Question

read the excerpt from the odyssey. my heart beat high now at the chance of action, and drawing the sharp sword from my hip i went along his flank to stab him where the midriff holds the liver. i had touched the spot when sudden fear stayed me: if i killed him we perished there as well, for we could never move his ponderous doorway slab aside. so we were left to groan and wait for morning. what prevents odysseus from killing the sleeping cyclops? he thinks he can reason with the cyclops in the morning. he wants to make the cyclops his ally and friend. he knows that they cannot move the boulder blocking the doorway. he feels sorry for the cyclops who lives all by himself.

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze the excerpt: Odysseus says "if I killed him we perished there as well, for we could never move his ponderous doorway slab aside." So the reason he doesn't kill the Cyclops is that they can't move the boulder blocking the doorway. The other options don't match: he doesn't think he can reason (no mention), doesn't want to be allies (context shows Cyclops is hostile), and no sympathy shown.

Answer:

C. He knows that they cannot move the boulder blocking the doorway.