Question

making inferences about characters in the odyssey
then he dismembered them and made his meal,
gaping and crunching like a mountain lion –
everything: innards, flesh, and marrow bones.
we cried aloud, lifting our hands to zeus...
but cyclops went on filling up his belly
with manflesh and great gulps of whey
-the odyssey,
homer
what inference can be made about the cyclops based
on the passage?
○ the cyclops eats men because he is hungry and
does not have any other source of food.
○ the cyclops is more like a violent animal than a
civilized man.
○ the cyclops is very frightened and concerned with
protecting himself from the men.
○ the cyclops is deeply religious and is making a
sacrifice to zeus.

Explanation:

1. Analyze Option 1: The passage doesn't state the Cyclops has no other food source. Eliminate.
2. Analyze Option 2: The Cyclops is described dismembering and eating men "gaping and crunching like a mountain lion", showing animal - like, violent behavior unlike a civilized man. This fits.
3. Analyze Option 3: The Cyclops is the aggressor, not frightened. Eliminate.
4. Analyze Option 4: The men cry to Zeus, but the Cyclops is eating, not making a sacrifice. Eliminate.

Answer:

B. The Cyclops is more like a violent animal than a civilized man.