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

Gardner uses Grendel as the narrator of his own story in order for the readers to understand what he, Grendel, is doing and the reason he does it. From the beginning of Grendel’s childhood to when he becomes a monster, the reader is able to follow Grendel’s thought process and see how his overall narration of the story has evolved from little, if not none, knowledge of language to basically mastery. From Grendel’s point of view, the reader can hold sympathy for Grendel because, unlike in Beowulf, Grendel can be seen not just as a monster but also as a curious creature (especially in Grendel’s childhood).In addition to Grendel being the narrator, readers are able to see that Grendel has not always been the cruel killing monster that most people know of. Readers can also see how Grendel is capable of learning new things, expressing feelings (sadness, anger, frustration, etc.), and interacting with other creatures.

Grendel’s status as a monster does in fact affect the way he tells the story. Since he is seen as a cruel monster and “son of Cain,” Grendel is rejected by human societies—especially those of government and religion. Although Grendel is an outcast, he still is able to learn of poetry, verse, and many other human concepts of language and literature. This can be seen especially in chapters 7 and 8. In these chapters, Grendel includes other characters’ inner thoughts, other character’s soliloquies, and many other things. For example Grendel uses a metaphor of a deer to compare to humans because “the deer sees life without observing it” (8).