The saying that best illustrates Odysseus' adventure with Scylla and Charybdis is:

• A. Out of the frying pan, into the fire
• B. The road less traveled
• C. All that glitters is not gold
• D. Fortune favors the bold

Answer: (A)

This item tests your ability to map a well-known proverb to a moment in a story. In the tale, Odysseus faces a perilous choice between two dangers: the monster Scylla and the whirlpool Charybdis. To avoid being swallowed by Charybdis, he sails closer to Scylla, knowing he will lose some of his men to the six-headed creature but hoping to spare the ship from total destruction. That move—escaping one danger only to fall into a worse one—embodies the sense of leaving trouble and stepping into greater danger.

The saying that fits best captures this shift: you get away from a danger, but the new situation is more risky or costly. The other options don’t fit the situation as well because they describe different ideas: choosing a path less traveled is about novelty or nonconformity, appearances being deceptive, or bravery alone tipping the odds in one’s favor. Here, the emphasis is on the misfortune that comes from trying to avoid danger by encountering a worse danger, which is exactly what that proverb conveys.