Melantho?

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Melantho is not a well-known character in the poem. She is Penelope's maid and the sister of Melanthius in Odyssey. In the poem, Melantho betrays Penelope. She appears to be more loyal...
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What does Tiresias tell Odysseus

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Tiresias is a famous blind seer of Apollo. He gives a prophecy to Odysseus about his further journey and its end. The seer says that Odysseus' voyage home will be full of difficulties...
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Who is Irus?

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Irus or Arnaeus is a character from the Odyssey. One of his primary functions in the text is transmitting messages for Penelope's suitors. Odysseus returns home from his twenty years...
Q

Why Telemachus murdered the maids and Melanthius?

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Telemachus' murder of the maids and the goatherd Melanthius can be explained. These people showed a scornful attitude and betrayed Odysseus. His son mocked the victims just as ironicall
Q

How many suitors in the Odyssey have taken over the house?

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In the Odyssey, a hundred and eight suitors assured that Odysseus would not return home. The suitors were captivated by the charm and intellect of Odysseus' wife, Penelope. Therefore,...
Q

How Performers Memorize an Epic Poem?

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Homer's Odyssey is a unique creation of literary art. The poem canonizes the image of Odysseus. Nowadays, there are countless plays based on the story of The Iliad and The Odyssey....
Q

Why does Zeus tell the story of Aegisthus to Athena?

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Zeus tells Athena the story of Aegisthus. He wants to show her that the gods do not always have control over humans' actions, and that justified revenge is acceptable. Detailed...
Q

What Can Be Inferred about the Cyclops?

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The Cyclops is a one-eyed mythological creature in Homer's Odyssey. He is an uncivilized, brutal, and rude giant living in a cave. The Cyclops does not adhere to any rules or...
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What are Odysseus’s Strengths and Weaknesses?

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Odysseus, the hero of Homer's epic poems The Odyssey and The Iliad, has many strengths and weaknesses. During his journey home, he shows himself as a courageous, smart, and confident...
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How does Eurycleia recognize Odysseus?

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While working as a nurse, Eurycleia finds herself talking to a beggar. He claims to be a former soldier who fought in the Trojan War with Odysseus. Eurycleia, yet, does not recognize...
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Why Does Odysseus Go to The Underworld?

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Odysseus looks for his way back home from the Trojan War. Circe, the daughter of Apollo, advises the hero to find the soothsayer Tiresias to get the directions from her. However, Homer...
Q

What is the setting in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?

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The story of Gawain Poet’s Sir Gawain and the Green Knight takes place in King Arthur’s Britain during the middle ages. Britain at that time is described as a land of wonders and...
Q

What Are 3 Characteristics of Medieval Romance?

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The medieval romance has the following distinctive features: The main character demonstrates chivalrous behavior throughout the entire romance. The protagonist is brave and...
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How does Camelot react to Gawain’s return?

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Gawain comes back to Camelot after a battle with the Green Knight. He wears a green belt on his neck like a scarf. The entire court is happy to see him safe and hear his remarkable...
Q

What Does the Green Chapel Look Like?

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The Green Knight sets the Green Chapel as a place where the challenger should find him in a year to receive the ax blow in return. The Green Chapel looks like an old crack in the...
Q

Does Gawain die in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?

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The protagonist of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight does not die. The knight’s trial at the Green Chapel turns out to be a ruse made by the mysterious Green Knight. He wants to make...
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What Are the Chivalric Qualities of Sir Gawain?

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In Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Gawain revealed extraordinary character integrity without yielding to Lady Bertilak’s seductions. Moreover, his personality demonstrated unswerving...
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Why Did Sir Gawain Accept The Challenge?

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As no other knight accepts the Green Knight’s challenge, King Arthur has to do it to honor the code of chivalry. Gawain steps forward, thus relieving Arthur of this duty. He does it to 
Q

How is the Character of Sir Gawain Different from Beowulf?

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Beowulf is a brave Anglo-Saxon prince, and Sir Gawain is a typical Medieval knight. They adhere to different values because the world's picture was not the same at their times. Beowulf...
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Who is the trickster in Sir Gawain and the Green Knight?

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Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is a chivalric poem written in Arthurian tradition. The story is considered a classic of English literature. However, the story might appear confusing...
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What are the Five Virtues in Sir Gawain?

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The author of a poem pays particular attention to the Pentangle or "the endless knot." The Pentangle has several meanings in the verse. It provides the main character with physical and...
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What does the Green Knight set out to test?

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The Green Knight set out to test Sir Gawain’s virtue and the ability to rely on his faith. Instead of putting his trust in an inanimate object that may be expected to give him...
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What Animals does the Host Pursue on His First Hunt?

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Part three of Sir Gawain and the Green Knight starts with a deer hunt. Lord Bertilak goes hunting in the forest. Meanwhile, his wife makes sexual advances towards sir Gawain at the...
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How many kisses in total did Gawain receive?

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In the poem Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, the main character has received a total of six kisses: one kiss on the first day of trial two on the second three on the final...
Q

What is the significance of the green girdle?

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The green girdle is a symbol of virtuousness that rises above any other Christian elements of faith. It allows anyone to expose themselves to the girdle and test their faith while also...
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Why Does Gawain Get Rid of the Girdle?

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The girdle is quite a controversial symbol. On the one hand, Sir Gawain, the main character of the book, considers the green sash as an embodiment of honor. He believes it is endowed...
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When was Sir Gawain and the Green Knight written?

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The narrative Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is believed to be written in the late 1400s. However, not many facts are known about the poem's date of creation. Also, there are still...
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What does the lord of the castle propose to Gawain?

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The lord of the castle proposes a deal to Gawain. According to the agreement, the host leaves with his men to hunt until evening. Gawain, meanwhile, stays in the court. At the end of...