Truth in American Culture by Kyle Goings

Truth in American Culture
In Neil Gaiman’s American Gods, truth is depicted as an elusive controversial subject. The main character, Shadow, chases the truth until his decisions are so emotionless and drastic that he loses his sense of reality. His body becomes soulless with no rational decision-making skills. If it were not for a man like Mr. Wednesday, who is more formally known as the god Odin, Shadow would have never had the seen the truth Wednesday showed him. Interacting with the gods allowed him to see into the darkness of the underworld where there lie heavy, painful truths. American Gods shows us how Shadow’s discovery of the truth relates to contemporary American culture through the major events in a lifetime. Shadow depicts contemporary American culture by showing us our perception of the truth is more important than actual truth because it changes credibility, perception of reality, and mental state.
One of the key elements of depicting truth is credibility. Mr. Wednesday builds credibility by establishing himself by showing signs of class. Shadow says to Wednesday “You have class…I’ll work for you” (Gaiman 50). Establishing credibility plays a large role in American society because when a person or company is credible, society will begin to believe in their cause because they have established themselves as a credible source. In the case for Shadow, Wednesday persisted on pushing the job offer and built enough credibility to win over Shadow’s loyalty. It took time but Wednesday had established himself as a credible, believable source. After establishment, believability is one of the primary steps in building credibility. As stated in a 1996 survey by Wang and Strong, ”…about how data users perceive quality, BELIEVABILITY (here labeled credibility) of data was ranked the highest” (Metcalf). In modern American culture where statements are constantly being scrutinized for their believability, established credibility will determine whether people will choose to believe the source or not. Relating to American Gods, the older gods have established themselves over the years and have a concrete foundation on their values. Newer, technological gods are trying to steal the minds of the people by introducing them into new ideas that seem believable but behind the scenes the reader knows their greedy intentions. Credibility changes the perception of one’s reality.
One main point of American Gods is how our perception of reality changes American culture. While flying home Shadow meets Wednesday and he offers Shadow a job. Shadow thinks he is a stranger out of his mind. He is exhausted from the previous 24 hours and takes a nap when he dreams of a buffalo man that tells him that “changes are coming, certain decisions will have to be made” and when Shadow questions him he responds with, “believe everything” (Gaiman 23). Shadow is at a turning point in his life where the road forks and he must decide which route to take. This relates to major turning points in American culture such as moving out and heading to college. The changeover between life with parents and paying to live by oneself brings out several doubts and insecurities. As stated by American mythologist Joseph Campbell, “We must let go of the life we have planned, so as to accept the one that is waiting for us”. Transferring from the comfortable current state to a new challenging situation appears like staring off the edge of a cliff where difficulties lie in the misty darkness below. But, as stated in Plato’s Allegory of the Cave, the situation ahead may bring a newfound lightness into life. College, marriage, and interviewing for a first job all seem like daunting tasks but with those challenges follows a new light on life. Life changing events change the lens in which we see our reality.
Shadow’s perception of the truth changes his mental state throughout the book because he is challenged to believe what his eyes are telling him or accept a harsh reality. As stated in an essay by Mark Maller, “One of the most common forms of false optimism is wishful thinking in which agents desire and often hope for something with little or no evidence that it can be obtained or attained, or the evidence is misinterpreted or not examined”(Higgins). Shadow shows signs of this wishful thinking when he keeps seeing a Laura in a dead form. He fails to realize that she will not come back, she is gone forever. It is like the small child that loses their dad at a young age and fails to realize that dad is not coming home. These situations challenge the mental state because the mind wants to keep thinking the desired result will come but in reality, it never will. In Shadow’s case, it motivated him to keep going. He wanted to see his wife again and would do anything to see her again. Inside he is boiling with emotion over his dead wife Laura but he hides his emotions from everyone else. Shadow depicts American culture by not showing his emotions in front of others. When Shadow is being shown his sins, he thinks he is worth nothing. Later, once he admits to his sins he is renewed and guilt free. His confession of truth improved his overall mental state.
In American Gods, the main character Shadow grows throughout the book by showing us how truth evolves in American culture. It starts by earning credibility and being believable. As soon as a person is credible and reasonable ideas, they begin to change others perception of reality. Truth begins to grow and spread like a wild fire. Truth will change one’s perception of reality. As Shadow encountered in the book, truth is scary and there may not always be a correct path. But, we have learned that entering new situations brings a new, brighter light into life that paves a new path for us to travel. In Shadow’s case, it was returning to his normal human life. He was mentally hurt along the way but the truth can be painful. Traumatic instances are difficult but Shadow’s showed us how we can choose to be inspired by difficulties and move in a positive direction. American Gods successfully creates an illustration of how American culture is influenced by truth in our questioning of credibility, perception, and mental state.

Works Cited
Higgins, Kathleen. “Post-truth: a guide for the perplexed.” Nature, vol. 540, no. 7631, 2016. Academic OneFile, ez1.maricopa.edu:2048/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=mcc_chandler&v=2.1&id=GALE%7CA472286831&it=r&asid=c659f14429fe94e5fd045ea27c12f65e. Accessed 11 Apr. 2017.
Gackowski, Zbigniew J. “Diagnostic and functional dependencies of credibility.” Informing Science: the International Journal of an Emerging Transdiscipline, vol. 9, 2006, p. 225+. Academic OneFile,
Gaiman, Neil. American Gods. New York: HarperCollins, 2011. Print
Maller, Mark. “The best essay ever: the fallacy of wishful thinking.” Review of Contemporary Philosophy, vol. 12, 2013, p. 30+. Academic OneFile, ez1.maricopa.edu:2048/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com.ez1.maricopa.edu/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=mcc_chandler&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA347404974&asid=f8166e533d220b36a5988e35e1e1690a. Accessed 15 Apr. 2017.
METCALF, ROBERT. “THE TRUTH OF SHAME-CONSCIOUSNESS IN FREUD AND PHENOMENOLOGY.” Journal of Phenomenological Psychology, vol. 31, no. 1, 2000, p. 1. Academic OneFile, ez1.maricopa.edu:2048/login?url=http://go.galegroup.com.ez1.maricopa.edu/ps/i.do?p=AONE&sw=w&u=mcc_chandler&v=2.1&it=r&id=GALE%7CA79805181&asid=b658d3bf9aafbc6329b89ddd6795864b. Accessed 15 Apr. 2017.