Stone Blind Quiz: 20 Questions on Plot, Characters, and Themes
Test your knowledge of Natalie Haynes's Stone Blind with this 20-question quiz covering plot, character motivation, themes, and synthesis. Answers are at the bottom. For deeper discussion, see the book overview, questions and answers, and ending explained.
Plot and Sequence Questions
1. What is the name of the mortal sister raised by the Gorgons Sthenno and Euryale?
2. Which god assaults Medusa inside Athene's temple?
A) Zeus
B) Poseidon
C) Apollo
D) Hermes
3. What does Athene do to Medusa as punishment for the desecration of her temple?
A) Turns her hair into snakes
B) Blinds her
C) Turns her to stone
D) Banishes her to the underworld
4. Who is Perseus's mother?
5. What weapon does Perseus use to behead Medusa?
A) A curved sword (harpē)
B) A spear
C) A bow and arrow
D) A dagger
6. What happens to the sea monster that threatens Andromeda?
A) It is turned to stone by Medusa's head
B) It is killed by Perseus's sword
C) It retreats to the open ocean
D) It drowns in a tidal wave
7. Who is the king of Seriphos who demands that Perseus fetch Medusa's head?
8. What happens to King Polydectes when he looks at Medusa's head?
A) He turns to stone
B) He dies instantly
C) He flees in terror
D) He is struck blind
Character Motivation Questions
9. Why does Euryale raise the shore after Medusa's traumatic encounter with Poseidon?
10. Why does Athene punish Medusa rather than Poseidon?
A) She cannot harm Poseidon while he is in his ocean kingdom
B) She is afraid of Poseidon's power
C) She believes women are responsible for men's actions
D) She wants to please Zeus by punishing a mortal
11. Why does Perseus accept the quest to fetch Medusa's head?
A) To save his mother from marrying Polydectes
B) To prove his bravery to the gods
C) To gain glory and fame
D) Because Hermes and Athene commanded him
12. What motivates Cassiope's boast that she and Andromeda are more beautiful than the Nereids?
A) Arrogance and pride
B) Anxiety about aging
C) Love for her daughter
D) A desire to impress her husband
13. Why does Medusa keep her eyes bound after discovering her petrifying gaze?
A) To avoid turning her sisters to stone
B) To ease the burning pain
C) Because Athene ordered her to
D) To hide her shame from the world
Theme and Symbol Questions
14. What does the recurring “Stone” chapters symbolize in the novel?
15. In the contest for Athens, what does the olive tree represent?
A) Civilization and peace
B) Military strength
C) Wealth and prosperity
D) Divine wisdom
16. What does the Gorgoneion (Medusa's severed head) symbolize as it is used by Perseus?
A) The power of the gaze and the monstrous turned into a weapon
B) The triumph of heroism over evil
C) A trophy of divine favor
D) The justice of the gods
17. How does the novel challenge the conventional idea of “monstrosity”?
Synthesis Questions
18. Compare the actions of Poseidon and Athene toward Medusa. How does the novel use these events to critique victim-blaming?
19. How does the novel's use of non-human narrators (e.g., the Gorgoneion, the olive trees, the snakes) affect the reader's understanding of the story?
20. In what ways does Perseus's character contradict the traditional heroic ideal? Use evidence from his actions.
Answer Key
1. Medusa. (Chapters 5 and 7 establish her as the mortal sister raised by Sthenno and Euryale.)
2. B) Poseidon. (Chapter 10: Poseidon identifies himself and forces Medusa to submit.)
3. A) Turns her hair into snakes. (Chapter 24: Athene appears and transforms Medusa's hair; Chapter 28 confirms the snakes.)
4. Danaë. (Chapters 13–15 detail her imprisonment and rescue.)
5. A) A curved sword (harpē). (Chapter 35: the Hesperides give him a curved blade; Chapter 55 describes him drawing it.)
6. A) It is turned to stone by Medusa's head. (Chapter 63: the creature petrifies limb by limb and sinks.)
7. Polydectes. (Chapter 21: he demands the Gorgon's head as a condition for leaving Danaë alone.)
8. A) He turns to stone. (Chapter 70: Polydectes and three bodyguards are petrified.)
9. To protect Medusa from Poseidon and the sea. (Chapter 11: Euryale smashes the rock and raises the shore so the sea can never touch Medusa again.)
10. A) She cannot harm Poseidon while he is in his ocean kingdom. (Chapter 23: Athene decides she cannot attack Poseidon in his realm, so she turns her anger toward the girl.)
11. A) To save his mother from marrying Polydectes. (Chapter 21: Polydectes says Perseus must fetch the head if he wants his mother to stay.)
12. B) Anxiety about aging. (Chapter 26: the narrator notes it was anxiety, not arrogance, that led Cassiope to speak the ruinous words.)
13. A) To avoid turning her sisters to stone. (Chapter 48: Medusa fears her gaze could petrify even immortal sisters, so she binds her eyes.)
14. The stone statues represent permanent, frozen moments—loss of life, the dehumanizing effect of the gaze, and the irreversible consequences of violence. (Chapters 12, 25, 39, 56.)
15. A) Civilization and peace. (Chapter 44: the olive tree is a civilizing gift; Chapter 46: Athene's choice wins the contest.)
16. A) The power of the gaze and the monstrous turned into a weapon. (The head retains consciousness and petrifies enemies; it becomes a tool of destruction, not a symbol of heroism.)
17. The novel shows that monsters are made, not born: Medusa is a victim of assault and divine punishment, while the so-called heroes (Perseus, the gods) commit monstrous acts. (Chapters 2, 22, 30, 66.)
18. Poseidon assaults Medusa; Athene punishes Medusa instead of Poseidon, blaming the victim. The novel critiques this by giving Medusa a voice and showing the injustice of divine power. (Chapters 10, 23, 24, 28.)
19. Non-human narrators—the Gorgoneion, olive trees, snakes—offer perspectives that humanize the “monsters” and expose the cruelty of the gods and heroes. They also challenge the reader's assumptions about who deserves sympathy. (Chapters 44, 55, 57, 59, 63.)
20. Perseus is arrogant, boastful, and cowardly: he kills a sleeping Medusa, tricks the Graiai, uses divine gifts rather than his own skill, and shows no remorse for mass petrification. The narrator repeatedly calls him a vicious thug, not a hero. (Chapters 22, 29, 30, 55, 70, 72.)