Grendel, one of the antagonists of Beowulf, is a monster who terrorizes the citizens of Denmark with nights of ruthless murder and cannibalism. He is viewed as a direct descendant of Cain, the first child of Eve and the first murderer in the Garden of Eden. If anything, that should be enough proof of Grendel being a bloodthirsty beast who had no motive in life except to kill. However, is this enough evidence to deem Grendel as something truly malevolent? What if the citizens were the true monsters? What if they made Grendel this way? Gardner was trying to make the reader sympathize with Grendel because from the point of view of Grendel himself, he is often expressing some sort of emotion such as loneliness, anger, and even amusement.

Grendel, who the citizens considered to be dangerous and deadly, is actually capable of feeling some sort of human emotion such as humor and childish anger. In the beginning of the book Grendel, Grendel is shown to have a rather immature temper when he first encounters Hrothgar, king of the Spear-Danes and dedication of Herot. “The old ram stands looking down over rockslides, stupidly triumphant. I blink. I stare in horror. ‘Scat!’ I hiss. ‘Go back to your cave, go back to your cowshed-whatever.’ He cocks his head like an elderly, slow-witted king, considers the angles, [and] decides to ignore me. I stamp. I hammer the ground with my fists. I hurl a skill-size stone at him. He will not budge. I shake my two hairy fists at the sky and I let out a howl so unspeakable that the water at my feet turns sudden ice and even I myself am left uneasy. But the ram stays; the season is upon us. And so begins the twelfth year of my idiotic war. The pain of it! The stupidity! ‘Ah well,’ I sigh, and shrug, trudge back to the trees.” (5-6) Grendel behaves like a child who had his candy taken away from him, showcasing his obvious anger at the “hoary