Fantasy in postmodern times: an analysis of Neil Gaiman's novel American Gods (2001)

Abstract

The presence of fantasy in cultures and world literature is undeniable, traced back from the founding of myths (Kirk, 1975) to being the basis of the first acknowledged literary canon of the English language, the epic Beowulf. However, there is an incoherence between the relevance of fantasy and its status in literary studies. As denounced by Hume (2014), fantasy is eclipsed by realism since the 20th century, a phenomenon that disregards literature that is not explicitly related to the concrete reality. Thus, this paper proposes an analysis of the probable causes for the descent of fantasy. This documentary research uses the contemporary fantasy novel American Gods (2001), written by Neil Gaiman, to demonstrate how fantasy is crucial for literary studies due to its capability to discuss topics that go beyond the boundaries of realism: the duality of tradition and modernity. The research suggests that fantasy is indispensable for the development of this theme, defying the misguided affirmations that fantasy is not relevant due to its detachment from reality. On the contrary, the study concluded that fantasy pieces have great potential to examine issues from the concrete world, due to its critical review of history through literature and use of symbols.