Question

read the excerpt from part 2 of the odyssey. we cried aloud, lifting our hands to zeus, powerless, looking on at this, appalled; but cyclops went on filling up his belly with manflesh and great gulps of whey, then lay down like a mast among his sheep. which statement best explains the simile in this excerpt? the cyclops is compared to zeus because of his size. the cyclops is compared to zeus because of his power. the cyclops is compared to a mast, or flagpole, because of his surrender. the cyclops is compared to a mast, or flagpole, because of his size.

Explanation:

The simile in the excerpt is "then lay down like a mast among his sheep". A mast (flagpole) is large, and the Cyclops is compared to it to emphasize his huge size. The first two options compare Cyclops to Zeus, but the simile is with a mast, not Zeus. The third option says "surrender", but the action is laying down after eating, not surrendering. So the correct explanation is about his size.

Answer:

D. The Cyclops is compared to a mast, or flagpole, because of his size.