Journal 8: Grendel is a Parody

                  The story Grendel is a parody of the epic Beowulf. Both Grendel and Beowulf essentially tell the same story. They are told from different point of views. Beowulf is a more concise and quick tale of what happened between the Danes, Beowulf, and Grendel. Grendel goes more into detail noticing the times and seasons and placing different philosophies within the story. In Beowulf, Grendel is a monster that terrorizes Herot. However, in Grendel, he is a beast that only wants to be accepted into Anglo-Saxon society. John Gardner wrote Grendel to where the writer has to pity him. Grendel was shown as an evil monster who takes many lives. Also, in Beowulf, Beowulf is portrayed as the hero who saves Herot from Grendel. Grendel is the same character but placed in two different stories and given two different identities-- one identity that comes from the humans and one identity that he gives himself. Beowulf was created first; year’s later Gardner told the same story from a different perspective with more in the plot. Grendel is an imitation of Beowulf.