Question

read the passage about grendel from beowulf
for no cause whatever would the earlmens defender
leave in life-joys the loathsome newcomer,
he deemed his existence utterly useless
to men under heaven.
now, read the passage about hrothgar from grendel
meanwhile, those who paid tribute to him were forced
to strike at more distant halls to gather the gold they
paid to hrothgar—and a little on the side for
themselves. 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.
which is the most accurate comparison of the two
passages?
○ from beowulf’s perspective, the danes are helpless
innocents, but from grendel’s perspective, grendel
is the helpless innocent.
○ from beowulf’s perspective, grendel is a villain, but
from grendel’s perspective, hrothgar and the danes
are the villains.
○ both beowulf and grendel think they are acting to
save the environment from further destruction
○ both beowulf and grendel think they are acting
according to the will of the gods

Explanation:

In the Beowulf passage, Grendel is seen as "loathsome" and his existence "utterly useless", portraying him as a villain. In the Grendel passage, Hrothgar's rule is shown as oppressive (forcing tribute, overrunning land, destroying forests), so from Grendel’s view, Hrothgar and Danes are villains. Other options are incorrect: A misrepresents Grendel’s perspective; C and D have no support from the passages (no mention of environment or gods’ will).

Answer:

B. From Beowulf’s perspective, Grendel is a villain, but from Grendel’s perspective, Hrothgar and the Danes are the villains.