Introduction
Neil Gaiman’s novel American Gods is widely accepted as a travelogue that illustrates the story of a man named Shadow who is released from prison after three years long battering. Most of the events in the story are set in various parts of American. These episodes engage on the world map. The art of story telling or telling tale often influences the creation of human perspectives about myth cycles. One can see the conscious effort on the part of the author which forces the reader to believe the mythical elements that are discussed as the story unfolds. The central theme of the novel is the journey of Shadow and the conflict between the new gods and the old gods. In literature, stories based on various mythologies have often shown the tendency to make the readers believe in its particular mythology through the use of style, diction, word choice and other narrative techniques. The most significant fact is that the novel contains important elements of both realism and fantasy and it inspire the reader to consider this novel as an original work of fantasy. In the novel American Gods, the author applies a particular style of narration that opens in a casual way of reality and then glides into the world of imagination. The cycling of American Mythology is revealed through the demonstration of old God and the new one, henotheism. Narrative style or the way telling tale influence the formation of perceptions about mythology among the readers and Gaiman’ novels American Gods helps the reader to belief the existence of today’s myth cycles.
Gaiman introduces the mythical character of Mr. Wednesday in the story and presents him in a casual setting as a mysterious stranger and then he changes into super natural status. Gaiman’s illustrations and narrative style are highly lyrical and these force the readers to accept the mythical events as reality.
The novel is enlightened from the view point of a third person and the narration initially follows the central character Shadow and then twists and turns to envelope other characters. The cycling of American mythology is vividly pictures in the story American Gods and the character of Mr. Wednesday is revealed as the Norse god Odin who fights with coming Gods, competing for the thoughts of the people. Steven H. Silver analyses that “In Gaiman’s world, once the gods arrive in America, they remain, growing weaker as their believers die out or turn to other deities or beliefs, an idea which is known as henotheism” (Gaiman). It is clear for a reader that Gaiman’s novel depicts not only a system of American religious belief, but also the shady and mysterious underside of the United States in which people from America would wish to remain concealed from the world. This way of presentation always inspire the reader to connect various material aspects of their life such as, political movements, social and cultural transactions, battles and revolutions.
Another important thing for a researcher is that Gaiman’s selection of location is something thought provoking and requires further research. The background of the novel comprises cities like New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles. The story explains how and why mythologies like Norse, African, Norse and Celtic have failed to thrive with the cultural liquefying pot of America. The novelist presents the characters not as mythical personalities but as real people and this way of telling the tale influences the reader’s perception.
As the result of his companionship with Ordin, Shadow encounters other Gods like Mad Sweeney, Czernobog and the Egyption gods Horus and Bast and the author presents them as diminished. Here one can find a thought provoking thing is that the existence and growth of mythical beliefs about Gods which are based on how people receive or admit those mythologies. The words of Mr. Wednesday underline the corrosion of public beliefs about gods and other mythologies and the lack of faith. He cries; “In an emergency, but only in an emergency, you hurt people who need to be hurt. In the unlikely event of my death, you will hold my vigil. And in return I shall make sure that your needs are adequately taken care of” (Gaiman). Throughout the journey, the ghost of Laura, wife of Mr. Shadows, helps him to escape from various struggles and the presence of the ghost often reminds him of the power of existence and death.
American Gods are presented as the diminishing forces and they express their frustration through medias, technologies and drugs among the others. Here the reader can clearly understand the existing conflict between ancient mythology and modern scientific developments. Wednesday’s (Ordin) death becomes a turning point in the novel; here Shadow obeys the order of Wednesday and fights against the, New Gods with the help of the re-enacting form of Ordin as a World Tree. During the battle Shadow dies and the deities bring him back to life and in his new life Shadow realizes the futility of the ongoing battle between Old Gods and New Gods. In his second coming Shadow recognizes the futility of Battle and he exhorts that battle provides neither gains nor losses. As the representative of modern society, Gaiman fears or gives warning about the arrival of third World War.
Gaiman’s literary craftsmanship is crystal clear in his novel American Gods. Most of the Gods from American Mythology are presented as figures of modern community and through this technique the author reveals the symptoms of both dissemination and preservation. Sexual anarchism eliminates moral principles and ideologies and this becomes a serious problem in the modern world. Here the author intelligently connects the ideas of ancient mythology to the modern world. Both Wednesday and Shadow are practiced sexual interactions. With the help of his magic powers, Wednesday seduces many young girls during the journey across America with Shadow. Wednesday’s comments underline his attitude. He cries; “And I need her, not as an end in herself, but to wake me up little” (Gaiman).
Readers often face difficulty in understanding the shift from mythology to modern circumstances, and finally he or she acquires the tendency to believe the existence of Gods and ancient mythologies. Another significant fact is that through the battle between old Gods and new Gods, the novelist demonstrates the identical or ideological war between American culture and various immigrant communities such as Egyptians, Africans, Mexicans, Middle East communities and Normans. It becomes evident for a reader that the author makes a conscious effort to attribute the features of modern man into Gods.
Dissemination and preservation are common in today’s success myth that occupies in the existing world. The way the author presents various mythical characters in his novel requires reader’s curiosity and these narrative techniques often help them to connect ancient mythology into Today’s mythical world. The fight between old Gods and new Gods is a symbolic one and one can see that actually it is the struggle between American community and different immigrant communities. Both preservation and elimination are the main features of modern Gods. Under this perception the reader can easily admit various mythologies.
Conclusion
To conclude, Niel Gaiman’s novel American Gods handles a serious and thought provoking topics with its own specific features such as narrative style, usage of literary devices and choice of words. The whole story describes the adventurous journey of the hero Mr. Wednesday with the background of fantasy and realism. The author demonstrates the conflicts of old Gods and new Gods and his way of telling the tale forces the reader to achieve an obvious perception about American mythology. Today’s myth cycles round credit cards, internet facilities, and other kinds of scientific developments. The novelist underlines the features of today’s myth cycles such as, dissemination and preservation. Gaiman portrays new American Gods as the exponents of obsessions and the reader easily finds the central percept of the novel that Gods and mythological characters have existence. The novel ends with a sound of reconciliation. After the final battle between Ordins and Loki (Old Gods and New Gods) Shadow realizes that battle is futile and both sides had nothing to achieve. Analyzing the political and social circumstances of America, one can understand the fact that the way of telling tale definitely influences the formation of perceptions about myths. American Gods describes the crisis of today’s myth cycles beautifully.
Works Cited
Gaiman, Neil. American Goads. Steven Silver’s Reviews. Web.
Gaiman, Neil. American Goads. Headline Book Publishing. 2006. Print.