Beowulf Study Questions

With your partner, answer the following on a sheet of paper in COMPLETE sentences:

1. Describe the demon who threatens the meadhall.
2. To what Biblical figure is Grendel related? What does this tell us about Grendel (look up the Bible story if you need to do so)?
3. According to the poet, who made the earth?
4. The word Heorot, the name of Hrothgar's mead hall, is Old English for hart, a male European red deer at least five years old. Considering this meaning, do you believe Heorot is an apt name for the mead hall? Is the mead hall also the "heart" of Hrothgar's kingdom? Explain your answers.
5. While Grendel attacks Heorot, he does NOT approach what? Why?
6. To whom/what do many of the Danes’ “powerful counsellors” turn for help? Does the speaker of this poem think this is a good idea? How can you tell?
7. Who is Beowulf's father? What is the world’s opinion of him? What does the fact that he lived "many winters" tell us about his skills?
8. After he arrives at Heorot, Beowulf tells stories about himself: how he battled trolls, killed sea beasts, and painted himself red with the blood of his enemies. Do you believe his accounts indicate that he is a proud, boastful person?
9. What project does Hrothgar order undertaken to ensure his fame? What is the name of that constuction project?
10.What typical activities do the people engage in at this place Hrothgar makes?
11.How long does Grendel haunt Heorot until Beowulf comes to help the Danes?
12. Who invites or asks Beowulf to come kill Grendel? What does this tell us about Beowulf's personality?

Honors English 12 Vocabulary List Week 1

For the first few weeks of school, vocabulary words will be drawn from an SAT Vocabulary Word List. Be prepared to provide the past or participial forms of verbs and the plural forms of nouns if the sentence requires them.

01. abate
02. abjure
03. abrogate
04. abscond
05. abstemious
06. accede
07. acclivity
08. accretion
09. actuate
10. acuity
11. adjudicate
12. affected (adj.)
13. aggregate (n.)
14. alimentary
15. allay
16. amity
17. animus
18. anodyne
19. anthropomorphic
20. aplomb (n.)

Homework Due Monday, January 26

All English 12 Courses: Read text pp. 16-29; get Student Info Sheet signed; acquire a marble composition book.

Honors English 12: Complete and turn in student questionaire.

Final Grades Are Up

Honors 11 Exam Study Guide pt. I

1. When Their Eyes Were Watching God begins, Janie is
2. Why does Janie leave her first husband?
3. On the store porch, why does Janie break her silence?
4. What does Jody do after Janie insults him in front of the other men?
5. Why does Janie reject so many suitors after Jody’s death?
6. How do Janie’s black friends act toward her during her trial?
7. Claude McKay’s “If We Must Die” is written in
8. Harlem Renaissance poets are NOT typically characterized by their use of
9. Langston Hughes’s “The Negro Speaks of Rivers” compares rivers to the speaker’s
10. Langston Hughes traces his ancestry to its earliest roots by the
11. Langston Hughes expresses the burden of
12. “I Too” is a response to
13. “I Too” most expresses
14. In Catch-22, which character is falls violently in love with a whore but is tragically killed at the La Spieza mission?
15. Which officer enjoys shooting field mice and refuses to engage in evasive action during missions?
16. Who tries to kill Yossarian with a knife after hearing about Nately's death?
17. What happens on the mission for which Yossarian receives a medal?
18. Major Major’s rise to rank suggests the ____________________ of authority.
19. Which city does the squadron bomb when Yossarian refuses to participate?
20. Why will Luciana and Yossarian not get married?
21. What is Kid Sampson doing when he gets sliced in half?
22. Who does Yossarian pretend to be in the hospital?
23. The Catch-22 mandates
24. Milo’s syndicate is financially strapped because he over-invests in
25. Orr escapes to
26. Which character unashamedly admits his corrupt pre-war civilian life?
27. What is Yossarian’s excuse for returning from the first mission to Bologna?
28 Who says: “It doesn’t make a damned bit of difference who wins the war to someone who’s dead.”
29. Who says: “What’s good for M & M Enterprises is good for the country.”
30. What makes Yossarian question the existence of God?

Saul Landau Article on The Quiet American

is here.

Answer the following:

1. Why did Miramax take The Quiet American film off the market?
2. According to the author, what has happened to Americans' ability to disagree with the government?
3. What technique does Landau use when he says, "Long live Disneyland and the Super Bowl!"?
4. Why would Sylvester Stallone make a better "Quiet American" than Brendan Fraser?
5. Why are current times considered the "Noisy American" period?
6. What writer in The Quiet American fits the description of the intellectuals like William Safire and Thomas Friedman?
7. By 1973, how many bombs were dropped in Vietnam as compared to WWII?
8. Landau compares Pyle's bombing to what terrorist act of the modern era?
9. In his last paragraph, does Landau support or object to the invasion of Iraq?
10. What is the overall TONE of this article?

Words to Describe Tone

apathetic
arrogant
bantering
candid
challenging
clinical
condescending
confused
critical
detached
didactic
pretentious
fanciful
threatening
wistful
indifferent
irate
patronizing
flippant
straightforward
outraged
humorous
nostalgic
indignant
sentimental
ambiguous
silly
reflective
learned
mock-heroic
regretful
scholarly
perplexed
amused
remorseful
pedantic
ironic
happy
apologetic
moralistic
tongue-in-cheek
ecstatic
inspirational
sarcastic
effusive
contentious
respectful
sardonic
contented
inflammatory
reverent
mocking
disappointed
shocking
sympathetic
irreverent
sad
dramatic
compassionate
disdainful
elegiac
passionate
interested
contemptuous
melancholic
restrained
urgent
caustic
depressing
impartial
serious
biting
mournful
objective
ominous
cynical
poignant
apprehensive
skeptical
somber
factual
foreboding
whimsical
wry