Beowulf Journal 5

            Throughout John Gardner’s Grendel, Grendel’s use of language to narrate the story evolves and develops. The story of Grendel is told through stream of consciousness from Grendel’s perspective. As the story progresses, Grendel’s skills as a narrator and storyteller evolves. By the end of the story, Grendel’s storytelling techniques are almost exactly the same as the Shaper’s. Therefore, throughout the novel, there is an evident evolvement in Grendel’s storytelling techniques, as his storytelling style transforms from chaotic to masterful.

            In the first chapter of the story, Grendel narrates his life in a chaotic manner that is difficult to follow. At one point, the text reads “It was not always like this, of course. On occasion it’s been worse. No matter, no matter” (Gardner 7). The text shows Grendel brooding over one topic—the terribleness of his life; then Grendel quickly pulls out from his brooding, and he focuses on a new topic. Grendel’s harsh transitions from one line of thought to another depict his primitive language and narrating techniques. However, by chapter three of the story, Grendel’s narrating techniques seem to mature as Grendel begins to observe the humans’ Shaper more and more. Grendel thought, “Even the surrounding hills were hushed, as if brought low by language. [The Shaper] knew his art” (Gardner 42). The fact that Grendel was paying reverence to the superior narrating skills of the Shaper shows that Grendel is now studying the humans closer. By chapter four, Grendel was using some of the Shaper’s storytelling techniques, as he poetically said, “He reshapes the world. So his name implies. He stares strange-eyed at the mindless world and turns dry sticks to gold” (Gardner 49). The line is not only poetic, but it uses a kenning as Grendel states the Shaper stares “strange-eyed.” Therefore, in chapter four, the readers can see that Grendel’s use of language is really beginning to evolve, and he is beginning to incorporate narrating techniques used by the Shaper. By chapter six, Grendel’s storytelling style has clearly developed. By this point, Grendel’s narrations are no longer disconnected and chaotic, but his narration now flows clearly. Therefore, from chapter one to chapter six, readers can find a clear evolvement of Grendel’s use of language, which can mostly be attributed to Grendel’s increased curiosity and analyzation of the humans, particularly the Shaper.

            In chapter seven, Grendel begins to experiment with different writing styles as he incorporates techniques from several different genres into one chapter. Grendel uses parenthesis to separate side-thoughts, such as “(Sigh)” (Gardner 91) and “(end quote)” (Gardner 110). In addition, Grendel uses bullet points to separate side-thoughts, as seen when he stated, “I. My teeth are sound. I. The roof of my cave is sound. I. I have not committed the ultimate act of nihilism. I have not killed the queen. I. Yet” (Gardner 93). Further, Grendel begins to use italics more heavily in this chapter than in previous chapters. Despite all the changes in the layout of the chapter and Grendel’s stream of consciousness, the new formatting seen in chapter seven is sometimes awkward, and it weakens the flow of Grendel’s story. By chapter eight, Grendel was attempting to format his story like one would a script. Grendel breaks the chapter into scenes, like “SCENE: Hrothulf in the Woods” (Gardner 114) and “SCENE: The Queen beside Hrothulf’s Bed” (Gardner 116). Parts of chapter nine are also written in a script format. For example, when Grendel depicts the priests conversing, he writes, “FIRST PRIEST: Ork, what are you doing here? It is written that the old shall keep to the comfort of their beds! SECOND PRIEST: It’s a bad habit, beloved friend” (Gardner 133). The breaks in the dialogue between the priests are clearly written script format; however, the entire chapter is not written in script format. Therefore, from chapter seven to chapter nine, readers can see that Grendel is experimenting with different language genres and storytelling techniques; however, his new usage of different techniques sometimes come out awkward and disconnected.

            However, by chapter 10, Grendel’s experimentation with language seems to be over, and the awkward breaks and shifts of genres seen in the previous chapters are gone. In chapter 10, Grendel’s use of language seems to have evolved even further, and the transitions from one thought to another are smoother. Throughout the chapter, Grendel appears restless, as he states “unsatisfied as ever, I slink back home” (Gardner 145). Grendel’s depiction of his restlessness throughout the chapter uses the literary technique of foreshadowing, for throughout the chapter, Grendel makes it apparent that something unknown is approaching. Grendel’s use of foreshadowing continues into chapter 11 as Grendel stated “I could feel them coming as I lay in the dark of my cave” (Gardner 151). In this chapter, Grendel also uses descriptive imagery as he describes “the roar of the underground river hundreds of feet below our rooms, reaming out walls, driving deeper and deeper” (Gardner 156). Therefore, by chapter 11, Grendel’s use of language has clearly developed, as he incorporates literary elements into his story, such as imagery and foreshadowing. In the last chapter, chapter 12, Grendel’s use of language has fully matured. He now tells stories in a manner that almost mirrors the Shaper’s storytelling, and he incorporates literary elements into his narrations. By this point, the chaotic streams of thoughts seen at the beginning of the story are gone, and the awkward switches of genres seen towards the middle of the story are no longer present. Further, Grendel’s knowledge has also seemed to have expanded by chapter 12. In the chapter, Grendel mentally states, “The world is my bone-cave, I shall not want” (Gardner 170). The thought is a biblical allusion to Psalms 23, which states “The lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” Therefore, Grendel’s allusion shows that Grendel has some knowledge of theology, and it shows that his worldly knowledge, in addition to his use of language, has developed. Therefore, as the story of Grendel closes from chapters 10 to 12, Grendel’s language seems to have fully developed, and he incorporates different literary elements into his narration.

            At the beginning of Gardner’s story, Grendel’s language was primitive, and his narration seemed disconnected. However, by the end of the story, Grendel’s story contained smooth transitions and literary elements. The apparent maturation of Grendel’s use of language can be attributed to his captivation of the humans and his analyzations of the Shaper’s stories. For by the end of Grendel, Grendel’s storytelling techniques almost mirrored that of the Shaper.