Read the passage from "Cruel Tribute." "Now then," said Minos, "you shall hear my decree. Athens has robbed me of my dearest treasure, a treasure that can never be restored to me; so, in return, I require from Athens, as tribute, that possession which is the dearest and most precious to her people; and it shall be destroyed cruelly as my son was destroyed." "The condition is hard," said the elders, "but it is just. What is the tribute which you require?" "Has the king a son?" asked Minos. The face of King Aegeus lost all its color and he trembled as he thought of a little child then with its mother at Troezen, on the other side of the Saronic Sea. But the elders knew nothing about that child, and they answered: "Alas, no! he has no son; but he has fifty nephews who are eating up his substance and longing for the time to come when one of them shall be king; and, as we have said, it was they who slew the young prince, Androgeos."

Question

English

Wesley Patrick

18 March, 22:14

Read the passage from "Cruel Tribute." "Now then," said Minos, "you shall hear my decree. Athens has robbed me of my dearest treasure, a treasure that can never be restored to me; so, in return, I require from Athens, as tribute, that possession which is the dearest and most precious to her people; and it shall be destroyed cruelly as my son was destroyed." "The condition is hard," said the elders, "but it is just. What is the tribute which you require?" "Has the king a son?" asked Minos. The face of King Aegeus lost all its color and he trembled as he thought of a little child then with its mother at Troezen, on the other side of the Saronic Sea. But the elders knew nothing about that child, and they answered: "Alas, no! he has no son; but he has fifty nephews who are eating up his substance and longing for the time to come when one of them shall be king; and, as we have said, it was they who slew the young prince, Androgeos."

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Answers (2)

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Samara Johns · Answer 1

By placing this passage at the beginning of the story, the author builds suspense for the arrival of Theseus.

Explanation:

In the story "Cruel Tribute" by James Baldwin, the plot revolves around the tribute imposed upon the city of Athens by King Minos. He did this in revenge for the death of his son Andrgeos.

The provided excerpt in the question is from the beginning of the text where the narrator gives the details of how the tribute had come about. king Minos had blamed the king of Athens for the death of his own son Prince Androgeos. And as a form of revenge, he had wanted to kill the child of King Aegeus but since no known son was there, King Minos instead imposed a tribute of fourteen youths and maidens be sent to him every year. Thiis inclusion of the passage at the initial part of the story serves as a built-up of the emerging of the character of Theseus, the 'unknown' son of King Aegeus.

Matey · Answer 2

Theseus is the correct choice.