The Nirvana of MythA Research on Neil Gaiman’s American Gods

1、神话的涅槃对尼尔盖曼美国众神的研究the nirvana of myth-a research on neil gaimans american godsabstract: american gods is more a present-day myth than a fantasy. the relationship between myth and literature has taken varying forms. the most obvious form has been the use of myth in works of literature. actually, myth

2、is considered to be the inner source of all fictions. in other words, it was the primitive form of human literary works. now and then there are a great number of first- rank authors who are arrested in recomposing of ancient myth among which gaiman made his outstanding contributions. at the present

3、day, the problems authors are facing all over the seven seas, is that charming fictions cannot stick up to peoples own flesh and blood any more. the traditional ways of story writing were driven to the last ditch. undertaking such pressure, the revival of myth came into being, whereupon some of the

4、story tellers pick their imagination up from myth, and discovered the possibility of transcending reality. american gods was thus properly representative of the nirvana of myth.key words: myth；fiction；literature；tradition；nirvana摘要：美国众神乃是一部现代的神话。神话与文学之间的关系具有种种不同的形式，最显而易见的是在文学作品中使用神话。而事实上神话是所有小说的源泉，或

5、者说，它是人类历史最初的小说。伟大的作家往往都倾心于神话的创造与再创造，尼尔盖曼对此作出了新的贡献。如今，全世界的作家面临的一大问题，就是现实往往比小说更加精彩，传统的小说叙事已陷入困局。面对这样的压力，回归神话就逐渐成为了一股文学潮流。一些作家从神话中重新拾回了想象力，发现了超越现实的可能，使传统神话重获新生。 关键词：神话；小说；文学；传统；涅槃contentsi. introduction.1a. an introduction to the author.1b. a general view about the story.1ii. exploration of the signifi

6、cance of american gods.2a. the revival of myth.2b. a reorientation of america.3c. an examination of american spirit.61. descriptions of american religion62. finality of american dream.63. an apocalypse of the lost gods.8iii. conclusion.8works cited.9i. introductiona. an introduction to the authornei

7、l richard gaiman was born november 10, 1960 in portchester, england and now lives in the united states. during the course of twenty years as a writer, neil gaiman has been one of the top writers in modern comics. he is also a movie and television screenwriter, a journalist, and now a best-selling no

8、velist. in the past 10 years, gaiman has gained prominence as a novelist. he has authored five novels (neverwhere 1996, stardust 1999, american gods 2001, coralline 2002, anansi boys 2005, the graveyard books 2008) and has co-authored one novel (good omens 1990 with terry pratchett). gaimans writing

9、s have won numerous awards, including the hugo, nebula, and bram stoker, as well as the 2009 newbery medal. multiple award-winning author neil gaiman is listed as one of the top ten post modern writers in america by the dictionary of literary biography and is considered a little intimidating by step

10、hen king. the extreme enthusiasm of his fans has led some to call him a rock star of the literary world.gaimans work probes the worlds of myth, imagination, and creativity. with a deep understanding of the critical importance of storytelling and myth, he explores the metaphors by which we live our l

11、ives. and at a time when creativity is one of the most valuable assets to any business, gaimans mastery of myth and legend makes his work unique.b. a general view about american godsamerican gods is one of neil gaimans representative works. the main character in the novel is a man named shadow. shad

12、ow gets out of prison early when his wife is killed in a car crash. at a loss, he takes up with a mysterious character called wednesday, who is much more than he appears. in fact, wednesday is an old god, once known as odin the all-father, who is roaming america rounding up his forgotten fellows in

13、preparation for an epic battle against the upstart deities of the internet, credit cards, television, and all that is wired. armed only with some coin tricks and a sense of purpose, shadow travels through, around, and underneath the visible surface of things, digging up all the powerful myths americ

14、ans brought with them in their journeys to this land as well as the ones that were already here. shadows road story is the heart of the novel, and it s here that gaiman offers up the details that make this such a cinematic book-the distinctly american foods and diversions, the amazing roadside attra

15、ctions, the decrepit gods reduced to shell games and prostitution. this is a bad land for gods, says shadow.ii. exploration of the significance of american godsa. the revival of mythin classical greek, “mythos” signified any story or plot, whether true or invented. in its central modern significatio

16、n, however, a myth is one story in mythology-a system of hereditary stories of ancient origin which were once believed to be true by a particular cultural group, and which served to explain (in terms of the intentions and actions of deities of and other supernatural beings) why the world is as it is

17、 and things happen as they do, and provide a rational for social customs and observances, and establish the sanctions for the rules by which people conduct their lives.another influential contribution to the theory of myths is the german intellectual historian hans blumenbergs work on myth (1979). a

18、mong other things, blumenberg proposes that the function of myth is to help human beings cope with the inexorability of given reality, a need that is not outmoded by scientific advances and rationality; that myths evolve according to a “darwinism of words,” with those forms and variations surviving

19、that prove able to cope most effectively with the changing social environment; and that myth is best conceived not as a collection of fixed and final stories, but as “a work”- an ongoing and ever-changing process that is expressed in oral and written narratives and includes the diverse ways in which

20、 these narratives are received and appropriated. it can be said that a myth is a religion in which we no longer believe. poets, however, after having ceased to believe in them, have persisted in using the myths of jupiter, venus, prometheus, wotan, adam and eve, and johan for their plots, episodes,

21、or allusions. the term “myth” has also been extended to denote supernatural tales that are deliberately invented by their authors. plato in the fourth century b.c. used such invented myths in order to project philosophical speculation beyond the point at which certain knowledge is possible. the germ

22、an romantic authors f. w. schelling and friedrich schlegel proposed that to write great literature, modern poets must develop a new unifying mythology which will synthesize the insights of the myths of the western past with the new discoveries of philosophy and the physical science. in the same peri

23、od in england william blake, who felt “i must create a system or be enslaved by another mans,” incorporated in his poems a mythology he had himself created by fusing hereditary myths, biblical history and prophecy, and himself own intuitions, visions, and intellection. a number of modern writers hav

24、e also asserted that an integrative mythology, whether inherited or invented, is essential to literature. james joyce in ulysses and finnegans wake, t. s .eliot in the waste land, eugene oneill in mourning becomes electra, and many other writers have deliberately woven their modern materials on the

25、pattern of ancient myths, while w. b. yeats, like his admired predecessor blake, undertook to construct his own systematic mythology, which he expounded in a vision and embodied in a number of remarkable lyric poems such as “the second coming” and “byzantium.”to be general, the relationship between

26、myth and literature has taken varying forms. the most obvious form has been the use of myth in works of literature. actually, myth is considered to be the inner source of all fictions. in other words, it was the primitive form of human literary works. now and then there are a great number of first-

27、rank authors who are arrested in recomposing of ancient myth among which gaiman has made his outstanding contributions. at the present day, the problems authors are facing all over the world, is that charming fictions cannot stick up to peoples own flesh and blood any more. the traditional ways of s

28、tory writing have been being driven to the last ditch. undertaking such pressure, the revival of myth came into being, whereupon some of the story tellers pick their imagination up from myth, and discovered the possibility of transcending reality.when it comes to the inward nature, american gods is

29、more a present- day myth than a fantasy. neil gaimans story can be reduced to a kind of modern myth which has gained its renascence in the ashes of ancient norse myth. in a way, his work represents the revival of classical or pagan mythology. the pervasiveness of such kind of myth is even more of a

30、feat than that of biblical mythology, for classical mythology has survived the demise of the religion of which, two thousand years ago, it was originally apart.b. a reorientation of americatechnically, the plot of american gods is not so complicated. it focuses on the curious cases of shadow when he

31、s on his adventure across america after he was released from prison. briefly, it tells us a series of fascinating stories which are elicited during a casual encounter between shadow and the gods who live in america but maintain various culture traits throughout the world. in this way, neil gaiman tr

32、aces out a picture of american folk life in which gods live together with human being.the first time shadow meets the mysterious mr. wednesday is on his flight home from prison. due to an overbooking he is seated in first class where the weird old man who somehow knows so much about him offers him a

33、 job. the man is so persistent that when the plane is forced to land due to inclement weather, instead of waiting for it to clear shadow rents a vehicle to complete the trip by car.but those whom the gods have selected, or however the saying goes, dont find it that easy to give them the slip. so it

34、goes for shadow, for who should be waiting for him at the diner he stops at for lunch but mr. wednesday (wodens day, votan, odin, all father of the norse gods). its over lunch that shadow first learns about the war thats in the offing between the gods of the old world and the gods of new world. even

35、 though the old ones are dying out, the new ones are impatient and cant wait to shuffle them off this immortal coil.as mr. wednesday explains it to shadow, the problem is that the new gods feel threatened because they are afraid of being replaced and going out of fashion. they are the products of pe

36、oples ever-changing desires, but they, like the things they represent, are coming to obsoleteness. when anyone is scared, be they gods or mortals, they look for a target they can lash out at, so they feel like they are accomplishing something.the view that the old world is declining was put forward

37、by gaiman as he quoted a passage from richard dorson, “one question that has always intrigued me is what happens to demonic beings when immigrants move from their homelands. irish-americans remember the fairies, norwegian-americans the nisser, greek-americans the vryklakas, but only in relation to t

38、he events remembered in the old country. when once i asked why such demons are not seen in america, my informants giggled confusedly and said theyre scared to pass the ocean, its too far, pointing out that christ and the apostles never came to america”(gaiman 2) .as a matter of fact, people of diffe

39、rent cultures like chinese arent totally unacquainted with the american spirit which neil gaiman probes into. when an up-to-date chinese reminds something about the basic concepts of america, it will probably be “an ethical melting pot” or an “ethical museum. this kind of view was proved sufficient

40、in american gods. through the descriptions of varied derivations of the gods, neil gaiman tells his readers that america is indeed an immigrant country. no one in this country is native-born, even the gods. thus it is a nation cake which was formed by immigrants, exotic religions and cultures. howev

41、er, a large number of americans were up against such reality together with their disrespect.america was brought to birth by the puritan immigrants who settled in north america. thereby, though the americans especially the classes announced that they believe in pluralism, cosmopolitanism and multinat

42、ionalism orally, they posed as anglo protestants in their hearts. as the saying goes that, “professors and christians, thats the people you can trust in america”. from the view of a number of foreigners especially the chinese, it looks as if the shape of america or even the world in modern times is

43、formed because the americans avowed themselves to be christians. by the name of god, they demand to save this world, and to spread the so-called american belief. also, besides actual benefits, they have a strong sense of obligation in religion. this fetched out the topic of cultural clash. thus we k

44、now that only the gods from america are omnipotent, and only the culture of america is superlative. consequently, pagan gods are destined to be destroyed and burnt in hell. the system of american gods is unitary, by the name of god.the americans seem to be serious, whereas we found it ridiculous in

45、neil gaimans american gods. in this story, there is not any only exclusive god. what weve found is a pluralistic setting. here come gods who belong to entirely different mythical systems like greek, nordic or egyptian. essentially, america is the world composed of pagans and pluralistic cultures but

46、 not a world of pure christians. while the truth is debunked, the americans world-saving plan exposes its ridiculous, hypocritical and sanguinary face. thats the essence of the final battle for which the gods are prepared. during the battle, the gods are bogged down in hot water boiled by themselves

47、 like what america does nowadays. by this neil gaiman gives us a hint about the absurdness and silliness of american diplomatism and politics. based on the fact gaiman points out in his story that america is established by pagans, we can assume that in the first instance, conflicts of different cult

48、ures arise in america internally, and the american themselves are already in confusion and chaos. to sum up, america is just a collection of dissimilar nations lacking overall homogeneity. from this point of view, american gods is absolutely an ironic story, and its subversive indeed. it helps the a

49、mericans to rebuild their acquaintanceship with themselves, though such acquaintance might be in severe anguish. it is just about the significance for which people are interested in this novel-because it touches the hearts of the americans who have come from different cultural backgrounds, and it ma

50、kes them rediscover their nature and the truth of the world. to be sure, gaiman is attempting to apprehend american faith and ideology on his own as an english native.c. an examination of american spirit1. descriptions of american religionmore than a tourist in america, neil gaiman offers an outside

51、-in and inside-out perspective on the soul and spirituality of the countrythe americas obsessions with money and power, its jumbled religious heritage and its societal outcomes, and the decisions america face about whats real and whats not.neil gaiman is an author with a unique perception on the wor

52、ld that surrounds us, and even when he travels down the paths that are familiar he is able to show us things in a manner we may not have thought of before. in american gods he examines the way in which we believe, and poses questions about religion that may cause some people disquiet. religion is a

53、very powerful weapon that can be exploited and used against those who are most devout, but it can also provide solace and comfort in need. perhaps its not so important what you believe in, but more important that you believe at all. in american gods we see how strong the power of faith can be. witho

54、ut it gods become just another collection of old immigrants bemoaning their lost opportunities, but with it they are omnipotent. at the beginning of chapter 12 gaiman has quoted a paragraph from agnes repplier to prove his view about american beliefs, “america has invested her religion as well as he

55、r morality in sound income- paying securities. she has adopted the unassailable position of a nation blessed because it deserves to be blessed; and her sons, whatever other mythologies they may affect or disregard, subscribe unreservedly to this national creed.”(gaiman 249)2. finality of american dr

56、eamthere are two divine systems existing in american gods. one is represented by old gods like wednesday or odin who used to make a noise in the old world. they stand for the founding fathers of america. two hundred years ago when they landed up on the east coast of america, they were in possession

57、of overwhelming power at one time. pioneers who sailed to the new world in a ship called mayflower inaugurated a fresh civilization as well as an advanced institution. finally, they turned youthful america into a very country of the most mightiness in the world. however, in gaimans description, all

58、of them are just outdated derelicts. in america where shadow lives, worship and sacrifice to the old gods has ceased. therefore they are turning quite weak. compare with normal folks, they have no other differences. they have to do a butchers job, or to run a funeral home to keep the pot boiling. even when they have committed a crime, they are thrown in jail wretchedly. though the author depicts the evilness and