Question

read these lines from beowulf
he realized
that the demon was going to descend on the hall,
that he had plotted all day, from dawn - light
until darkness gathered again over the world
and stealthy night - shapes came stealing forth
under the cloud - mask.
read this excerpt from grendel
thus i fled, ridiculous hairy creature torn apart by poetry—crawling, whimpering, streaming tears, across the world like a two - headed beast, like mixed - up lamb and kid at the tail of a baffled, indifferent ewe—and i gnashed my teeth and clutched the sides of my head as if to heal the split, but i couldn’t.
which statement best compares the two excerpts?
○ grendel is described as an unfeeling creature in beowulf, but he is a sensitive and emotional character in grendel
○ grendel seems comical and ridiculous in beowulf, but he seems calm and calculating in grendel
○ beowulf acts cowardly in beowulf, but he behaves like a fearless hero in grendel
○ beowulf feels sympathy for grendel in beowulf, but he is jealous of grendel in grendel

Explanation:

In the Beowulf excerpt, Grendel is a menacing, stealthy "demon" acting on instinct. In the Grendel excerpt, he’s introspective, using poetic imagery (torn apart by poetry, thinking deeply) showing calm calculation. Other options: first is wrong (Grendel in Grendel isn’t “sensitive/emotional” as described), third is unclear (text cut off), fourth is wrong (Beowulf’s attitude in Beowulf is hostility, not sympathy). So the second option matches the tone/portrayal shift.

Answer:

Grendel seems comical and ridiculous in Beowulf, but he seems calm and calculating in Grendel