Question

question 3 of 10
which passage from grendel best illustrates the theme \life is meaningless\?

a. i seize up a sleeping man, tear at him hungrily, bite through his bone - locks and suck hot, slippery blood. (168)

b. fate often enough will spare a man if his courage holds. (162).

c. all order, ive come to understand, is theoretical, unreal — a harmless, sensible, smiling mask men slide between the two great, dark realities. (157)

d. as if casually, in plain sight of them all, i bit his head off, crunched through the helmet and skull with my teeth and, holding the jerking, bloodslippery body in two hands. (79)

Explanation:

To determine which passage illustrates "life is meaningless", we analyze each option:

• Option A describes Grendel's violent act of eating a man, focusing on the act of violence rather than meaninglessness.
• Option B emphasizes the role of courage in avoiding fate, which is about agency and courage, not meaninglessness.
• Option C states that order is theoretical and unreal, a mask over dark realities. This implies that the structured, meaningful order people perceive is false, suggesting life's lack of inherent meaning.
• Option D describes a violent act of biting a man's head off, focusing on violence, not meaninglessness.

Answer:

C. All order, I've come to understand, is theoretical, unreal — a harmless, sensible, smiling mask men slide between the two great, dark realities. (157)