Since the "heroes" of the story are less than heroic, we don't mind joining the monster in laughter when he gets even with them.
Part of our minds registers this behavior as bullying, pure and simple, but it doesn't matter. Grendel's got us because he can show us how ridiculous and unworthy human beings are—and just how funny it is when he pulls one over on them. We don't even seem to mind when part of the "joke" is swallowing people whole:.
His wife, looking in behind him, makes a scene. The thanes in the meadhall blow out the lights and cover the wide stone fireplace with shields. I laugh, crumple over; I can't help myself. In the darkness, I alone see clear as day. While they squeal and screech and bump into each other, I silently sack up my dead and withdraw to the woods.
Grendel's got a diabolical sense of humor, one that's designed to make us betray our loyalty to our own kind. Humans look kind of like petty little mice scurrying away from a superior being.
It can also be really hard to see Grendel for what he really is since his observations are truthful and interesting: his razor-sharp commentary about humankind—in particular humans' religious and political practices—is clear-sighted and just. He's kind of like the Jon Stewart or Stephen Colbert of his time, with the difference that he, you know, eats people and stuff. So we've got to keep up our guard. Grendel is charming, witty, and victimized, and he knows how to frame a story.
Everything we read about the story and its characters comes from Grendel. Sure, that makes us like him, but that doesn't mean we should take everything he says as the pure, objective truth. After all, Grendel is a pretty hot mess. We might be able to chalk his issues up to a rough childhood or to cursed genealogy, but he's still a monster and a murderer. It doesn't really matter that humans do bad things, too. After all, two wrongs don't make a right. Gardner puts us in a tough spot in this respect.
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The novel follows Grendel through three stages of his life. The first stage is his childhood, which he spends innocently exploring his confined world, untroubled by the outside universe or philosophical questions. As such, crossing the lake is a crucial step for Grendel in his move toward adulthood.
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