



Written in 1971 by John Gardner, American
novelist, essayist, literary critic and university
professor
Grendel is a parallel novel
Also considered a philosophical novel (e.g.,
existentialism, solipsism, nihilism, etc.)
Each chapter focuses on a different astrological
sign.



Characterized by a sense of disorientation and
confusion in the face of an apparently
meaningless or absurd world.
“’The world is all pointless accident” (Gardner
28).
“One of the horses neighed and reared up, and
for some crazy reason they took it for a sign”
(27).



from Latin solus, meaning "alone", and ipse,
meaning "self“
the philosophical idea that only one's own
mind is sure to exist.
“I understood that, finally and absolutely, I
alone exist. All the rest, I saw, is merely what
pushes me, or what I push against…” (Gardner
22).




from the Latin nihil, nothing
Most commonly, nihilism is presented in the
form of existential nihilism, which argues that
life is without objective meaning, purpose, or
intrinsic value.
The belief that traditional morals, ideas, beliefs,
etc., have no worth or value
“I tried to tell her all that had happened, all that
I’d come to understand: the meaningless
objectness of the world, the universal bruteness”
(Gardner 28).



Taurus, the Bull. Taurus is determined,
efficient, stubborn, cautious, placid, persistent,
enduring, introverted, conservative,
conventional, materialistic, security conscious,
stable, industrious, dependable, and one
generally having significant financial ability.
In what ways do we see this zodiac sign
represented in chapter 2?
What is the significance of these depictions?

“So one reader of Grendel will get only this much: that what we
value so may not be lasting. Another reader may get much,
much more...What matters is that I work out the problems with
absolute honesty, that I make Grendel sympathetic so that the
reader will feel from inside the importance of the question,
What should I do? If the reader decides, as all three papers here
decide, that I am advising people to live like Grendel and give
up values, then the reader is wrong but I have done no harm,
because the reader will see--in spite of his slight misreading--that
somehow it's not good giving up values (which is exactly what
I say). We all know that love sometimes dies, that people who at
one time love each other truly and deeply may at another time
stop loving each other. But as John Barth beautifully points out
in Chimera, that is no reason for people to stop trying to love
each other all their lives. In other words (as both Barth and I
have been saying in books) we don't need eternal values
to assert and try to live up to eternal values.”

In the following passage, analyze the
function of point of view in John Gardner’s
Grendel. Using evidence from the text, explain
how Grendel’s perspective affects or
complicates the reader’s understanding of the
epic poem, Beowulf. (Hint: Why does John
Gardner choose to write from Grendel’s point
of view and what does this narrative offer us?
Consider Gardner’s narration and
characterization of Grendel.)