How to Train Your Dragon

Consider how the novel characterizes Hiccup as an underdog. What is the difference between bravery and courage, and how does Hiccup show characteristics of both?

How is Snotlout a foil to Hiccup? Cite specific examples from the text to support your answer.

Does Hiccup have anything in common with the other Vikings? Using textual support, compare Hiccup’s character to other Vikings, such as Stoick, Gobber, Snotlout, or Thuggory. Identify any shared character traits.

Cowell depicts the Vikings of Berk as having specific traits. For example, hair is symbolic of masculinity, tribe members typically prefer battle over books, and yelling is the reasonable recourse to most situations. Identify your “tribe” (your school, family, or any other group) and describe at least three characteristics of that tribe.

Why does Stoick the Vast ban the tribe from speaking Dragonese? How does Hiccup’s knowledge of Dragonese aid him throughout his journey, and what is the significance of the tribe relying on Hiccup’s banned ability?

Describe Hiccup’s relationship with Toothless. How does their relationship develop throughout the novel, and why does Toothless rescue Hiccup from the Green Death? 

Outline Hiccup’s character arc. How does he change throughout the story, and is he different by the novel’s end? 

In the novel’s closing scene, Hiccup describes his memory of Stoick’s shield, impaled by the eight-foot tooth. What does the sharp tooth symbolize?