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[thewingedword]

So some people, for whatever reason, decided that they actually wanted to read my last research paper on Neil Gaiman and his use of mythology (specifically in American Gods, Anansi Boys, and Good Omens). Fair warning; I finished this a bit late, in a bit of a rush, and I would be hesitant to classify it as my best technical work. The basic idea, however, is something I found fairly interesting. Feel free to have a look. 

Deus Ex Machina: The Beginning of an Era

Mythology is one of the few constants in world literature; every civilization, at some point or other, has created its own gods and goddesses and a host of stories to accompany them. The remarkable similarity of many of these myths illustrates an important principal; no matter what culture they come from, gods represent universal human qualities and ideals. When gods fail to resonate with humanity, they lose power; the tales that once taught important lessons become merely stories, literary curiosities with no moral relevance. The gods of classical mythology have reached that point; civilization has entered a new age, and its deities are more technological than mystical. In his writing, Neil Gaiman merges classical mythology with modern technology, exploring the conflict between the gods of the ancient world and the contemporary powers humanity is beginning to worship.

The power of gods and mythology originally came from their capacity to deliver the information that was important to their home cultures. “Ancient sources illustrate different functions of tale-telling. Among them are education and manipulation (to inform, to illustrate or emphasize a point, to encourage or discourage a certain behavior)…” (Hansen 12). Gods often possessed the ideals of strength, intelligence, and power that society favored, and were basically exaggerated humans. Since classical gods and goddesses tended to be much like normal people in temperament, their behavior in stories could encourage or discourage the people who heard them from acting the same way, teaching valuable lessons. Myths could also serve to preserve historical tales that could serve as precedent and guide important political and military decisions. Today, however, “the word ‘myth’ has acquired a negative connotation for many people. In common usage, to say a story is ‘only a myth’ is to imply it is false and valueless: the opposite of history or science,” (Kromholz). People do not turn to tradition for guidance or knowledge, but instead to more seemingly prosaic resources such as Google. In that sense, technology has become the new god; it is a main source of information from the past, present, and even predictions of the future. Telephones relay messages faster than a prayer to the gods, and an online news website knows more than the local oracle. Information is power, and as long as technology is the source of that information, it will receive the same “worship” that ancient gods were accustomed to.

Neil Gaiman takes this concept to a new level in his work, personifying these technological gods and pitting them against the weakened representatives of older civilizations. In American Gods, for example, he chronicles a war between the old gods and the “new gods” of technology (Gaiman, American Gods). Although few would have predicted it back when primitive computers were defended with the fervor of earliest Christianity, these new gods have come to represent modern humanity in a way the old gods cannot manage. They personify the things that humans desire; the intelligence of a computer, the power of the media, the knowledge of the internet. In this novel, television and internet and credit cards become semi-sentient entities, their main goal to completely eradicate their older opponents from America (Gaiman, American Gods). The destruction of ones predecessor is something of a tradition in religion, showing that even the most modern gods have traditional duties. As these gods gained importance, the older, more traditional gods lost most of their power, relegated to shadows and echoes of their former positions. One such relic says in American Gods, “Our true believers passed on… we were left, lost and scared and dispossessed,” (Gaiman, American Gods 137). In a modern world, the old gods have no place, and must be replaced as they replaced those that came before them. Like any stubborn believer, however, they cling to what existence they have remaining, refusing to sacrifice to the technological gods. It is this battlefield that allows Gaiman to explore the intricate differences and relationships between the two sides.

            Even Odin, the most powerful god in the Norse pantheon, is unable to maintain his strength against the encroaching powers of technology armed with the power of belief in American Gods. According to the old beliefs, “[h]e is aldenn gautr, ‘the enchanter old’; galdrs fadir, ‘father of magic,’ and he spoke magic and nightly charms…” (MacCulloch “The Greater Gods: Odin”). Obviously a powerful god, in his time Odin was the ultimate Viking; strong, powerful, and embodying all the powers of the supernatural. As America becomes more oriented on fact, science, and the explicable, belief in the supernatural is no longer necessary; because of this, Odin becomes as outdated as any old computer or antique religion. He adapts to the changing society, but not enough, and is bypassed by the technological gods. As the deified personification of Television puts it, “We’re shopping malls… [they] are crappy roadside attractions… We are now and tomorrow,” (Gaiman, American Gods 176). By resisting the natural loss of his power to his modern replacements, Odin forced the new gods to destroy him forcibly. Although elements of older religions are sometimes incorporated in the new, the gods of technology are determined to start anew and destroy all competition. Like modern civilization, the modern gods trust more in their own abilities than the wisdom of the old, and their power enables them to destroy representatives of the old world such as Odin completely.

Two other deities from American Gods, the ancient Egyptian gods Anubis and Thoth, illustrate the fate of those completely unable to adapt to change. Once powerful gods in the most ancient kingdom of the world, they now exercise their powers over life and death at a small and run-down funeral home (Gaiman, American Gods). “[Anubis] was said to have aided Isis in burying Osiris and to have given him the embalmment which ensured freedom from destruction, whence all the departed pray that Anubis may care for their bodies. He assists also at the examination of the dead…” (Miller “The Life After Death” 111). “Mr. Jacquel,” Gaiman’s version of the jackal-headed god, is a coroner, preserving the bodies of the dead in his small town (Gaiman, American Gods). He dutifully tastes the heart of those he examines, believed by the Egyptians to be the organ of thought, in a reminiscence of the old rituals (Gaiman, American Gods). However, he ignores the brain, recognized today as the seat of reason, and thus proves how easily the gods become obsolete. His refusal to use modern information is Anubis’s downfall. “[T]he white ibis-god Thout [Thoth]… the deity of reckoning and writing… in his capacity as secretary of the company of gods acted as the judge of divinities and of men,” (Miller “The Worship of the Sun” 33). Mr. Ibis, on the other hand, is a mere observer and recorder at the embalming performed by his companion. Both gods have accepted passive roles to replace their traditional, aggressively active duties, and neither makes any attempt to regain power or prestige. They are not destroyed by the technology gods as Odin was, but their fate is as bleak, mirroring the fate of older cultures under the onslaught of modern civilization.

One difference between the old and new pantheons in Neil Gaiman’s writing is the attitude they have towards humanity. The gods of old come from cultures that dealt with violence, savagery, and death on a much more personal basis than contemporary people can imagine; their idols, dark and twisted, reflect that. An African spirit in Anansi Boys sneers at modern pretensions to world peace, goodwill, and safety, saying “You must teach the children to fear, teach them to tremble. Teach them to be cruel. Teach them to be the danger in the dark,” (Gaiman, Anansi Boys 168). These ancient gods relied on the fear they could instill in their followers for respect. In a primitive world where civilizations could be born or defeated in a day, the only hope for survival was to frighten and intimidate. In Good Omens, however, the Four Horsemen see little importance in the people they are destined to destroy other than as amusement. As Famine creates intricate artificial foods designed to starve anyone who eats them, he admits to himself that he is “just killing time until the main event” (Gaiman, Good Omens 50). Compared to the old gods and their fragile, unstable cultures, technology is strong and unchanging. While the more primitive gods are direct creations of human desires and human consciences, the new gods are as stable as information stored in a computer, not dependant on human interpretation. Because of this, they are potentially more dangerous to their creators than any previous gods; the technological gods are powerful independent of their followers.

The remixed Four Horsemen in Good Omens show the alarming possibilities if ever the power of old myth were to combine with the sophistication of technology. The Four Horsemen are “the allegorical figures of the sixth chapter of the Book of Revelation… generally understood to symbolize power or conquest, violence or war, poverty or famine, and death,” (Lindmans). With the ever-present threats of nuclear warfare in their place, few today believe that the Apocalypse will be signaled merely by physical manifestations of evil riding across the land on enormous horses. In reality, the Four Horsemen are in the same boat as classical myths; they are relics of the past, no longer supported by the power of belief. In Good Omens, however, Gaiman imagines what would happen if they bridged the gap between the old and new, and the results are startling: Famine writes self-help books on dieting and creates fast food, War is an arms dealer riding through Africa in an old pickup truck, and the rider of the white horse is Pollution, who holds small jobs at places like Three Mile Island, Chernobyl, and various oil tankers and toxic waste transports (Gaiman, Good Omens). These Horsemen ride motorcycles down the freeway and use computerized defense systems to create Armageddon, taking full advantage of the modern sources of information that most of Gaiman’s ancient gods scorn. In short, they are as modern as the newest camera phone, and rather more deadly; backed by the atavistic fears instilled by Christianity, they are more powerful than either the weak, elder gods or the shallow new technology. As Gaiman shows, a combination of primitive belief and sophisticated technology is more to be feared than either element alone, and could conceivably be the future of organized religion.

It is all too easy to see a future in which historians point at mankind’s obsession with perfecting technology, the near-fanatic fervor with which many follow the latest news and updates, and take it as a sign of the surfacing of a new religion. As Gaiman proves in his writings, this “religion” of technology is more powerful and strong than any that came before it. In their coldness, their rationality, and their overwhelming power, the new gods reflect today’s civilization. Unlike anything seen before, it is impossible to say what they, or the world, will bring for the future.

Works Cited

Gaiman, Neil. American Gods. New York: Harper Torch, 2001.

Gaiman, Neil. Anansi Boys. New York: Harper Torch, 2005.

Gaiman, Neil, and Terry Pratchett. Good Omens. New York: Ace, 1990.

Hansen, William F. Ariadne's Thread: a Guide to International Tales Found in Classical Literature. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 2002. 12-13.

Kromholz, Susan F. and P. K. McCarter. “Why Myth Endures.” John Hopkins Magazine Aug. 1990: 32-37. SIRS Knowledge Source. 17 Mar. 2007. <http://sks.sirs.com>.

Lindmans, Micha F. "Four Horsemen." Encyclopedia Mythica. 26 Aug. 2004. 24 Mar. 2007 <http://www.pantheon.org/>.

MacCulloch, John A. "The Greater Gods: Odin." Mythology of All Races: Eddic Mythology. 12 vols. 1958.

Miller, W. M. "The Life After Death." Mythology of All Races: Egyptian Mythology. 12 vols. New York: Cooper Square, 1946.

Miller, W. M. "The Worship of the Sun." Mythology of All Races: Egyptian Mythology. 12 vols. New York: Cooper Square, 1949.

 

 Bibliography

Gaiman, Neil. American Gods. New York: Harper Torch, 2001.

Gaiman, Neil. Anansi Boys. New York: Harper Torch, 2005.

Gaiman, Neil, and Terry Pratchett. Good Omens. New York: Ace, 1990.

Hansen, William F. Ariadne's Thread: a Guide to International Tales Found in Classical Literature. Ithaca: Cornell UP, 2002. 12-13.

Kromholz, Susan F. and P. K. McCarter. “Why Myth Endures.” John Hopkins Magazine Aug. 1990: 32-37. SIRS Knowledge Source. 17 Mar. 2007. <http://sks.sirs.com>.

Lindmans, Micha F. "Four Horsemen." Encyclopedia Mythica. 26 Aug. 2004. 24 Mar. 2007 <http://www.pantheon.org/>.

MacCulloch, John A. "The Greater Gods: Odin." Mythology of All Races: Eddic Mythology. 12 vols. 1958.

Miller, W. M. "The Life After Death." Mythology of All Races: Egyptian Mythology. 12 vols. New York: Cooper Square, 1946.

Miller, W. M. "The Osirian Cycle." Mythology of All Races: Egyptian Mythology. 12 vols. New York: Cooper Square, 1946.

Miller, W. M. "The Worship of the Sun." Mythology of All Races: Egyptian Mythology. 12 vols. New York: Cooper Square, 1949.

Rist, Martin. "Book of Revelation." Encyclopedia Americana. 2007. Grolier Online. 23 Mar. 2007 http://ea.grolier.com/cgi-bin/article?assetid=0331570-00.

 All in MLA format, properly cited and everything. Even if that concluding paragraph is, in my professional opinion, completely absurd.

Comments

[magdalyna.livejournal.com]

This is thinky and awesome.

[kitaloon.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you enjoyed it! My paper on music copyrights got a higher grade, but objectively it's not as interesting, even though I became fascinated with the topic while researching it.

[magdalyna.livejournal.com]

And I'm glad you posted this.

Oh? That actually sounds interesting. I mean, considering fandom we're in.

[my_daroga]

I'm interested, but I haven't read the book; I fear the essay would either be inexplicable or spoilery. AMIRITE?

[kitaloon.livejournal.com]

It's actually pretty accessible to a non-reader; I had to make it that way, since the teacher grading it had never heard of the books. Hard to say how successful I was, but I tried.

There are spoilers for one character death (mentioned vaguely and in bad phrasing), and for the exact roles of some characters in Good Omens that are sort of a "discovery" in the novel. My solution, of course, is for you to read the books! They are fantastic and well worth it. That is, however, your choice.