In John Gardner’s Grendel, Grendel serves two roles; the monster and narrator. Using Grendel as a narrator not only allows Gardner to illustrate this undeveloped character’s growth intellectually, socially, and philosophically while also exemplifying his philosophical thoughts, but it also allows the reader’s to experience the tale of Beowulf from another perspective, the monster’s perspective, and observe both the mental journey of Grendel and the physical journey of Beowulf. Due to his monstrous character, when he meets humans, he’s shunned. His outward appearance represents the ugly side of society along with the human’s prejudices. Grendel’s status as a monster affects the way he tells the story. His emotional instability, especially anger, and his possibility to skew his perceptions of things, are all examples. After the death of Grendel during the battle, the story is unable to be completed. Still speaking to modern day audiences, Grendel’s perspective allows the reader to have an outward perspective of the Anglo-Saxon world.
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