The Paradigm Shift: Myths, Beliefs, and the New Gods in Neil Gaiman’s American Gods
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Date
2022-06
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
UNIVERSITY OF MOHAMED BOUDIAF
Abstract
Abstract:
Myths are stories that have been passed down through generations. Some are based on true
events, while others are entirely fictitious. Their role is to provide everlasting answers to timeless
concerns such as questions about life and death, good and evil, the essence and existence of gods,
and even the origins of humanity. Neil Gaiman’s novel American Gods perfectly brings out this
interesting combination of “myths and religion”, and the renovation process they are going
through. Therefore, this research is dedicated to pointing out people’s spiritual struggle as life
moves on and faith is gradually being replaced by more tangible “deities”. Newer forces such as
Technology, Mass media, the Internet, and Globalization are dominating peoples’ lives gradually
leading to a paradigm shift in power relations, beliefs, and even lifestyles. Consequently, this
dissertation seeks to shed light on the major clash between the old gods, who reflect society's
conventional beliefs, and the new gods, who represent modern America's cultural shift. It further
aims to examine how those deities function as valuable cultural manifestations of how culture
mutates and thrives with the passage of time. By doing this, it looks into the social, cultural, and
spiritual power universal myths wield. These aims are achieved with the help of theories and
concepts from Myth studies, mainly Joseph Campbell’s works on Myth, in addition to insights on
spirituality and faith from theorists such as Friedrich Nietzsche and Charles Taylor
Description
Keywords
Key words: Myths, Religion, American Gods, Old gods, New gods, Spirituality, Paradigm Shift