Mythology and Neil Gaiman
Jan 22nd, 2009 by Bryan
I am working on a course proposal for our new “First Year Seminar” program. Next fall, I will have 12 incoming Freshmen reading Neil Gaiman with me and writing about mythology. Here is the course description:
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Students in this course will explore mythological and religious themes in the writings of Neil Gaiman, including his books for adults and youth as well as the Sandman graphic novels. Discussion topics will include: mythological background to Gaiman’s characters in Biblical, African, and European religious traditions; physical and spiritual boundary crossings in mythological texts; mythic conceptions of death and the afterlife, especially as seen in texts in which living beings interact with the world of the dead, and vice versa.
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When I shared the proposal with a good friend from grad school, he said that if Furman pays me to teach this course then I am stealing from them. Let’s face it, I would teach most of my courses for free, but especially this one. The FYS program is designed so that Freshmen will get a taste of “real” college work right out of the gate, but centered around special topics that the faculty find particularly engaging. The mantra is “teach your passion.”
Certainly I might have worked up something more narrowly related to the Bible. I started this planning process by thinking about a course on Hebrew Bible mythology, something that I have offered as an upper level Religion course in the past. But then I realized that I could raise many of the questions about biblical mythology by having students read contemporary fiction that reconceptualizes mythological traditions, which is what I would argue has happened in texts like Genesis, Psalms, and Job.
Gaiman’s work is broadly suited for this purpose because students can read novels for adults (particularly American Gods, Anansi Boys, and Good Omens), juvenile fiction (Coraline, and his most recent work, The Graveyard Book), as well as portions of the magisterial graphic novel series Sandman. A theme that runs throughout Gaiman’s work is the idea that there is a spiritual or mythological dimension just under the surface of what regular humans perceive. His characters are often beings (persons? entities?) from this mythological realm who are active in some way in the human realm. And there is usually at least one human character who crosses back and forth between this porous boundary, undertaking a physical and personal journey.
Questions raised by Gaiman as well as by the mythological texts under study include: 1) what happens to a person after death, and is there some way to either prepare for the afterlife or to stay in contact with those who have crossed that boundary; 2) how do people deal with their fear and apprehension about death, both in the abstract and within the moment of dying; 3) and most important, how does an awareness of the spiritual, immortal realm impact one’s understanding of life and how it should be led.
For example, in The Graveyard Book, the threatened orphan boy Bod (“nobody”) is sheltered from a ruthless killer by spirits in a graveyard. He grows up among the dead, but eventually must decide to move out into the world to achieve full personhood, despite its dangers. In its structure (taken actually from Kipling’s Jungle Book), this story mirrors the fateful crossing of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden as well as other mythological “coming-of-age” journeys. Students coming from home and high school into college will likely be inspired by the character of Bod to think about their own journey into “the real world.”
In American Gods, the lead character Shadow is crucified on a tree and travels the Egyptian paths of the dead only to emerge resurrected on the other side, reborn to a new life of mission and purpose. In its parallels to the Christ story, this will encourage students to consider the problem of mortality and death as an end to life as well as (in many myths) a path to fuller life or existence.
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So, there is direct comparison between Gaiman’s handling of mythology and that in the biblical and broader Near-Eastern traditions. Along the way, I will also have students research the particular mythologies upon which Gaiman draws, from Norse Gods to the Egyptian Book of the Dead to West Aftrican folk tales. As you might can tell, I’m totally stoked.
If you haven’t read any Gaiman, I would start either with The Graveyard Book or American Gods. Good Omens, written with Terry Pratchett, is also absolutely hilarious if you have interest in Revelation and end-times stories. What is your favorite Gaiman piece? What other contemporary literature do you think would help students think and write about the Bible?
Sounds like an amazing course. Thanks for getting me into American Gods. I’ve bought the audio book and have been listening to it on various trips throughout January.
Of course, for now the most profound observation I can make is that he really likes the word “piss” (just mentally drained right now). Hopefully your students will be more inventive than that.
After you finish American Gods, run right out and find the audiobook of Anansi Boys. It’s read by Lenny Henry, and Neil has said that the audiobook may actually be the definitive version of the book. Let’s see, I think I have the reference:
“There’s definitely a part of me that feels that Lenny Henry’s reading of ANANSI BOYS will be in some odd way the definitive text, but that’s because Lenny was there when I came up with the idea, and much of the time while I was writing it, I was hearing Len’s voice in the back of my head.”
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2005/05/looking-or-listening.asp
There is a sample here:
http://journal.neilgaiman.com/2005/08/track-one-of-fifty-six.asp
I think I am going to require the audiobook versions of Anansi Boys as well as Neil reading The Graveyard Book. I can’t think of a class that has required an audiobook before, but why not?
[...] am working on the syllabus for my Freshman Seminar course on Neil Gaiman, and have the 4 volumes of Absolute Sandman in front of me. Man, this thing is [...]