Annotated Bibliography for American Gods

Delahay, Matti. "Imaginary Things: Modern Myth in Neil Gaiman's American God's."
University of JYVSKYL, 2009. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.
Delahays paper on Imaginary Things: Modern Myth in Neil Gaiman's American God's goes into
great detail on the role of gods in tribal cultures and the mythical themes that Gaiman creates his
stories around. The author forms their thesis around the human creation of mythical gods. Gods
were originally created to suppress the mystery and frightening nature of the surrounding world.
This idea is further explained by Delahay on the idea that the text of American Gods is
difficult to understand at first.
Delahays points mentioned draw interesting parallels to the world of American Gods and the
many gods and goddesses of Greek mythology. The author also identifies the incarnation of
Wednesday as the god Odin, the all father of the gods, and further draws Odin as Shadows
father. Although a vast amount of information was presented in the thesis paper, there appeared
to be too much information and analysis on the topic. This excess content made the paper
difficult to find certain topics and points covered.
Dotty, William, PhD. "The Many Deities of Neil Gaiman's American Gods. Mythic Journeys.
N.p., 2006. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.
Dr. William Dotys thesis in The Many Deities of Neil Gaiman's American Gods explains the
deep connections that Gaimans novel has with other modern works of literature. In contrast to
Matti Delaheys thesis, the author parallels Wednesday to the Germanic god Wotan in this
article. The author further connects the modern odyssey writings of William Burroughs to the
dialogue spoken on pages 394 and 473 in American Gods. Neil Gaiman appears to further

play with the modern works of other authors. Dr. Dotty identifies that on many occasions
Gaiman references phrases from the works of Thomas Kuhn and Joseph Campbell.
Dr. Dotty draws interesting connections to the works of other authors. Neil Gaimans American
Gods embodies a modern incarnation of gods and deities, which further explains the use of
Gaimans parallels to other modern works. The content present in the article is very elaborate and
somewhat difficult to understand at times, but the topics discussed are rich in meaning and depth.
Firman, Courtney Linn. "Fantasy Making the Invisible Visible: Liminality in Neil Gaiman 's
Neverwhere and American Gods." Digital Commons. N.p., Apr. 2010. Web. 1 Dec. 2015.
Firman addresses the idea of invisibility within the text of American Gods. One of the first
indicators of invisibility was the selection of the name Shadow. The author ties this name to
the characteristics and associations of the character which reflects the tone of Shadow. The early
introduction of Shadow as a newly released inmate further hints Shadow as a misfit and alien of
society. Hidden meanings, symbols, and characters lie throughout the entire text which further
justifies Firmans definition of invisibility.
The author of "Fantasy Making the Invisible Visible: Liminality in Neil Gaiman 's Neverwhere
and American Gods." establishes interesting connections to the characters and text of American
Gods. The concept of invisibility describes the theme of the novel perfectly because mythology
is deeply hidden within the text. Firman addresses the iteration of characters as gods, but why do
the characters embody them?

Koudelkov, Lenka. "Neil Gaiman: Myths in Postmodern Literature." Masaryk University, 2015.
Web. 1 Dec. 2015.

Lenkas work analyzes and summarizes the heros journey of Shadow in American Gods. The
author discusses that Gaimans work is influenced by Tolkien, Lewis, Shakessphere, Lovecraft,
fairy tales, and myths. These influences further support his postmodern mythical style of writing
and different points of view of mythical literature. The author further synthesizes the work of
Gaiman to be different genres of writing in one novel.
Lenkas work gives the reader an interesting look into the work of Neil Gaiman. The points
discussed offer ideas about mythology that other articles did not mention. I appreciate how the
author mentions the many different works that inspire Gaiman which further clarifies the style of
American Gods. On the outside, there appears to be nothing missing from the 58 page paper
discussing the different works of Gaiman. A vast amount of information is offered to the reader
in a clear, understandable way.
Tamoody. "War of the Gods: The Battle of Media and Religion in Neil Gaimans American
Gods." Introduction to English Studies. N.p., 24 Mar. 2013. Web. 01 Dec. 2015.
The author jumps right into the middle of the story when Shadow rents a hotel room and lies on
the bed to find that Lucille Ball talks to him through the TV screen. She is a new god as viewed
by the author and utilizes a new found power. The writer creates there thesis on the basis of
believing in something. If many people believe in one thing it gives the thing power. This idea
was adopted by Scandinavians long ago and the author ties this idea of power to Shadows
experience with the TV. Tamoody brings attention the mythical power present in the fictional
world of American Gods.
Tamoody is the username of the author of the article. The author relates the story of American
Gods to traditional gods clashing with old mythology. This thesis can relate to the other articles

that have been discussed and further qualifies the hidden theme of the novel. Technology and the
modern world is also discussed in the paper which drifts away from the authors main point. The
only question that arises from the article is why did the author choose Tamoody for their
username?

Needs the title, author, thesis, and main points (paragraph 1)

Respond to points and ask questions, what the author needed to include (paragraph 2)