Truth

Does truth come in the form of the cynical dragon, telling you that you are nothing but a blink in the eyes of time? A dust mote, a particle of carbon, a totally inconsequential being that lives for but a second in the infinity of time? 
No, that can't be right.
So, perhaps it is the Shaper, telling you that you are nothing but evil but that everyone around you is magical and wonderful and great and heroic.
Nah, that's not right either. 
So, what is the truth? Is Grendel a cold-blooded killer, a maniac, a fiend? Or is he just a confused little boy? A victim, even?
But if Grendel is the victim, is Beowulf a bad person for wanting to protect the Danish people from a monster that had ravaged their homes and pillaged their livestock?
What's the truth? The only answer I can think of is 'a two-edged sword'. 
Some people may argue that Grendel was born bad; I don't think that's true. Should he have run around the countryside gobbling up anyone who came across him? No. Even if he was abused and demonized by the humans, that doesn't give him the right to take someone's life.
But doesn't the same go for Beowulf? Grendel may have been a serial killer (for all intents and purposes) but does that give this Beowulf dude, who doesn't even know the whole story, the right to storm in and play God?
I think John Gardner may have been commenting on the practice of the death penalty; when you have a Jack the Ripper or Boston Strangler-type "monster", don't they have to be stopped? But, wait: what if they were raised in an abusive household? What if they're not total villains?
Who's telling the truth? 
Well, it depends. I think it is very rare to have absolute truth; there are two sides to every story, and both tend to tell a little truth and a little lie.