John Gardner's Monstrous Creation: Grendel

After our brief introduction to John Gardner’s contemporary fiction novel, Grendel, I was curious to see how (according to Gardner) fiction should truly be written: with a purpose. Initially, I did not really regard Gardner to be the gentlest of people, considering that he bashed the majority of fiction writers by degrading their works and everything they have ever achieved in their lifetime. However, after reading the first couple chapters of Grendel, I’m kind of starting to see the more sympathetic side of Gardner and the regret and guilt he felt due to his liability in his brother’s unprecedented death.

Truthfully, I do not blame Gardner for defending his beliefs that fiction should solely be life-affirming and significant, not meaningless and empty. Although I admit he could have been a little less harsh and disrespectful to other writers, his genuine concern for the importance and profound meaning of fiction actually seems valid. With that said, I think it is perfectly acceptable to have any form of fictional work whether it is momentous or not. Everyone is entitled to their own opinions and interpretations of fictional merit, but for some reason I can’t help but agree with Gardner in his declaration that a worthwhile piece of literature is so much more inspirational and encouraging to readers than a work of fiction that possesses no relevance to real life at all.

In any case, I am thoroughly enjoying his concoction of the “evil” creature Grendel, who is frequently considered to be an abominable monster who wreaks havoc upon the innocent residents of Denmark in the epic Beowulf. I love the fact that Gardner explores Grendel’s side of the story as an outsider who struggles to discern the meaning of life and his purpose in the universe. I think Gardner makes Grendel’s character very relatable on many levels (which seems highly unexpected actually), as he considers himself an ugly, worthless, detested, and  undesirable creature who has no meaning or sense of belonging in the world. Grendel is a very self-loathing and insecure monster who calls himself a “ridiculous hairy creature” (Gardner 44), who oftentimes cannot bear the existence of other “natural things” like humans (Gardner 8), specifically the Danes.

I found it extremely significant to note that Gardner choses to develop Grendel’s character almost as an equal and an opposite to mankind. This is because Grendel shares a common language with humans, but his efforts to communicate remain futile, as the humans neglect to understand the creature. At the same time, Grendel’s feelings and emotional states also resembles that of humans, such as sentiments of loneliness, despair, pain, and fear. Furthermore, Grendel’s similarities with humans are only overshadowed by their differences that seem to thwart Grendel’s endeavors to befriend them. Thus, as Grendel struggles to discover his identity and role in this chaotic world, we see Gardner unravel the true nature of a lost and self-doubting soul who seeks to discover a sense of community and belonging to the world.