American Gods Response

American Gods is one of my favorite novels by Neil Gaiman.  I like how he managed to include a theme of change between old mythology and new traditions without coming off as pretentious or condescending.  The overarching theme of needing to worship something, whether that something is the old gods or something like technology, was interesting and well done.  Gaiman has an interesting message about the human need to believe in something, and that this culture can be double edged.  The gods in American Gods are only powerful as long as people believe in them.  The gods and their destructive attempts to make humans continue to believe in them is an allegory for people and their ability for believe to become destructive and their ability to negatively affect their lives and the lives of others.

Despite the destructive capabilities of belief, Gaiman also shows that this belief and these stories and mythologies are essential to human's ability to form a community.  Having something that is a common interest among a diverse group of people allows societies to form a better community.  American Gods illustrates that the common interest could be a number of different things, and that societies view and belief in these different things grows weaker or stronger throughout time.

American Gods also focuses on the growth and change prevalent in American culture.  There is a generational divide between the people who brought to life the "old" gods and the "new" gods that formed with modern American culture. The gods show the divide between wanting constant change in the name of progress and clinging to the past. 

Harry Potter Response

I reread the first Harry Potter novel for the first time since I was eleven or twelve, and was surprised by how much I noticed when I wasn't invested in just the story.  There was a lot more exposition than I remembered.  I believe it was more noticeable the second time reading it because I already knew the rules of the world, and didn't need to be immersed the same way I did when I read it the first time.  I was also a little surprised at how much less believable some of the characters seemed.  It felt very much like a fairy tale, with children living through life changing events and not reacting how you would expect a child to actually react.

I also noticed a lot more themes the second time reading it.  Many of the themes prevalent in the first novel are reoccurring in later novels.  The idea of a found family is one of the bigger ones.  It's established early in the novel that Harry's blood relatives are not the ones who care about his safety and well-being.  A lot of the first novel is establishing Harry's friends, and giving him an "actual" family that he can rely on through the next six novels.

I think it's interesting that, like The Hobbit, Harry Potter changed the way we view a genre.  Witches and wizards are commonly seen portrayed more similarly to the witches and wizards in Harry Potter than traditional witches and wizards.  Harry Potter has become a large part of pop culture, and because of that has changed the way we view different parts of fantasy and magic. 

The Hobbit Response

     I reread The Hobbit for the first time in years, and it was interesting it view it in a different light.  When I was younger, it was just an epic fantasy novel.  Now, more themes and deeper meanings became evident.  Bilbo's quest follows the hero's journey almost exactly.  Heroism is a theme in The Hobbit, and while the novel is defined by many common fantasy tropes, the idea of the "hero" is a bit more complicated.  Heroism is comprised of multiple elements, and characters who are skilled in only one of them find themselves falling short of their goals. Bilbo is different, despite not beginning the novel as a hero, he finds he acquires the skills required to be successful on his journey.
     While Bilbo isn't the traditional "coming of age" protagonist, his quest still taught him to grow up.  By having a full grown character as the protagonist, Tolkien highlights how we are never truly done growing and maturing.  Bilbo's experiences help him to become stronger and more independent, which could not have happened if he had stayed home and not gone on this quest.
     Despite the changes Bilbo undergoes throughout his quest, he never truly rejects the life he had before his adventure.  This theme is prevalent throughout, with Bilbo having regrets and wanting to return home when the adventure is done.  Even though he grows throughout the novel, he never forgets where he came from, just begins viewing it with a new perspective.