Winning His Spurs 5

Study Guide Questions for Ch. 9-10

If you are looking for the beginning of the study for G. A. Henty’s Winning His Spurs 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)

Ignorance, Appearance vs. Reality, Temperance, Prudence, Battle of Wits, Appearance vs. Reality 

Grammar Questions: (The Information of the Text)

1. What plot did Cuthbert stumble upon one stormy night?

2. Whose voice did Cuthbert recognize among the conspirators of the plot?

3. What had cuthbert inferred about another one of the conspirators from his use of the phrase “my sons?”

4. What course of action did Cuthbert and the Earl of Evesham decide on in order to attempt to frustrate the plot?

5. How did Sir de Jacquelin Barras meet his end?

6. What request did Cuthbert make of princess Berengaria?

7. What announcement “caused a tremendous stir in both armies?”

8. In what manner were Cuthbert and his men rewarded for their actions by those of the “royal circle?”

9. What unfortunate event took place as the English troops were sailing to Acre?

10. What plan did Cuthbert come up with to outwit the Moorish pirates?

11. Other than Cuthbert’s men, who else was thankful for the results of his escape plan?

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

1. The characters discussing their plot against the princess briefly discuss events tied to Homer’s Iliad and the stealing away of Helen. What is the relationship between that story and the events in our present reading? Why might it be ironic for them to be discussing that story in light of what they are planning to do?

2. Why was it necessary for Cuthbert’s men to guard the princess secretly rather than openly?

3. What did Cuthbert mean by saying, “It is a case of locking the door after the horse has gone?”

4. What is meant by saying that the guard watching the princess in the ship “made a virtue of necessity?”

5. Why did the princess speak about herself in the third person?

6. Where do we see the four cardinal virtues being employed in this present reading?

   1. Prudence: Doing the right thing at the right moment in light of the present circumstances. 

   2. Temperance: Restraint of passion and desire, but not to the point of being insensible. 

   3. Fortitude: The willingness to risk one’s personal wellbeing to do what is good and necessary.

   4. Justice: To give to others what they are due (both positively and negatively). 

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

1. The plot against Princess Berengaria was discussed by the conspirators as being necessary to preserve the greater good, namely, the Crusade to rescue the Holy Land from the infidels. This is called “Utilitarianism” in the study of ethics. The slogan which is often attached to this approach to moral decision making is “the ends justify the means.” What do you think of this approach to ethical decision making? Should we consider the result of our actions as part of our moral decision making? To what degree does the end result of an action justify the methods used to get that result? What are the pros and cons to thinking about ethical decision making in this way? What alternatives (or perhaps additions) would you suggest as part of our decision making process when it comes to difficult moral questions?

Theological Analysis: (Sola Scriptura)

1. Read Exodus 20:1-17 and Matthew 22:34-40. How ought these two passages impact our thinking about the Rhetoric question? Be specific.