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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which craftsmen have a special place in the village?

2. What do the villagers at the disposal of the bodies do in the end of Chapter 1?

3. What time of year is it when Grendel begins his war with Hrothgar?

4. Grendel compares the ram to what?

5. What does Grendel do with Unferth when he comes to the cave?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Grendel's meeting with the dragon help him define his role in the world of men?

2. Why do the firesnakes guard the sunken door?

3. Discuss Grendel's personal transformation during and as a result of his first raid.

4. What does the dragon say that changes Grendel's mind about approaching men? How does the dragon feel about Grendel's change of heart?

5. Describe life around the village as Grendel observes it.

6. Discuss the quote on page 7 where Grendel gives himself alternate names (shadow-shooter, earth-rim-roamer, walker of the world's weird wall). What does this signify?

7. What does Grendel hope his mother will tell him someday? Why doesn't she?

8. How does Grendel's relationship with men change after his visit to the dragon?

9. What does Grendel do when Unferth falls asleep in his cave in Chapter 6?

10. Describe how the men act/talk in the mead halls. What is the function of this behavior?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

What do you think Grendel means when he says that it was inevitable that a blind man came to Hrothgar's hall? Why is the man's blindness significant to the story or his role within the hall?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss what Grendel comes to realize while hanging in the tree. Why is this realization important? How does this realization shape Grendel’s actions?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss the Stranger's arrival at Hrothgar's hall. How does this scene embody the idea of the "hero on the beach" as discussed in class?

(see the answer keys)

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