Neil Gaiman www.NeilgaimanBoard.com www.NeilgaimanBoard.com Neil's Other Works American Gods Unnamed God
www.NeilgaimanBoard.com www.NeilgaimanBoard.com Neil's Other Works American Gods Unnamed God|
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Gaiman wrote in his blog that he wasn't going to reveal the identity of the god who's name everyone kept forgetting, because of a fairly imassioned plea he received, on behalf of people who don't like spoilers, from someone who claimed to be thisclose to figuring it out.
So. I'd love it if either: A) the fellow who was thisclose could share his results with us here (since, if we're posting to the spoilers / annotations page, it's pretty safe to assume we all like spoilers); or B) Gaiman (if you're still keeping half an eye on this part of the message boards) could fill us in (since it's likely that the fellow who made the impassioned plea probably won't be reading the spoilers / annotations page, if he still hasn't figured it out; or C) somebody - ANYBODY! - could 'splain it to me, 'cause I'm goin' nuts here, trying to figure this out! Thenk yew, Mark James |
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The question was inconclusively hashed over under the spoiler section in this thread
who was that guy It's been a while since any new thoughts have been suggested by anyone on the board. It may be time to lobby Neil to reverse his position, since it is no longer a burning issue here. |
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I just read the thread you recommended. I'm favoring Hades, myself.
How does one contact Gaiman direct, in order to beg and plead? Oh, and a comment in that other thread reminded me of something that confused me when I first read it. There's a mention, when Shadow is flashing back, somewhere toward the end of the book, of Shadow remembering having seen a woman in Connecticut/Delaware/somewhere like that take off her veil/step out of the shadows/something like that, and reveal her snake hair. When I read that, my first thought was, "Connecticut? They never went to Connecticut? And when did they see a woman with snakes for hair?" Is this a reference to an episode that got edited out? Anyone know? Mark |
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The women with snakes for hair is first seen when during a short period in the book where it blurrs over several trips he takes with Wendsday to see other gods, always comming back to Lakeside afterwards. The other individual who stickes with me is a women with blue spiral tatoos (Morrigu). The one in question was a women with snakes for hair who refused to leave her completely dark bed room. The obvious assumption is Medusa.
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Ok, this is kind of out there, but just hear me out. What if this guy is Luck? Just like the internet kid, and the media woman, they aren't actual gods per se, just ideas that tons of people subscribe to. Obviously, he would be in Vegas, and remember he helped that waitress to meet the man who just big in a casino. And then there's the point of forgetting about him as soon as he's finished speaking (in the car after the house on the rock). Let's say you're playing blackjack. You are hoping that you are lucky enough to get an ace delt to you on top of your face card. But as soon as you leave the table, or even as soon as the hand is over, you don't think about luck anymore. I don't know if that's right or not, but that's the idea I got the first time I read the book. Let me know what you think...
"He who controls the spice, controls the universe." |
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I think the Finn really hit the nail on the head. It makes perfect sense that Wednesday would want Luck on his side, in the upcoming battle--so why not try early to win him over (w/Soma, etc.) All of the forgettable man's characterizations support this as well: leaving "an impression of wealth" in Shadow's mind, what he does for the waitress in Vegas, etc. I find it interesting that if this really is the intended interpretation, that Luck is portrayed as a man--rather than a "lady"--the widely accepted depiction, courtesy of Frank Sinatra. Thoughts?
The gods, likening themselves to all kinds of strangers, go in various disguises from city to city, observing the wrongdoing and the righteousness of men. Homer, The Odyssey (soul sloshing, don't shush me!) *visit acidplanet.com* |
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Ooo, I like your Luck idea, Finn. After being inspired and reading through a bunch of older threads I'd like to take it a little further though and suggest Fortune. It ties in nicely with the impression of wealth as well as old gods taking on new jobs. Plus, I suspect Neil would find using something with a double meaning a lot more fun. What does everyone else think?
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Asst. to Dr. Bronners Member  |
Mmmm
I thought a lot about it and although at the beggining hades, didn't sounds right I came to the conclusion that the Hades hypothesis it's correct for various reason 1 Hades is the greek god of the underworld and of the dead. 2 The etymology of the name Hades is unseen, which explain why shadow can't never grasp how he looks like. 3 He actually had an helmet that made him invisible 4 the roman equivalent of hades is Pluto which means wealth in greek 5 speaking his name was a total tabu for greek and romans so it makes sense shadow couldn't remember it. 6 His whealth wasn't just the richness of the souls that populated the undreworld but also he owned all the wealth of the ground which means metals and particularly gold! For that reason he was called the rich one. He was also a very greedy god. Now money may not strike you as gold but remember that every banconote you own it's just an equivalent of the gold that the national bank of a state owns so money itself stands for gold. That's why he lives in Las Vegas were a lot of money turns around and were gold fake or real is always exposed. here 2 link were you can read about him and make your own opinion about hadeslink1 and link2 If you think about the profits that Odin could get from the unamed god I rather think he would prefer a death god on his side then a general luck god. You could be very lucky and still lose a war but if the god of death it's on your side you're sure to win. More over what for Odin is looking fo in this war it's the sacrifice of souls, that's his soma and that's what he's probably offering to the unnamed god too. The only thing that doesn't fit would be that Gaiman has said he didn't included greek gods in the book except for the gorgon that makes a little appearance, so that would exclude Hades. but it's also true that Gaiman have been very secretive about who the unnamed god is so it makes sense that he would say a little lie in order to cover his secret. [This message was edited by Se on October 27, 2003 at 09:13 PM.] |
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Great discussion!
Altho, my vote has to go in with Hades... mostly because I don't think Wednesdy would have tipped his hand by consorting with any of the new gods.Maybe Loki would have handled that scene instead?  Jess |
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You think "luck" would be one of the new Gods?
They had playing cards something like 1200 years ago. Luck has probably been around for a while  |
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I should think that the proof would be in the pudding- or in this case, the soma. But I would disagree with Luck for a few reasons. Luck per se has never been a god really. Nobody really worshiped Luck, or in terms of these gods, ever made blood sacrifices to him. Nope. And somehow Hades doesn't fit quite right in my mind, although you make some good arguments. I think it's one of those gods that if we ever foudn out who it was, it would be immediately obvious.
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Ah, I knew I had it around here somewhere. Check it out. http://home.c2i.net/monsalvat/blood.htm
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Also, there's mentioned a silent movie star/comedian who removes his pants to reveal Goat legs, obviously PAN or another Satyr
Ok, I REALLY want to hear your thoughts on this, and I think I've posted it on here before, but I ALWAYS Picture Harpo Marx. I take it as a Movie Star/comedian who was Silent, and BAM! There's Harpo. And for the sticklers, YES, Harpo played the flute as well, just look at 'A Day At The Races'. For me, that's one of my favorite parts of the book. Thoughts? -Stevo |
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quote: That's it. There's even an unnamed god in DiscWorld who is Lady Luck. You can't mention her name or she leaves. Every gambler and sportsman know you never mention luck (or a no hitter, or a -- anything, really) or you jinx it. |
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Is the Soma perhaps a clue? My knowledge of the substance comes from William Burroughs 'Naked Lunch'. He refers to it as a non-addictive form of heroin that Indo-Aryan tribes had in their possession. He said it was depicted in pictures as a blue tide and, I believe, imparted a sense of peace and serenity. Anyone with a copy of the book can check the appendix where WB discusses his heroin addiction - well worth reading.
I am not sure what religion was associated w/ soma, but it was probably Hinduism, given the Indian connection. So perhaps the unnamed God is East Indian or Oriental? After all, how would a Western God develop a taste for such a substance? Anyway, I have nothing else to add on this subject as I am as puzzled as everyone else and my knowledge of cultural mythologies is very limited. r-thur in trinidad authorvic@yahoo.com |
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<http://www.huxley.net/soma/>
I found this reference to soma. Apparently there is a modern drug using the name, but this concerns the drug of myth. It mentions that it was used by tribes in India and Iran, among other interesting things. So perhaps the god is of Iranian origin? |
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may or may not be cerulean Member  |
In American Gods, Wednesday refers to soma as "concentrated prayer and belief" (that might not be the exact quote) and doesn't make reference to its origins, making me think that "soma" in the book is used in a broader sense.
Several 2 centses about the forgotten god can be found here. (And I just updated it, hooray!) ------------------------------ ~renata~ "The past does not repeat itself, but it rhymes." -- Mark Twain  |
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All compelling except reason six. It used to be true, but the US stopped using the gold standard in 1933. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gold_standard |
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I vote that we just lobby Neil about it. The person who made the request simply said that they wanted Neil to put up spoiler flashes around the answer, and they'll certainly have come up with their own answer by now. I'm sure everyone likes arguing their own take on this, but I for one don't feel quite right about *any* of the solutions proposed so far... so how about we just ask him?
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Some of us may be beating this topic to death but, who cares, it's interesting. So, here's my current two cents...
I'm still not 100% in agreement with the gray suited, dark haired man being Hades but the Hades argument is compelling. Even so, I think Pluto may be a more accurate guess. The Romans took the attributes of the Greek Dis Pater who is entwined with the Greek Hades-- Dis is more precisely the "god of wealth." If following the Hades theory leads to the identity, it's through Dis to Pluto. Pluto is, afterall, PURE ENERGY and in the Las Vegas scene, Gaiman writes: "What he finds attractive about this desert city is the speed of movement, the way the money moves from place to place and hand to hand: it's a rush for him, a high, and it pulls him like an addict to the street." |
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