Grendel, the protagonist and narrator of the novel, is both a thoughtful and sensitive creature and a violent monster. In the original epic poem Beowulf, Grendel plays a clear role as the supernatural villain; in Gardner’s novel, he is multifaceted, and his complex nature invites the reader to suspend their disbelief and understand him in more nuanced and human terms.

Over the course of the novel, Grendel describes a series of transformative encounters. When he met humans for the first time as a youngster, he experienced feelings of being misunderstood. The warriors heard his speech and laughter, and the sounds that he made, through no fault of his own, terrified them and led them to assume the worst about Grendel. He learned that he was fearsome. The warriors now attack him and avoid him in equal measures, leaving him isolated in his confusion.

As an adult, Grendel seeks answers to the questions that confused him most as a child. As he searches for meaning and a way to live his life, he watches the warriors in their villages and in the meadhall. Grendel recounts spying on the Danes, marveling at their ability to create solutions and to put order to a disordered system.