Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Chapters 1-8

Reading Check

1. What subject does Professor Lidenbrock teach?

2. What does Axel decide to do after discovering the key to the cryptogram?

3. What does Professor Lidenbrock say is to him what darkness or obscurity is to Axel?

4. What structure do Axel and the professor practice climbing in Copenhagen?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Describe the professor’s attitude toward food.

2. How does Gräuben react when Axel tells her about the planned journey?

Paired Resource

“The Allegory of the Cave”

• An allegory presented in Plato’s Republic describes a group of people who have lived their lives chained to a wall in a cave and believe the shadows they see are reality.
• This animated video summary of the allegory may be helpful for students new to this work.
• Apply Plato’s allegory to Axel and the professor. Does either of them see reality as it truly is?

Chapters 9-16

Reading Check

1. What is Hans’s profession?

2. What does the professor do when he’s given an excessive bill for their stay at the parsonage?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence.