Name ______Period ______
STUDY GUIDE Dragon, Dragon by John Gardner
Instructions: Write the answers to the questions below on your own paper. Use your book, pages 204 - 214.
1. What can you conclude about the dragon in this story?
2. In the story, the king says, “I’m not a tyrant.” What type of characterization would this be considered?
3. What one word could describe the wizard in “Dragon, Dragon”?
4. In “Dragon, Dragon,” which detail helps you infer that the cobbler is very sensible?
5. Which excerpt is a direct characterization of the middle son in “Dragon, Dragon”?
6. In “Dragon, Dragon,” who follows the wise old cobbler’s advice?
7. What happens when the youngest son recites his father’s poem to the dragon?
8. How does the dragon in “Dragon, Dragon,” die?
9. What happens to the cobbler’s two older sons in the story?
10. What lesson do the two older brothers learn in “Dragon, Dragon”?
11. When the dragon ravages the kingdom what can you infer that the dragon really wants?
12. In “Dragon, Dragon,” why does the king call a meeting?
13. What are the cobbler’s thoughts at the beginning of the king’s meeting?
14. What inference can be made from this sentence in “Dragon, Dragon”?
The dragon who had seen the cobbler’s youngest son while he was still a long way off, was seated up above the door, inside the cave, waiting and smiling to himself.
15. When the two oldest sons are eaten by the dragon what can you infer?
Vocabulary – (page 204)
plagued -
ravaged –
tyrant –
enviously –
reflecting –
craned -
Literary Analysis – Characterization (page 189)
Fill in the blanks.
16. With ______characterization, writers make straightforward statements about a character. For example, “Ron is honest.”
17. With ______characterization, writers present a character’s thoughts, words, and actions and reveal what other say and think about the character.
Text Based Question:
Write an essay describing the character traits of one character from “Dragon, Dragon.” Give as much information about the character as you can. Use details from both direct and indirect characterizations in the story in your description.