Journal 10

           I think that Gardner made the decision to use Grendel as a narrator because he wanted his readers to be able to “hear” Grendel’s side of the story.  Readers get a chance to find out about Grendel’s past.  Through Grendel, readers find out that Grendel was not always evil.  At first, Grendel did not bother humans because they did not bother him.  When Grendel first encountered humans, he realized that humans can think and make decisions; they are not like the animals, such as bulls, rams, deer, birds, etc.  Grendel lived in the forest many years before humans started to build their camps and mead-halls.  When tribes expanded their kingdoms, they destroyed the forest, leaving many forest animals homeless.  This enrages Grendel.  By seeing everything through Grendel’s eyes, readers can understand why Grendel hates humans.

            Grendel’s status as a monster affects the way he tells the story in that it makes him the anti-hero.  In Beowulf, Grendel is the villain; he is a heartless monster that terrorizes innocent people.  In Grendel, Grendel is still a monster, but it seems as though Grendel has a “reason” to kill humans.  When reading Grendel, readers can sympathize with Grendel.  Humans decide to settle by Grendel’s home.  Grendel tries to befriend humans; however, they think he is threatening them, so they try to kill him.  As a result, Grendel hates humans.  Grendel realizes that he is a monster because humans try to kill him whenever they see him.  Grendel is an outcast. He is eternally punished by God because he is a descendant of Cain.  Since Grendel is the narrator, readers can understand why Grendel became the monster that he is in Beowulf.