![]() |
Name: _________________________ | Period: ___________________ |
This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.
Short Answer Questions
1. At what time of day does Grendel wander outside?
2. What animal is the speaker shooing away in Chapter 1?
3. Grendel claims he is the disfigured son of what in Chapter 1?
4. What can no longer harm Grendel after his visit with the dragon?
5. What sickens Grendel about the battles?
Short Essay Questions
1. How does Grendel feel about the brainless ram?
2. Why is Grendel drawn to and repulsed by Hrothgar's great hall?
3. What is the dragon’s dictum? How does he play out this dictum?
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. How does Grendel's meeting with the dragon help him define his role in the world of men?
6. Discuss Grendel's mother and how she differs from her son.
7. Describe the arrangement between Hrothgar and his closest neighbors.
8. Describe how the men act/talk in the mead halls. What is the function of this behavior?
9. What is the significance of Hrothgar's name for his mead hall?
10. What does Grendel hope his mother will tell him someday? Why doesn't she?
Essay Topics
Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:
Essay Topic 1
Discuss the author's choice to include the opening lines of the original Beowulf poem in his own retelling on pages 41 and 42. How does this technique affect the story? How significant is it that the harper sings the song as it would have been done in Beowulf's time?
Essay Topic 2
Why do you think that Grendel continues to update the reader on the dragon? Why does Grendel refer to the dragon by smell? How does Grendel’s relationship with the dragon evolve in the narrative?
Essay Topic 3
Discuss Unferth's character. Is Unferth a protagonist or an antagonist in the novel? Why? What traits does Unferth exhibit?
This section contains 1,150 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) |
![]() |