Question

modern myth - beowulf
herot was a sprawling and relatively new city, one whose mayor quickly succumbed to corruption. roth, the mayor, was known for pressuring city officials and locals in nearby towns until they agreed to join his citadel. to do this, roth empowered loyal security forces with absolute freedom to pillage and fight all those who opposed his plans. most were no match for the forces, but one outsider resisted with terrifying brutality. his name was grendel.
grendel hated the noise and sprawl of roth’s growing city, and he took it upon himself to destroy the bars where security forces would gather at night to sing and drink. the noise from their merriment made his skull feel like it was splitting. but no matter how many security forces he fought, or how many buildings he destroyed, roth refused to back down.
roth recognized grendel’s unique power, calling on a mercenary from a neighboring region. this mercenary was known only as “the wolf,” and his success fighting the world’s most dangerous individuals preceded him. the wolf was a living legend, having fought across deserts and deep in the ocean, never backing down from a fight no matter how skewed the odds.
when he arrived at herot with a group of his friends, the wolf immediately issued a warning to grendel: stay away, or pay the price. but grendel had no intention of staying away. instead, he crept toward the inn where the wolf and his friends had gathered for the night. already the crowd was
how does the modern myth beowulf adapt the archetypal story of beowulf to new purposes and circumstances?
a by changing beowulf into a supernatural creature rather than a warrior
b by transforming the setting into a modern city and reimagining the characters with contemporary roles
c by making grendel the hero and beowulf the villain
d by removing all elements of conflict and battle from the story

Explanation:

To solve this, we analyze each option:

• Option A: The modern myth still has Beowulf (the Wolf) as a warrior, not a supernatural creature, so A is incorrect.
• Option B: The original Beowulf is set in a medieval, heroic - age context. The modern version has a modern city (Herot as a new city) and reimagines characters (e.g., Roth as a corrupt mayor, the Wolf as a mercenary - like Beowulf, Grendel as a resister) with contemporary roles. This fits the idea of adapting to new purposes and circumstances.
• Option C: In the modern myth, Grendel is a resister but not clearly the hero, and Beowulf (the Wolf) is not the villain. So C is incorrect.
• Option D: The story has conflict (Grendel fighting security forces, the Wolf warning Grendel) and battle - like elements, so D is incorrect.

Answer:

B. By transforming the setting into a modern city and reimagining the characters with contemporary roles