Comparing Archetypes in Literature — Quiz Answers

Which statement best describes the rebel archetype?

Read the excerpt from "The Royal House of Thebes." Some hours later, Creon in the palace was startled by a shout, "Against your orders Polyneices has been buried." He hurried out to be confronted with the guards he had set on the dead body and with Antigone. "This girl buried him," they cried. "We saw her. A thick dust-storm gave her her chance. When it cleared, the body had been buried and the girl was making an offering to the dead." "You knew my edict?" Creon asked. "Yes," Antigone replied. "And you transgressed the law?" "Your law, but not the law of Justice who dwells with the gods," Antigone said. "The unwritten laws of heaven are not of today nor yesterday, but from all time." Which characteristics of archetypes best describe Antigone? Choose three correct answers.

Read the excerpts from "The Royal House of Thebes" and "The Story of a Warrior Queen." "We are women," she told her sister. "We must obey. We have no strength to defy the State." "Choose your own part," Antigone said. "I go to bury the brother I love." "You are not strong enough," Ismene cried. "Why, then when my strength fails," Antigone answered, "I will give up." She left her sister; Ismene dared not follow her. –"The Royal House of Thebes" Again and again the Romans were defeated, till it almost seemed as if the Britons really would succeed in driving them out of the country. Boadicea herself led the soldiers, encouraging them with her brave words. "It is better to die with honor than to live in slavery," she said. "I am a woman, but I would rather die than yield. Will you follow me, men?" and of course the men followed her gladly. –"The Story of a Warrior Queen" How are the themes presented in these two passages similar?

Read the excerpt from "The Royal House of Thebes." Antigone and Ismene heard with horror what Creon had decided. To Ismene, shocking as it was, overwhelming her with anguish for the pitiful dead body and the lonely, homeless soul, it seemed, nevertheless, that nothing could be done except to acquiesce [to accept without protest]. She and Antigone were utterly alone. All Thebes was exulting that the man who had brought war upon them should be thus terribly punished. "We are women," she told her sister. "We must obey. We have no strength to defy the State." Which archetype does Ismene best represent?

This question has two parts. First, answer Part 1. Then, answer Part 2. Part 1 Read the excerpt from “The Royal House of Thebes,” Antigone and Ismene heard with horror what Creon had decided. To Ismene, shocking as it was, overwhelming her with anguish for the pitiful dead body and the lonely, homeless soul, it seemed, nevertheless, that nothing could be done except to acquiesce. She and Antigone were utterly alone. All Thebes was exulting that the man who had brought war upon them should be thus terribly punished. "We are women," she told her sister. "We must obey. We have no strength to defy the State." "Choose your own part," Antigone said. "I go to bury the brother I love." "You are not strong enough," Ismene cried. "Why, then when my strength fails," Antigone answered, "I will give up." She left her sister; Ismene dared not follow her. Some hours later, Creon in the palace was startled by a shout, "Against your orders Polyneices has been buried." He hurried out to be confronted with the guards he had set on the dead body and with Antigone. "This girl buried him," they cried. "We saw her. A thick dust-storm gave her her chance. When it cleared, the body had been buried and the girl was making an offering to the dead." "You knew my edict?" Creon asked. "Yes," Antigone replied. "And you transgressed the law?" "Your law, but not the law of Justice who dwells with the gods," Antigone said. 'The unwritten laws of heaven are not of today nor yesterday, but from all time." Ismene weeping came from the palace to stand with her sister. "I helped do it," she said. But Antigone would not have that. "She had no share in it," she told Creon. And she bade her sister say no more. "Your choice was to live," she said, "mine to die." As she was led away to death, she spoke to the bystanders:— . . . Behold me, what I suffer Because I have upheld that which is high. Ismene disappears. There is no story, no poem, about her. The House of Oedipus, the last of the royal family of Themes, was known no more. Which archetype is best reflected in Antigone’s decision to bury Polyneices?

Part 2 Which quotation best supports the correct answer to Part 1?

Read the excerpts from "The Royal House of Thebes" and "The Story of a Warrior Queen." "We are women," she told her sister. "We must obey. We have no strength to defy the State." "Choose your own part," Antigone said. "I go to bury the brother I love." "You are not strong enough," Ismene cried. "Why, then when my strength fails," Antigone answered, "I will give up." She left her sister; Ismene dared not follow her. —"The Royal House of Thebes" Again and again the Romans were defeated, till it almost seemed as if the Britons really would succeed in driving them out of the country. Boadicea herself led the soldiers, encouraging them with her brave words. "It is better to die with honor than to live in slavery," she said. "I am a woman, but I would rather die than yield. Will you follow me, men?" and of course the men followed her gladly. —"The Story of a Warrior Queen" How are the archetypes presented in these two passages different?

Read the excerpt from "The Story of a Warrior Queen." When Boadicea saw that all hope was gone, she called her daughters to her. "My children," she said sadly, as she took them by the hand and drew them towards her, "my children, it has not pleased the gods of battle to deliver us from the power of the Romans. But there is yet one way of escape." Tears were in her blue eyes as she kissed her daughters. She was no longer a queen of fury but a loving mother. Which archetype does Boadicea, the queen of the Britons, best represent?

Read the excerpt from "The Story of a Warrior Queen." At last the Roman leader was so downcast with his many defeats that he went himself to the British camp, bearing in his hand a green branch as a sign of peace. When Boadicea was told that an ambassador from the Romans wished to speak to her, she replied proudly, "My sword alone shall speak to the Romans." And when the Roman leader asked for peace, she answered, "You shall have peace, peace, but no submission. A British heart will choose death rather than lose liberty. There can be peace only if you promise to leave the country." Which action best supports the idea that Boadicea is a warrior?

Read the excerpt from "The Story of a Warrior Queen." After Boadicea had been so cruelly and unjustly treated, she burned with anger against the Romans. Her heart was full only of thoughts of revenge. She called her people together, and, standing on a mound of earth so that they could see and hear her, she made a speech to them. She told them first how shamefully the Romans had behaved to her, their Queen. Then, like Caractacus, she reminded them how their forefathers had fought against Julius Caesar, and had driven the Romans away for a time at least. "Is it not better to be poor and free than to have great wealth and be slaves?" she asked. "And the Romans take not only our freedom but our wealth. They want to make us both slaves and beggars. Let us rise. O brothers and sisters, let us rise, and drive these robbers out of our land! Let us kill them every one! Let us teach them that they are no better than hares and foxes, and no match for greyhounds! We will fight, and if we cannot conquer, then let us die—yes, every one of us—die rather than submit." How does the archetype presented in the excerpt support the universal theme of freedom above life?

Read the excerpt from "The Story of a Warrior Queen ." The eldest daughter obeyed proudly and gladly, but the younger one was afraid. "Must I, mother?" she asked timidly. "Yes, dear one," said Boadicea gently. "I too will drink, and we shall meet again." When the Roman soldiers burst in upon them, they found the great queen dead, with her daughters in her arms. She had poisoned both herself and them, rather than that they should fall again into the hands of the Romans. How does the archetype presented in the excerpt support the universal theme of a mother's instinct to protect her children?