Chapters 1-3

Reading Check

1. The narrator is a monster named Grendel. (Chapter 1)

2. Due to his fearsomeness, Grendel’s only companion is his shadow. (Chapter 1)

3. The men mistake Grendel for an oak-tree spirit. (Chapter 2)

4. The Shaper, through story, understands what men need and want from life. (Chapter 3)

Short Answer

1. For 12 years, Grendel has repeatedly attacked King Hrothgar’s meadhall, where Grendel eats the thanes. (Chapter 1)

2. Grendel hates spring because it awakens an “unrest” in the natural world he despises. (Chapter 1)

3. Grendel’s mother shares a lair with Grendel. She is protective of Grendel but does not speak. Grendel suspects she is related to humans. (Chapters 1-2)

4. Grendel notes that humans repeat patterns of destruction. (Chapter 3)

Chapters 4-6

Reading Check

1. The Shaper says Grendel is on the side of evil. (Chapter 4)

2. The Danes attack him. (Chapter 4)

3. The Dragon says that he sees past, present, and future concurrently and that there isn’t any free will. (Chapter 5)

4. The Dragon makes Grendel invincible against men’s weapons, which destroys Grendel’s only connection with men—his ability to do battle with them.