Question

his power overran the world, from the foot of my cliff to the northern sea to the impenetrable forests south and east. they hacked down trees in widening rings around their central halls and blistered the land with peasant huts and pigpen fences till the forest looked like an old dog dying of mange. they thinned out the game, killed birds for sport, set accidental fires that would burn for days. their sheep killed hedges, snipped valleys bare, and their pigs nosed up the very roots of what might have grown.

-grendel,
john gardner

based on the passage, what is grendels perspective on hrothgar and his people?

he admires their skills and technology.
he is jealous of their power and aspires to be more like them.
he believes they are weak and easily defeated.
he thinks they are destructive and inconsiderate.

Explanation:

Analyze the textual evidence

The passage from John Gardner's Grendel describes Hrothgar's people's actions on the environment:

• "hacked down trees in widening rings"
• "blistered the land with peasant huts and pigpen fences till the forest looked like an old dog dying of mange"
• "thinned out the game, killed birds for sport, set accidental fires"
• "sheep killed hedges, snipped valleys bare, and their pigs nosed up the very roots"

Infer Grendel's perspective

The highly negative imagery ("blistered the land," "old dog dying of mange," killing "for sport," destroying roots) reveals that Grendel views Hrothgar and his people as destructive, wasteful, and inconsiderate toward nature.

Evaluate the options

• Option 1 ("He admires...") is incorrect; the tone is critical, not admiring.
• Option 2 ("He is jealous...") is incorrect; he expresses disgust at their destruction, not a desire to replicate it.
• Option 3 ("He believes they are weak...") is incorrect; the focus is on their environmental impact, not their physical vulnerability.
• Option 4 ("He thinks they are destructive...") directly matches the textual evidence of environmental devastation.

Answer:

• He admires their skills and technology.
• He is jealous of their power and aspires to be more like them.
• He believes they are weak and easily defeated.
• He thinks they are destructive and inconsiderate. (Correct answer)