ISSN: 2222-6990
Open access
This thesis will focus on the function of multi-mythology in contemporary literature especially the fantasy genre. In particular, this thesis analyses American Gods by Neil Gaiman by drawing upon Claude Lévi-Strauss' and Vladmir Propp's structuralist ideas and to see how the original myths were substituted, modulated or transfigured to be presented as metamyth or myth transformed. In particular, I will argue that American Gods is a demonstration of Joseph Campbell’s theory of the monomyth from the The Hero with a Thousand Faces. The findings of this study may encourage future researchers into analysing other texts and finding similar themes to fill in the gaps of existing knowledge in mythology.
Barry, P. (2017). Beginning theory: An introduction to literary and cultural theory. Manchester: Manchester University Press.
Barton, A. (2018). The Knight's Progress and Virtual Realities: The Medieval Adventure from Beowulf to Ready Player One. Digital Collections. Retrieved from
https://digital.library.txstate.edu/handle/10877/7410
Bloom, R. (2013.) Foundations of psychological profiling terrorism, espionage, and deception. Boca Raton, Florida: CRC press.
Campbell, J. (2008). The hero with a thousand faces. Novato, California: New World Library.
Ethridge, Kyle, L. (2014.) The queer gothic hero's journey in Oscar Wilde's the picture of Dorian Gray. Hattiesburg, Mississippi: University of Southern Mississippi.
Gad, R. N. (2013). In self-recovery: A mythopoetic analysis of addiction and heroic journeys of the learning disabled. Carpinteria, California: Pacifica Graduate Institute.
Keally, M. (2011). The superman’s ancestors – Beowulf, Odysseus and Roy Hobbs: Application and analysis of Joseph Campbell’s monomyth theory. University Park, Illinois: Governors State University.
Koudelková, L. (2015) Neil Gaiman: Myths in Postmodern Literature [online]. Brno, 2015 [cit. 2020-04-01]. Available from:
Langton, J. V. (2012). Myth in war fiction. Dominguez Hills, California: California State University.
Ninet, A. I. (2009). “Playing at being gods.” Philosophia, vol. 38, no. 1, pp. 41–55., DOI: 10.1007/s11406-009-9210-8.
Nusz, L. A. (2004). The foundational structure behind Star Wars. Louisville, Kentucky: University of Louisville.
Propp, V. (1997). Theory and history of folklore. Minneapolis, Minnesota: University of Minnesota Press.
Rode, F. W. (2012). The heroic journey of a common man: benefiting society one journey at a time. Madison, New Jersey: Drew University.
Saussure, F. De. (1959). Course in general linguistics. New York City, NY: Philosophical Library.
Wheeler, A. M. (2017). “The porosity of human/nonhuman beings in Neil Gaiman’s American Gods and Anansi Boys.” Palgrave studies in animals and literature. New York City, NY: Springer International Publishing.
In-Text Citation: (Roslan et al., 2020)
To Cite this Article: Roslan, S. M. B. M., Noor, R. Bin, & Kaur, H. (2020). Modern Day Myths in Neil Gaiman’s American Gods. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 10(3), 370–385.
Copyright: © 2020 The Author(s)
Published by Human Resource Management Academic Research Society (www.hrmars.com)
This article is published under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) license. Anyone may reproduce, distribute, translate and create derivative works of this article (for both commercial and non-commercial purposes), subject to full attribution to the original publication and authors. The full terms of this license may be seen at: http://creativecommons.org/licences/by/4.0/legalcode