One of my favorite writing assignments in High School was kind of like this, only it had to do with Beowulf. Our teacher gave us three choices: We could sum up the story of Beowulf in a college-style essay, do a research paper on the possible origins of the story, or we could retell the story from a particular character's perspective (kinda like the book "Grendel." I can't remember the author though, but look around for it. It's a fun read). I picked the last of the three options and opted to write from the perspective of a character.
My teacher wasn't too terribly surprised when the majority of the class picked the third option; it was the most fun, after all. She was pleasantly surprised, however, when she found that I wrote from the perspective of the Dragon that Beowulf faced at the end of the poem. I ad-libbed a history for the Dragon, talking about how the humans had wronged HIM by ****** his land and taking what was not rightfully theirs. I'm not greenpeace or anything, but I like writing about **** that has a god-complex. Which was what the work was about, when you get down to it: It wasn't manifest destiny that motivated those people to dig and dig into the Dragon's land, it was simply a desire to survive and live. I wish I had a transcript to send you.
I did so well that I got an A on the project and a buttload of extra credit. I was proud.
Smooth Criminal