GRENDEL STUDY GUIDE. NOTE: THIS STUDY GUIDE WAS STUDENT CREATED! Types of questions that will be on the test: 1.
Important characters and specific actions of importance 2. Important events and their significance in terms of plot AND theme. 3.
Important imagery, symbols, or metaphors that construct themes. 4. Important connections between plot, character, conflict, and theme.
Grendel- Grendel starts off as a child. He doesn’t know what his purpose is. He just kills Danes for food source. He makes the change to
monster that the Danes made him out to be.
Weltheow- represnts purity to Grendel, represents all that is good with the Danes, but his mind changes after his incident with her
Hrothgar- represents power
Grendel’s mother- unconditional love (loves Grendel just because he is her son). Grendel is disgusted by her, but he needs her
Shaper- tells the story, represents “truth”, defines Grendel
HrothulfUnferth- “inner heroism”, thinks it better to die. Closest thing he has to a friend
Ork, Red Horse, Beowulf, Dragon, Ram, Grendel
Themes:
You can choose your destiny but others have a big influence (Dragon/Shaper).
The person controlling the story can change how people perceive characters (history and truth) {victor tells the story}
Ch 1- Mainly about the Ram. His state of mind. Grendel’s view of the world. It is actually near the end and the rest is just a flashback.
Ch 2- Incident where he gets stuck in the tree. attacked by the bull and the Danes: Danes tried to define him from fungus to a tree spirit.
They couldn’t understand what he was saying. His mom comes and saves him.
Ch 3- The battle axe didn’t turn him against Hrogthar. He is observing the Danes.
Ch 4- Grendel finds a body and tries to return it but they think he killed them. Importance- he wants to be accepted by the Danes
Characters-Grendel and Danes
Events-Finding the dead body and returning it and the attack Important-It’s important they attack him because he isn’t accepted.
Ch. 5- He goes and talks to the Dragon. He makes it seem like a dream. The Danes are afraid of Grendel. If it wasn’t for Grendel they
wouldn’t have a reason to live. The Dragon knows the beginning the present and the Future
Characters-Grendel Dragon
Symbol- Dragon is the symbol of Grendel’s inner conscience- he wants to do good but there is something telling him to be evil
Connections-Grendel made a connection with himself. He realizes that he is evil
Ch 6- Grendel becomes invincible he kills the Danes for fun and develops a sense of humor. He comes in contact with Unferth and says
that he isn’t a real hero he is a fairy tale hero. Unferth tries to prove himself but he can’t so he has to live with his shame. Grendel
humiliates him Characters-Grendel Unferth Symbols- Unferth is a symbol of fraud. He tries to defeat Grendel but can’t
Ch 7- Grendel thinks about what he will do when he’s done with Hrothgar. He observes the Danes as they meet with an invading king
who plans to make a truce with Hrothgar. As a part of the truce, the young king offers his sister to Hrothgar to be his wife. Grendel is
enraged by this, so on a later night; he attacks the hall for a different reason. He first observes how she goes around with the mead bowl
and how the Danes are calmed by her presence; he then goes to kill Weltheow, but decides against it, so he leaves her and goes home.
Grendel sees that she isn’t as pure and beautiful as he thought she was.
Ch 8- Hrothgar’s nephew, Hrothulf, is orphaned and goes to live with the Danish king. Hrothulf doesn’t feel very welcomed at the
meadhall. He makes friends with an old man called Red Horse. As Grendel listens in, Red Horse talks about rebellion, violence, and
government to Hrothulf, hoping that he takes over instead. Grendel thinks about how Hrothgar knows his days are numbered.
Ch 9- Ork is the blind priest who thinks that he has talked to the great destroyer but was really talking to Grendel. Grendel asks ork
about the King of God’s and Ork tells him what he believes about the King of Gods and is moved to tears. Grendel is shocked by him
being moved to tears and isn’t sure how to react so he doesn’t kill Ork. 3 other priests come out and start talking to Ork about his
encounter with the great destroyer and they do not believe him. Then a 4th priest comes out and is drunk and he believes Ork.
Ch 10- Boredom (the war) is the worst kind of pain/no emotional attachment. He’s bored with the war, and annoyed, thinks its stupid.
Goat climbs mountain- Grendel gets mad at goat, parallel to himself he will wind up dead like the goat. Sees no point to it. Shaper gets
deathly sick and he dies- signifies death is bittersweet. Shaper (dane’s view of truth) dies signifies death of the story. There is now no
way to tell Grendel’s story. Grendel’s significance dies. Never liked Shaper, but needed him. Grendel feels abandoned. Nothing comes
from nothing
Ch 11- gets excited and fearful of the Geat’s coming. He knows Beowulf will kill him, he wants the end, but still fears dying. It will be a
challenge. It’s a change from tedium. Beowulf is called a tall tree- that is what he got stuck in during Chapter 2. Grendel loved for who he
is, nothing about what he does. Grendel always puts on a show. Grendel is sensitive to light, signifying his evil. Partly his
make/experiences.
Ch 12- Grendel is claiming he is tricked. Blames his defeat on chance. Beowulf “shoots fire out of his mouth” – like a demon or dragon?
Grendel Quotes the Dragon. Ambigious- italicized words from Himself, the Dragon, or Beowulf. Its about who controls the story. Its
about how he’ll be remembered. Existentialist – can’t make me hit my head on a wall just because you say its there. Grendel is reflecting
on what the Dragon said.