Benjamin Waldman

UWRT 1103/Brown
12/1/15
Annotated Bibliography for American Gods
Carroll, S. "Imagined Nation: Place and National Identity in Neil Gaiman's American Gods." Extrapolation.
53.3 (2012): 307-326. Print.
Gaiman, Neil. Reflections on Myth. Columbia: A Journal of Literature and Art 31 (1999): 7584. Web...
Porter, Adam. "Neil Gaimans Lucifer: Reconsidering Miltons Satan¹."Journal of Religion and
Popular Culture. 25.2 (2013): 175-185. Print.
Slabbert, M, and L Viljoen. "Sustaining the Imaginative Life: Mythology and Fantasy in Neil Gaiman's
'american Gods'." Literator. 27.3 (2006): 135-155. Print.
Sutton, Roger. "It's Good to Be Gaiman: a Revealing Interview with Newbery Winner Neil Gaiman." School
Library Journal. 55.3 (2009): 30-32. Print.
American Gods
An Observational Reflection
Upon completing your statement/composition on American Gods, I ask you to reflect on both your work and the novel.
The aim is to produce a few thoughts for you to carry forward into our continued course work, all the way to the end. For
this companion task with the statement, provide a short response (couple or three sentences, for example).
1. What is the value of this novel: In this regard, why is it important to expose readers to situations which may make
readers uncomfortable?
This novel has the value of making a reader think about odd situations. The novel is a bit abstract in the sense
that the plot is not always realistic and includes deep thoughts. It is important to expose the reader to this in
order to create new ideas and take an individual out of their comfort zone.
2. What is the value of this novel: In this instance, why expose readers to characters which are not perfect, or for a
different track all-together, what do you consider the danger of moral relativism?
With the way models, both male and female, are shown in todays media it is valuable for a reader to see that
nobody is perfect, and we all make mistakes. This novel did a good job at this.
3. What is the value of this novel: In this regard, what do you consider, if any, the noteworthiness of ideas you found new
or original, if not even innovative?
The idea of having a complicated and quite unusual story line was noteworthy to me. Gaiman was innovative in
using his mind to come up with something out of the ordinary.
4. If you could tell the writer your opinion of the text, what would you state? Please be elaborative, not merely its spiffy
kind of responses!
If I could personally speak to Neil Gaiman, I would tell him that his novel was a fantastic read due to its abstract
plot and ideas. By having such abstract ideas, the reader is forced to think in new ways meaning they can relate
to others more easily.
5. What do you feel you have learned this novel, from the in-class prompts, and from this reflection?
I feel as though I learned a lot about thinking in new ways and creating ideas I may not have without having read
this novel and done the prompts in class. This reflection also showed me how this book was so different from the
other novels I have read academically.
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The Lovely Bones Mini-Project Rubric ~

Prompts
Minor One
Minor Two
Major One

15
15
20

One
Two
Three

05
05
05

Reading Checks

Reflection
Total

Notes:

35
100 pts