Journal 8

Grendel is a parody of Beowulf. Grendel is the story of Beowulf from the monster Grendel’s point of view. The story is also written in first person, while Beowulf written in third person. In order to understand the story, Gardner assumes that the reader is familiar with the story Beowulf. The number twelve is an important number that reappears multiple times. There are twelve chapters in Grendel. Grendel is at war with Hrothgar for twelve years. There are twelve months in a year, with twelve corresponding zodiac signs. As the story progress Grendel gains a sense of humor and language. Being that he is a dumb beast this is mocking Beowulf. Grendel also gains a philosophical view as he continues to narrate. Even though he is a monster Grendel falls in love with poetry and Wealthlow, because of their beauty. Beowulf is also a story of a hero, where Grendel is the anti- hero. He provokes Unfearth about being a so called hero. In Beowulf Unfearth was no hero.