Gardner's Decision

John Gardner made the decision to use Grendel as a narrator because he wanted to point out to his readers that there are always two sides to a story. Also, Gardner wanted to create sympathy for the character of Grendel. Grendel remains outside of the society of humans, but constantly observes their actions. His ideas of life do not match those of the humans, allowing Grendel a separate point of view. His status as a monster affects the way he tells the story because his thoughts do not coincide with the humans, making his side of the story different from theirs.