Miscellaneous
What does Grendel think is strange about Beowulf?
His mouth does not seem to line up with the words he is saying.
The Dragon is, philosophically, a practitioner of what philosophy?
Nihilism
Who does Grendel live with in his cave?
His Mother
Why does Grendel hate the ram he encounters at the story's opening?
The ram is unintelligent. It moves through its life mechanically, based only on instinct.
“My advice to you is to seek out _______ and sit on it”
Gold
What are Grendel's final words?
Grendel had an accident. So may you all.
The philosophy that believes we are free to make our own meaning in life as humans.
Existentialism
He arrives at night at Hrothgar's meadhall with a harp
The Shaper
Give one explanation as to why the dragon is a figment of Grendel's imagination and one explanation as to why he could be real.
Multiple answers
What does Grendel do that momentarily infuriates the dragon?
Picks up a piece of his treasure
Chapter 10 is associated with Capricorn the goat. What role does a goat play in Chapter 10?
Grendel cruelly kills a goat climbing up a hill because he views it as stupid and mechanical.
The idea that people can abandon free will and become mindless parts of a “machine” often times without realizing this is happening. (ends with -ism)
Mechanism
Grendel refuses to kill this character out of spite
Unferth
What are three people/objects that Grendel is forced to talk to that will not talk back to him?
His mother, the sky, the ram, the goat, etc.
The dragon claims to know how he, himself, will die. How?
A man will kill him.
What is a literary foil?
A character who is either very similar or very different from the main character who highlights important characteristics of the main character.
When Grendel leaves his cave and begins his adventure in the world of humans, it is a reference to this philosopher's famous parable.
Plato
What does Grendel call men when he first sees them? (A) hairless apes (B) pattern makers (C) fearsome monsters
Pattern Makers
Grendel's mother warns him "Beware of the _______"
Fish
What does the dragon say is the meaning of life?
Nothing (He is extremely pessimistic.)