John Gardner is the author of the novel Grendel written in 1971. It is a restating of part of the Old English poem Beowulf from the perspective of the antagonist, Grendel. In the novel, Grendel is portrayed as an anti-hero. The novel deals with finding meaning in the world, the power of literature and myth, and the nature of good and evil.
Gardner likes to play around with the standards of narrative, and we can see that quite clearly in his choice to show us the other side of the Beowulf story.
Grendel gives us his first-person narrative of what it's like to be a monstrous. But he also has this ability to know what other people are thinking, and he seems to see things that he shouldn't be able to see.
In Grendel, John Gardner uses:
B. first-person point of view to help readers see Grendel’s side of a familiar story.