Question 1 (10 points)
Which of the following qualities led to Theseus’ and Harriet Tubman’s successes?
A. knowledge of their enemies
B. patience despite pressure
C. bravery in the face of danger
D. tolerance of others who think differently from them

Question 2 (15 points)
Select TWO quotations that best support the answer to Part A. Then elaborate on why you chose those two quotations.

A. “Theseus insisted that he understood the dangers but would succeed. ‘I will return to you, father,’ cried Theseus, as the ship left the harbour wall, ‘and you will be proud of your son.’” (“Theseus and the Minotaur,” Paragraph 9)

B. “‘Then I wish you good luck, my son,’ cried his father, ‘I shall keep watch for you every day. If you are successful, take down these black sails and replace them with white ones. That way I will know you are coming home safe to me.’” (“Theseus and the Minotaur,” Paragraph 10)

C. “Theseus walked carefully through the dark, foul-smelling passages of the labyrinth, expecting at any moment to come face-to-face with the creature.” (“Theseus and the Minotaur,” Paragraph 19)

D. “This was indeed risky business, because slave catchers and sheriffs were constantly on the lookout.” (“The Underground Railroad,” Paragraph 5)

E. “She threatened to shoot any slave who had second thoughts with the pistol she carried on her hip.” (“The Underground Railroad,” Paragraph 5)

F. “When the Civil War broke out, she used her knowledge from working the railroad to serve as a spy for the Union.” (“The Underground Railroad,” Paragraph 5)

Question 3 (25 points)
Answer the following question making connections between the texts we read in CommonLit last week, "Theseus and the Minotaur" and "The Underground Railroad." Your response should be a 5-8 sentence paragraph, minimum.

What motivations do Theseus and Harriet Tubman share?

Theseus was the mythical king and founder-hero of Athens. Theseus battled and overcame foes that were identified with an archaic religious and social order. His role in history has been called "a major cultural transition, like the making of the new Olympia by Hercules.

In the passage highlighted in C, Theseus had defied his fathers warning about a gruesome entity in the form of a Minotaur to whom for several years Athens had sacrificed youth every year.

Theseus embarked on a journey to Crete. He gets there by a twist of fate falls in love with the daughter of King Mino.

King Mino without knowing it was going to be his last demands that Theseus be thrown into his dark labyrinth. According to the passage, as Theseus walks through this maze of death, he is unperturbed.

In the end, he keeps his promise to his father to stop the oppression of Kind Mino of Crete.

His ability to kill King Mino was an act of bravery.

Option C

With the advent of the war, Harriet went to work everyday with the enemy as as a spy.

She could have been caught any-day but she stayed on and ultimately helped to free about 70 slaves.

Question 3

The similarities between the two texts are given below:

Hero (Heroine): Both stories featured a Hero and Heroine.
Presence of a Villain: In the case of Theseus and the Minotaur, the Minotaur was the villain who kept demanding tribute in form of Athenian youth to be feasted upon. With regards to The Underground Railroad, the villian was the government working through SLAVE CATCHERS and sheriffs.
Both ventures to save other were bedevilled with grave dangers which had opportunity and luck not been on their side would have translated to their own death.

Theseus and Harriet Tubman were both motivated the need to free others from a position of slavery/death.

Cheers!