Journal 8

Parody Journal 8

                 Beowulf, an epic poem, is the story of Beowulf, a heroine, who saves the village of Herot from a monstrous fiend. The story of Beowulf depicts the values of heroism, loyalty, fairness, and glory. These values are deeply criticized in the story of “Grendel”, giving reason to acknowledge “Grendel” as a parody of Beowulf. A parody is a mocking imitation of a work of literature. Grendel presents these same values in a whole different perspective. These perspectives show how “Grendel” is a parody of Beowulf.

The story Beowulf depicts Grendel as an intelligent monster with the capability of basic human ability. However, in the story Grendel, we see another side of Grendel. Grendel is shown to be intelligent, with knowledge of poetry and philosophies. Beowulf also implies that Grendel is an emotionalist; in the story “Grendel” we see that this is not the case. Throughout the story Grendel we see different emotions displayed by Grendel such as sorrow, anger, and fear. Also seen throughout the story of “Grendel” is a different side of the story; where Grendel tries to communicate with the humans but is pushed away by the humans. This isolation for Grendel creates a sort of innocence for him, where we actually feel bad for Grendel. This mocks early views of Grendel in Beowulf where we see him as this emotionless monster.

The idea of glory and courage in Beowulf are viewed as honorable characteristics for a warrior to have. In “Grendel” we see these same characteristics but through the bloodshed and violence it creates. Grendel sees the remorseless fighting of the humans and compares them as worst then animals, saying that even wolves don’t kill their own kind. The idea of heroism is mocked by Grendel as he ridicules Unferth. Grendel kills all of the towns’ warriors in the meadhall, but Unferth. Unferth desperately desires to become a hero and sees the only way for him to become one is to die. Grendel tells Unferth that he thought heroes only existed in poetry, mocking the idea of a hero by sarcastically talking about thehardships of living up to the idea of a hero.  The values of fairness are also mocked in the story of “Grendel” through Hrothulf. Hrothulf, the nephew of the king, ridicules Herot for its separation of classes between the wealthy and the poor. He talks about how he wishes to take over the kingdom to create a government with true fairness for the people. These views presented by Hrothulf mock at the loyalty and fairness of the kingdoms.

“Grendel” by Gardener presents a different perspective than the one shown in Beowulf. “Grendel” pokes fun of the ideas of loyalty, courage, and heroisms; the story of Grendel shows the true chaos that follows these key values.  “Grendel” shows to be a true parody of Beowulf which presents a mocking imitation on the work of literature.