with post-modernist philosophy, and Gardner himself has stated that he modeled his version of Grendel after French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre. The sense of moral ambiguity and relativism present in the work creates a stark contrast with the black-and-white morality of the comparatively dated Beowulf. The work emphasizes that even monsters are largely a product of their circumstance and creates a narrative wherein we can understand Grendel's resentment for Beowulf without condoning it.

In the epic tale of Beowulf and John Gardner's novel called Grendel, the most striking difference is Gardner's decision to have Grendel tell his own story, thus making the monster a more sympathetic character.

In Beowulf, Grendel's entrance into the mead hall, repeated as he has done for twelve years, is described as he moves with seething anger intent upon grabbing and devouring his first victim. He is thrilled to see such a collection of mighty warriors. The iron on the doors cannot stop—he moves with "furious rage." His "heart laughs" when he thinks of ripping the soul from the body of his victim.

THEN GRENDEL CAME from the moors by way of the misty crags; God's wrath lay heavy on him. The monster was of a mind to seize a human in the noble hall...This was not the first time that he'd sought Hrothgar's homestead, but never before had he found such mighty warriors, such guardians of the hall.

The accurséd rogue then came to the hall; the door opened when his fists struck it, even though it had been fastened with bolts of iron, and he ripped open the house's mouth in his furious rage. He then quickly tread over the paved floor, his ire streaming like flashes from his eyes, like a flame. He spied the band of heroes in the hall, the hardy liegemen, that group of clansmen gathered together sleeping. Then his heart laughed, for the savage beast was in the mood to sever each soul's life from its body before daybreak as he saw this opportunity to sate his slaughterous appetite.

However, in Gardner's novel, Grendel (the narrator) paints the picture of a pitiful creature that is bullied by animals in the forest. He has been hunted by men—men who do not leave, but build a grand mead hall. Grendel describes the dragon's victimization of this young "creature."

Grendel claims that he originally does not want to fight. Unferth, who drunkenly criticizes Beowulf when he arrives at Hrothgar's mead hall in the poem, attacks Grendel in Gardner's novel. Grendel evades Unferth, but retaliates, throwing apples at him—thus humiliating Unferth. This depiction promotes the emerging image of Grendel as a battered, misguided child.

The Shaper (storyteller, scop) arrives at the mead hall and tells stories of Grendel: descended from the line of Cain—the first murderer. The dragon further twists Grendel's mind. One night Grendel approaches the mead hall and a guard tries to kill him. In that moment Grendel discovers that the dragon has put a spell on him—mankind's swords cannot harm him. He grabs the guard, and rage bursts forth from the monster directed at all of mankind.

Then, little by little, I understood. I felt laughter welling up inside me—at the dragon-charm...at everything—the oblivious trees and sky, the witless moon. I'd meant them no harm, but they'd attacked me again, as always. They were crazy. And now at last the grim laughter came pouring out, as uncontrollable as the dragon's laugh, and I wanted to say, "Lo, God has vanquished mine enemies!"...

Grendel takes the guard, still living, and in front of the gathered members of the hall, eats the man starting with his head. Taking what is left of the body, Grendel flees "with glee" into the woods, experiencing "unearthly joy." And so his raids on the hall begin.

In Beowulf, the hero comes to battle a crazed monster that has been haunted the hall and murdering for years. In Gardner's novel, Grendel describes himself as a product of his environment—driven to violence—but still a monster.

The tone of John Gardner's Grendel, a novel written from the point of view of the title character who is a villainous outcast, is dark without being somber, funny without being light, and plaintive without being maudlin.

At the start of the novel, the reader meets Grendel as a young monster, as vulnerable and fearful as any infant of any species, and from this sympathetic time of life onwards, Grendel grows up to fear and ridicule the warriors who are presented so heroically in Beowulf. Gardner's presentation of a protagonist experiencing this combination of emotions is clever; often, really scary individuals or events are sometimes tragicomical in their difficulty to be understood. Because Grendel's voice is smart and intellectual, both the fear and the ridicule emerge from his words clearly. The tone of his story is effective in its impact on the reader; it gives the reader an opportunity to wonder how many outcasts feel this way about the dominant culture in which they live.

"Grendel" is a parody of the medieval English poem, "Beowulf." It tells the story of Beowulf and Grendel from Grendel's point of view using first person narration. In "Grendel," the character of Grendel is somewhat comic, a monster that has an interest in poetry and is trying to rise above the typical idea of a "monster." In Chapter 7 and 8, Grendel tries to be a poet (failing miserably), finally succeeding in Chapter 12, as Beowulf fights him, to come up with some successful poetry. While the book covers similar themes such as heroes and villains, good and evil, morals, and art, he book is very different from the original "Beowulf," as the original was an epic poem told in a serious manner, praising Beowulf as a hero. "Grendel" is not as cut and dry, the character of Grendel questions existence and the meaning of life, and tries to fight against his role as a monster to embrace art and language.

In "Beowulf" there is no sympathy nor motivation for the monster's actions. Grendel is a flat (or static) character rather than a round one. He is simply an evil that the intrepid Beowulf must dispose of. There is no compassion at all for the beast, only rejoicing after Beowulf slays Grendel and hangs his arm and claw from the rafters of Heorot Hall.

In Gardner's take on the epic, Grendel is a round character and the story of Beowulf is told from his point-of-view. Gardner carefully establishes a history for his protagonist. Grendel is a descendant of the doomed lineage of the biblical Cain. Gardner also establishes a relationship between King Hrothgar and Grendel. The monster tries to make friends, but is not successful. Finally, and perhaps most poignantly, we see the "monster" at home, where his mother is unable to communicate with him. Grendel is completely alone and lonely. Who wouldn't eat a few people? Is that so wrong? :)

This early fictional monster, Beowulf’s challenge in Heorot, is a monster drawn not from Nature, but from imagination.  It is, of course, strong, ferocious, a carnivore, but a water-dweller (he lives with his mother in a pool nearby).  We can assign it claws and teeth and limbs (since Beowulf tears its arm off).  The important feature of Grendel often overlooked in citing Beowulf’s heroism is that this is Grendel’s home territory, its hunting ground, and the humans are the intruders, so Grendel is acting on its survival instincts when he hunts the warriors (and he apparently is a nocturnal hunter).  It is important to remember that it is a fictive device, a “personification” of destructive elements in a foreign land, and not part of any natural taxonomy or “chain of being.”  And it is clearly wrongheaded to try to equate Grendel with a real animal, like a bear or tiger.