We will discuss Neil Gaiman’s American Gods at our meeting on Wednesday, May 22, 2012, at 4:15p.m. in the GAHS library. Please post questions, comments, concerns, criticism, and the like on this blog prior to, during, or after our meeting (before May 31st if you want grade-replacement credit). All questions and responses should indicate an active reading of the text and function to move the conversation forward. (Note: surface-level or obvious questions and responses will not count as participation for grade replacement.)
Those of you unable to attend due to scheduling conflicts may participate in the discussion below by posting a discussion question and offering a detailed response, or by responding to two questions already posted. The note above applies here as well, so heed it!
Do you think that the fantasy and mythology of American Gods applies to the realities of modern life? Can it be viewed as what is happening in our present-day culture and society?
One major external conflict is the Old Gods based off of folklore and ancient cultures battling the New Gods of present-day culture and society. The overall outlook on this is in the event of old vs. new thoughts, views, beliefs, ideas- who will win? Specifically, will the time-tested ideas and trials of the wise Old Gods outweigh the witty fresh revelations of the youthful New Gods? People deal with and test out this constant battle on a daily basis in their personal lives. They challenge the methods of the past with the new concepts of the present including media, celebrity, technology, and drugs, among others.
American gods was unbearably long, but was still readable as vulgar and graphic as it was. I saw this because story interestingly captured many of the modern american’s view on gods. In the founding of this country the people heavily relied and worshiped god, mostly because they had no way of explaining many of the things they do not understand. Today with modern technology and answers there is new view on what people think about gods. In the book I particular thought how Mr.Wednesday described america as a country that does not tolerate gods for very long provides a clear example on how modern people really are.
Question: Are gods really forgotten that quickly in America?
Personally I believe that they are not forgotten because many people still do know about them, but they are much less worshiped and taken seriously then they were in the past.
While reading the first few chapters of the book, I wasn’t able to grasp concepts/ themes the book possessed, do you think Gaiman took too long to make his points evident?
I definitely think that Gaiman took a long time to get to his main point and theme in the book. The book was extremely long and I do not think that it needed to be. That being said, I don’t think the length of the book took anything away from the storyline. Gaiman definitely drew out the book in ways that were not necessary, simply added bulk and length. I would say he did take too long to make the points evident, but once he got there, he took it and perfected it.
After reading American Gods, I was left wondering what America has come to and realizing how much has really changed. I, at first, thought the book was going to be lengthy and purposeless and pretty much boring. Afterwards, my mind was blown about how interesting the book actually was. I thought that the book did have many pointless sex scenes and other details (especially in the first chapter). After continuing the read, I understand the importance of that very detailed scene, to give an example of what some people have come to worship in America. (I am still confused to why it was so necessary to include the vivid details; I think the purpose could have been included without them). It is extremely true that the Gods many people believe in have changed. When founded, America was closely tied to religious beliefs while obtaining religious freedom. None the less, many Americans did believe in a God based on beliefs and religion. That is what many people looked for in the American life. Now, many years later, it is much harder to find people who solely find life in the older Gods we originally may think about. Now, many people are tied to technology and fantasy and material things and put them almost, if not as high, as the original Gods. I believe that Neil Gaiman did a great job in depicting the change in the “new” and “old” American Gods and that he is correct in his depiction although the storyline with Shadow and Mr. Wednesday was a little convoluted.
Question: Do you think the vivid imagery was necessary to prive Gaiman’s point? What about the storyline, was it appropriate for his purpose?
I think the details were important, it put me inside the story, however, the sex scene, I’d agree, didn’t need to be so vivid but he got the point across. I really liked how Gaiman personified the Gods, he made the story interesting while pointing out the new things America now glorifies
Question: Do you think the vivid imagery was necessary to prove Gaiman’s point?
In my opinion, vivid imagery was one of Gaiman’s deepest points, and without it, we might not picked up the meaning behind it. I understand the sex scenes were a bit uncomfortable and somewhat unnecessary, but like what you stated above, those scenes gave the book a deeper meaning, that we worship sex, we worship new age technology and we worship worldly “pleasures.” The vivid imagery (of the sex scene specifically), helped pull us to that conclusion.
Shadow’s dreams also stand out to be a pretty big role in the vivid imagery. He dreams of the buffalo man who tells him to “believe everything.” The dream when he gave up his life for Laura, where he was being pushed through the rock and could feel his bones being crushed… that was pretty scary, but also very deep, exactly Gaiman’s point. Gaiman included the vivid imagery because American Gods contains both the magical and the mundane. The vivid imagery brings these worlds together in the novel and makes the their coexistence believable.
I agree completely. I feel like the imagery was definitely one of the strongpoints in American Gods. I feel like it was extremely important to pull the whole theme of the book as well as the storyline together. It was extremely important to show Gaiman’s dreams and helped bring both sides of the story together. However, I do feel that sometimes Gaiman went a little overboard with the imagery and that his point could have made without such vivid details.
Just as others said I think this scene was important for Gaiman to get his point across yet the details were less important. The sex scene exemplifies the how Americans now believe or worship different “gods” than before. As the American culture changes the Gods we believe in also changes. Americans are focus on the enjoyment or desires of the century they live in currently.
Although I agree that some of the details of the book were not needed, the great imagery of the way he describes the settings sets a mood for the entire scene. In the beginning of the book, he talks vividly about the storm that is taking place around him. This storm helps convey the depressed mood that surrounds the recent dealth of his wife. In the end, not all of the details were necessary, but the ones that were necessary greatly added to and affected the tone of the book.
I do not believe the extremely vivid and disturbing pictures Gaiman put in my head were necessary to understanding the point he trying to make, but without it would be a much more boring lesson to learn. It allowed to me actually enjoy and want to keep reading.
How does the assimulation of American culture affect the gods we believe in? How is this expressed in the book?
Question: How does the assimilation of American culture affect the gods we believe in? How is this expressed in the book?
This question is the underlining question of the whole novel. The assimilation of American culture, our worldly pleasures and our technology, changes everyday and as a society, we are becoming selfish, and in part, this affects the gods who go unnoticed and become selfish themselves (seen in the end of the book where Wednesday made up the whole storm to satisfy himself.) We are constantly fighting others for reasons that are unknown to ourselves. The shift in gods “we worship” have changed from spiritual to technology and material gods. American’s no longer believe in a higher power, they only believe in these foolish worldly pleasures. And likewise, these material and technological “gods,” so to speak, assimilate like the tide to satisfy the American people, even if only for a short time.
As American culture and society have changed throughout the years, the gods that people have believed in have also changed. When settlers first arrived in America, a major focus was on religion. However, with the advancement of technology, people have started to rely less heavily on God and more upon technology and what it brings us. This idea is expressed in the book through the use of old gods and new gods. The old gods represent knowledge and wisdom (Mr. Wednesday), knowledge and writing (Mr. Ibis), and much more, while the new gods represent the internet and technology (The Technical Boys), and televison (Media).