Journal 10: Why do you think Gardner made the decision to use Grendel as a narrator? How does his status as a monster affect the way he tells the story?

There are two sides to every story. John Gardner’s ­Grendel is a great illustration of this—the monster Grendel is viewed as a vile outcast by society, but in his own realm, he is really not that horrible at all. Perhaps Gardner made the decision to use Grendel as a narrator so that readers could get a better understanding of Grendel from two sides. Gardner’s choice allows readers to draw more conclusions, feel more for Grendel, and understand his relationship with the humans better. Ultimately, Grendel was used as a narrator to convey truths to the audience that other characters in the novel would not have done, usually for a particular reason that made the novel stronger in plot and depth.

                To the human society, Grendel is evil, scary, vile, murderous, and greedy. Paradoxically, within himself, Grendel is merely misunderstood and frustrated at being unaccepted. Perhaps if Grendel were not so wrongly judged, his view on the humans would be one of slightly more truth. Yet, since he is so harshly famed, his status causes him to put the humans in a bad light. To him, they are wasteful and cruel. Also, because Grendel is the narrator and readers see things with his perspective, they are able to understand his struggles. His attempts at learning language and becoming accepted seem to always be fruitless, and he feels alone. Gardner’s choice to make Grendel narrator allows readers to better understand this, giving them a deeper comprehension of Grendel’s feelings, motives, and actions.

                Finally, having Grendel as a narrator evokes pity from the readers. If the story were told through the eyes of the Danes, Grendel would most likely be scorned, but being since readers see Grendel’s internal struggles, they make a connection to the character that pulls them to want to understand him better. This, in reader’s personal lives, could give insight to their feelings of loneliness, and gives them a connection to the novel. With making Grendel the narrator, Gardner allowed readers to have more intimate connections with the book as well as the character.