Name_____________________________________________________________________Date________________
Grendel:
Chapter 5
Theme:___________________________________________
Evidence of theme from chapter 5:________________________________________
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Evidence of theme from chapter 5:________________________________________
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Evidence of theme from chapter 5 :________________________________________
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Table of Contents:
Identifying Theme (Cover)
Study Guide Questions
Book Notes
Vocabulary Practice
Study Guide
John Gardner’s Grendel
Chapter 5
Comprehension
Directions: While reading this chapter, check for comprehension by answering the
following questions.
1. The Dragon: “My advice to you is to seek out __________________ and sit on it.”
2. The dragon laughs at Grendel and says that, when scared, Grendel looks like what
kind of animal?
3. What does Grendel do that momentarily infuriates the dragon?
4. The dragon claims to know how he, himself, will die. How?
5. The dragon states that his great ambition is to do what?
Analysis
Directions: Choose 1 of the following analysis questions and respond using
examples/evidence from the book to back up your answer. Minimum of ½ page.
1. The dragon tells Grendel that man needs Grendel, that he is the brute existent by
which they learn to define themselves. Is there some truth to this? Does man need
opposition to define him? What are some ways that man defines himself by
opposition?
2. The Dragon argues that nothing matters—he is a nihilist. Is Grendel a nihilist, too?
How or why not?
3. Based on Gardner’s depiction of the dragon, does it seem as though he wants us to
identify or agree with dragon?
4. What effect does Gardner produce through the complexity of the dragon’s
lecture—most readers are not able to follow the dragon’s logic—and neither is
Grendel.
5. A nihilist is a person who recognized that the universe is absurd and without
purposeful meaning—and then decides that action is hopeless and does nothing. An
existentialist is a person who recognizes that the universe is absurd and without
purposeful meaning—and then tries to make meaning from that absurdity. So far, is
this more of a nihilistic novel or an existentialist novel?
Book Notes
In order to prepare for a potential unit-exam or essay, or to simply reflect
on the deeper meanings of a text, it’s a good idea to gather information
while reading a book—names, dates, connections, important passages,
and key quotations. Do this with a set of Book Notes.
Your Book Notes can be in any style you want (Ex: T-chart, Reading
Response, your own technique). However, your notes should be three to
five typed pages in length by the end of the novel, and they should be full
of quotes, ideas, connections, key facts, and related material. For full
points, they must contain some analysis and personal observations.
I may choose to collect them and assign credit to them at any time, but I
will definitely do so at the end of the novel.
Here
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is a list of things to include:
Personal responses you have to reading
Names of characters, and relations between them
Analysis and interpretation of events and elements in the novel
Dates of events in the novel
Dates of historical events that relate to the novel
Other contextual information that will help you to discuss the
novel
Connections between characters and events
Symbols, metaphors, or other literary tricks that you identify
Quotations that you may find useful in writing an essay—or in
impressing intellectual types
Key facts
Question you have as you are reading
Ideas that come to you as you read
Again, I will be collecting these. It’s up to you to keep up with this
assignment. It’s your responsibility to have your book notes with you every
day so that I can collect them at will.
Vocabulary Practice
Directions: For each new word, find the definition. Then, find a synonym for the
word. Next, identify the word’s connotations. Finally, compose a sentence of your
own that correctly uses the word.
Connotation: word’s connotations are the suggested or implied ideas that go along
with a word. For example, the definition of “motorcycle” is “an automotive vehicle
with two in-line wheels.” Some connotations of “motorcycle” include “coolness”
“rebelliousness” and “danger.” Not all words carry as much connotation as the word
“motorcycle,” but many words have at least a positive or negative connotation. If
you can’t identify fully developed connotations for a word, write “positive,”
“negative,” or “neutral.”
Word:
Connotations:
Word:
Definition:
Synonym:
Your Sentence:
Definition:
Synonym:
Connotations:
Word:
Connotations:
Word:
Connotations:
Word:
Your Sentence:
Definition:
Synonym:
Your Sentence:
Definition:
Synonym:
Your Sentence:
Definition:
Synonym:
Connotations:
Your Sentence: