The Eagle of the Ninth 12

Study Guide Questions for Ch. 12 “The Whistler in the Dawn”

If you are looking for the beginning of the study for The Eagle of the Ninth then you can go HERE for a brief introduction. At the bottom of the introduction you will find the links to each section of the study guide as it becomes available. If you would like to see the growing list of book studies available for free on this site you can go HERE. Enjoy!

Virtues/Vices/Great Ideas: (Find them in the Text)

Being/Needing a Guide, Religion, Fate, Wilderness vs. Civilization, Fear, Courage, Appearance vs. Reality, Hospitality

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. What had Rufrius Galarius spoken the truth about?

2. What did Marcus tell the people he helped to do with that which they offered to pay him?

3. Where did Esca say the Eagle was most likely to be found?

4. What did Marcus do in order to decide whether to press further north or backtrack to see if they had missed the trail of the Ninth Legion?

5. After heading back to the south, where did Marcus and Esca stop to encamp themselves?

6. Why, according to the text, did Marcus not think that it was necessary for one of them to stay awake this time?

7. What sound did Marcus and Esca hear which Marcus “knew well” but was surprised to hear?

8. Describe the man that Marcus and Esca met, what is he like and what stands out about him that particularly interests Marcus?

9. What did Guern offer to do for Marcus and Esca if they were willing to wait until his “hunting [was] done”?

Logic Questions: (Interpreting, Comparing/Contrasting, Reasoning)

1. Why did Marcus “lay the choice on the gods”?

2. How did Marcus show himself to be a good friend in light of Esca’s fear of ghosts?

3. Why might soldiers march to songs?

4. What indications are there that suggest Guern may end up knowing things about the missing Ninth Legion?

5. What did Guern mean by saying “we will eat salt together”? Did he mean that literally?

6. What is implied by Guern’s statement, “There is more flesh on my kill than I had thought”? 

Rhetoric Questions: (The Analysis of Ideas in the Text)

1. What makes one people (culture) more susceptible to fear of ghosts than another? Do you think it is reasonable for people to be afraid of ghosts? Why or why not?

2. How does someone go from being a complete stranger to a friend? Why is it that some people we come to know, and know for a long time, never become our friends? What are the necessary conditions of friendship?

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read Proverbs 16:33 and Acts 1:15-26. How do these passages affect your thinking about leaving decisions up to the Lord? Based on the example of these texts would you say there are any pre-conditions to “casting lots” or “flipping a coin” for it to be a God-honoring way to go about things? 

2. At the end of the chapter Guern offers Marcus and Esca hospitality. What principles do the following passages teach us about hospitality? See Genesis 18:1-8; Luke 7:36-50; Luke 16:12-24; and Hebrews 13:2.