At the end of Chapter 12 in John Gardner’s novel Grendel, Grendel exclaims his final, dying words, “Poor Grendel’s had an accident… So may you all”. These words are meant to be a curse to all of the animals that are watching him die. In the book, Grendel describes these animals as “enemies of old” (Gardner 173) and also describes how “[the animals] watch on, evil, incredibly stupid, enjoying [his] destruction” (Gardner 174) which demonstrates his hatred towards these animals for watching him die. It can be inferred that Grendel’s last words are directed towards the animals because Grendel’s says, “so may you all” (Gardner 174) which is said in a spiteful manner. Grendel’s spite comes from the way the animals are watching him die, which is
