Use these questions or activities to help gauge students’ familiarity with and spark their interest in the context of the work, giving them an entry point into the text itself.

Short Answer

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement: Good cannot exist without evil. Explain your reasons why or why not.

Teaching Suggestion: This question introduces students to the book’s theme of The Nature of Evil. You might begin by leading students to discuss and develop definitions for the terms good and evil.

• “The Real Meaning of ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’” at Psychology Today discusses good and evil in terms of empathy and humanity.
• “The Concept of Evil” discusses broad (natural or moral) and narrow (moral condemnation) concepts of evil. To reduce the length of the reading, you might suggest that students read the article’s introduction and perhaps parts 3 and 4, which cover contemporary philosophical theories of evil action and evil character or personhood.

Short Activity

Grendel is a retelling of Beowulf, an epic poem believed to have been written in the 8th century. What do you know about this heroic tale? Research the story of Beowulf’s conflict with Grendel. Then write brief character sketches of Grendel and Beowulf as these characters have traditionally been interpreted.