82 pages • 2 hours read
John GardnerGrendel
John GardnerFiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 1971A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Reading Questions & Paired Texts
Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.
Chapters 1-3
Reading Check
1. Who is the narrator?
2. Who is the narrator’s only companion?
3. For what do the men mistake the narrator when they meet him in childhood?
4. Why does the narrator admire the Shaper?
Short Answer
Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.
1. What is the narrator’s 12-year war?
2. Why does the narrator hate spring?
3. What do readers know about the narrator’s mother?
4. What pattern does the narrator note in the lives of humans?
Paired Resources
“Grendel’s Mother” by Heidy Steidlmayer and “Grendel's Mother to the Spear Danes” by Erin Lynn
- Notably, Grendel’s mother does not speak. Here, Steidlmayer and Innes give her a voice.
- How does giving Grendel’s mother a voice affect her characterization? How do these poems connect to the theme of Isolation and Otherness?
Chapters 4-6
Reading Check
1. What does the Shaper say about Grendel that upsets him?
2. What is the result of Grendel trying to befriend the Danes?
3. What does the Dragon reveal about the way he views time?
4. How does the Dragon alter Grendel’s battles with men?
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