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 beowulfs perspective, the danes are helpless innocents, but from grendels perspective, grendel is the helpless innocent. from beowulfs perspective, grendel is a villain, but from grendels 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 Beowulf, Grendel is presented as a menacing, loathsome creature whose existence is “utterly useless to men under heaven,” making him a villain in Beowulf’s (and the Danes’) eyes. In Grendel, Hrothgar’s actions (like forcing others to gather gold, deforesting the land) are depicted negatively. Grendel views Hrothgar and the Danes as destructive (e.g., “hacked down trees,” “blistered the land”), framing them as villains from his perspective. The first option about innocents is incorrect as neither text emphasizes innocence in that way. The options about the environment and gods have no textual support.

Answer:

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