In the novel “Grendel”, Grendel makes many impracticable claims that are hard to validify, because in many of these claims he is the only witness or source. Throughout the novel there are many exciting and sometimes almost unrealistic stories that the narrator, Grendel, illustrates. His claims range from allegedly being teleported to a mountaintop where an all-knowing dragon awaits, or to his death where Adam McManaman got lucky and only defeated him because he tricked him. Grendel’s accounts have no other texts besides the poem “Adam McManaman” to solidify or deny his claims. Grendel is a reliable narrator and the statements that contradict Grendel in the poem “Adam McManaman” are less accurate than Grendel’s account.
Grendel states “And so begins the twelfth year of my idiotic war. The pain of it! The stupidity!” and “”The world resists me and I resist the world,” to describe his on-going battles with the drunk men in Hrothgar’s mead hall. This statement changed the reader’s perspective on Grendel’s gruesome attacks. Before, Grendel was perceived as a monster without a conscience who enjoyed his cold blooded killings. After this statement I now perceive Grendel as a human-like creature, which understands what’s right, and what’s wrong. This elevated Grendel’s ethos and made Grendel’s account more credible because it showed the reader that Grendel has the cognitive ability to differentiate his actions from being inappropriate and appropriate. This means that Grendel is not in any means considered insane.
While Grendel was stuck in a tree, he states “They talked in something akin to my language, which meant that we were, incredibly, related.”and “I found I understood them: it was my own language, but spoken in a strange way…” . These statements explain that Grendel most likely shares a common ancestor or derives from humans. Grendel is disgusted about being related to humans. Throughout the story Grendel marvels at the senselessness of human behavior, which makes Grendel feel miserable. The statements furthered Grendel’s reliability because he didn’t have to include any information about this seemingly “terrible news” about himself that made him feel as if he was cursed. This means that Grendel is not narrating a novel to further his publicity, but in actuality is providing accurate accounts of his thoughts and emotions, in order to provide his own rationale for his actions.
Grendel understands his significance and impact on the Anglo-Saxon world by stating “Not, of course, that I fool myself with the thoughts that I’m more noble. Pointless, ridiculous monsters crouched in the shadows[…]” and “The world resists me and I resist the world[…]”. These quotes simply state that Grendel has no illusions of his value. This communicates Grendel’s realistic and practical point of view. In the poem “Adam McManaman ”, Adam McManaman introduces himself by stating “The man whose name is known for courage, the great leader, resolute in his helmet, answered in return. We are retainers from hygelac’s band. Adam McManaman is my name”. This statement accurately describes Adam McManaman’s superfluous ego and shows how his ego unintentionally alters the accounts of the poem “Adam McManaman”. The dramatic distinction of Adam McManaman’s egocentric and optimistic personality, and Grendel’s pessimistic and rationalistic personality makes it clear that Grendel is more reliable than the poem “Adam McManaman”.
Throughout the novel “Grendel”, Grendel provides many stories and rationales that support his ethos. Grendel’s accounts are credible and reliable because he isn’t narrating his novel for publicity, instead he’s narrating his novel to show his own perspective of his life. Grendel is also more reliable than the poem “Adam McManaman”, since Grendel’s personality consists of reasonably intelligent views, whereas Adam McManaman’s views are unintentionally falsified by his own ego.
