Shadow’s Destiny by Rigdon Hassell
Shadow’s Destiny
Are the way we are raised, and the people we meet what determines the life we will live? In the book, American Gods by Neil Gaiman, we are able to see exactly how the people in our lives, just like the people in Shadow’s life, shape us into what we will become due to religion, destiny, and the nurture aspect of nature vs. nurture. Although we may not see exactly how we are being affected at the time, people are helping us become who we are to be in the future. Shadow is a great example of this as he discovers his true identity through new friendships, and people helping him throughout his life.
Shadow starts off in prison due to influence of a special person in his life. This person is his very own wife named Laura. Before shadow met Laura, he was just a quiet character with an unsure idea of what he was going to do in life. Laura comes into his life giving him meaning, and helping him make a choice that affects the rest of his life. “Peer pressure can have both a positive and negative impact” (Khan). Laura plans a robbery and has him be the getaway driver, causing pressure on Shadow to either follow, or most likely lose his wife. As we can see, if she never came into his life, Shadow would never have ended up in jail and had to endure the hard times there. At the same time, we are able to see that through her influence, Shadow was able to meet the Gods and find his role with them. Not only was this pressure from Laura beneficial, it also proves the idea of destiny and how the events in Shadow’s life lead him to his “destiny”. Thus we can say that if he had never met Laura and had the relationship he had with her, Shadow never would’ve been ready to save the Gods, and most likely never would have met them. People come into our lives for a reason, and Laura coming into Shadow’s life proves that.
Although it is sort of ironic because Shadow is friends with many Gods, religion is actually a huge part in what helps shape not only Shadow, but Americans as well. Shadow may start in prison, but soon finds religion, which we can say saves him and sets up his life for what he will become. The religion that I am talking about is Mr. Wednesday and all of the other Gods he meets. Mr. Wednesday is the God Odin, and he shows himself to Shadow in order to gain his loyalty and help. At the same time, Shadow begins to believe in Gods because of Mr. Wednesday, or in other words he finds religion. As Shadow begins to see that there are all these Gods in America, he soon begins to believe in them and follow what the teach him. “Sometimes you take a certain amount of risk and you wonder what your chances are. … It might be a weakness in me. I sit and think—pray to God [and I ask] whether I am doing the right thing, am I going the right way? … I have to make the right decisions” (Fernando). If we think about his encounters, we can relate it to the affect of religion in our lives. When people find God, or a religion they believe in, they begin to follow its teachings and soon are changed into a different person because of it. Just as Fernando states, you pray to God in order to know what to do, and Shadow does the same as he follows what the Gods want him to do and learn. Whether it is good or bad, religion shapes us and determines who we will become. At the same time, there are people in our life that play tug of war with religion, fighting on who will be the changing factor of our lives. These people bring the nurture aspect into our lives and help us grow into who we are supposed to be.
Although we may be born into a certain destiny, the nurturing of one person can determine how that destiny will end. According to Merriam Webster, nurture is “the sum of the environmental factors influencing the behavior and traits expressed by an organism.” Religion, and other factors such as friendships and trials, can all affect how a person will turn out. Shadow was born to save all the Gods from Odin and Loki’s evil plan, but what determined if he could do it, and how he would do it was determined by how he was nurtured by the environment. From the pressure of loved ones, to religion, we were able to see outside affects that helped Shadow grow into who he was to become. The final aspect of nurture comes from trials. “We realize that the purpose of our life on earth is to grow, develop, and be strengthened through our own experiences” (Hales). The trials that Shadow goes through help nurture him into who he is in the end of the book. For example, on page 580 of American Gods, Shadow must go through the trial of hanging from a tree. By doing so, he is able to ponder and realize what he must do to stop the war. Without that nurturing aspect, he wouldn’t have known what to do or how to stop Odin. Another example comes from page 433, as Shadow experiences being behind the scenes for the first time, which later helps him, make it to Odin later on in the story to stop the war. Although it is Shadow’s destiny to end the war, if shadow had not had those trials, he would’ve failed his destiny. Just like in our everyday life, trials are used to shape who we are and to help us fulfill our destiny.
In the end, the way we are raised and the people we meet helps us become who we are supposed to be in life. Due to loved one’s or friends in our lives, we are able to learn and grow through experiences that only they can give us, just like Laura did for Shadow. And just as Odin and the other Gods did for Shadow, religion is able to give us a direction in life. Without its guidance, we would not know the right direction and would steer away from our destiny. And finally, the way that we are raised and the trials we face help shape us as whole and give us the finishing touches. Just like making a clay pot, the different steps from making clay, to spinning the wheel, and to shaping the pot allow for beautiful pottery to be made. Using all steps allow for a great creation, just as loved ones, religion, and trials allow for us to grow into something beautiful and usable for our destiny.
Works Cited
Fernando, Mario. “Religion’s Influence on Decision-making: Evidence of Influence on the Judgment, Emotional and Motivational Qualities of Sri Lankan Leaders ’ Decision-making.” N.p., n.d. Web
Gaiman, Neil. American Gods: A Novel. New York, NY: William Morrow, an Imprint of HarperCollins, 2017. Print.
Khan, Anisha, et al. “An analytical cross-sectional study of peer pressure on adolescents.” International Journal of Reproduction, Contraception, Obstetrics and Gynecology, vol. 4, no. 3, 2015, p. 606+. 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%7CA419536103&it=r&asid=25b373249e0a11f1b6a47994ba3c4718. Accessed 14 Apr. 2017.
Molnar, Paul D. “Wolfhart Pannenberg on Human Destiny.” Theological Studies, vol. 70, no. 3, 2009, p. 710+. 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%7CA207643251&it=r. Accessed 3 Apr. 2017.
“Nurture.” Merriam-Webster. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2017.
Rose, Amanda J., et al. “Prospective associations of co-rumination with friendship and emotional adjustment: considering the socioemotional trade-offs of co-rumination.” Developmental Psychology, vol. 43, no. 4, 2007, p. 1019+. 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%7CA166432440&it=r. Accessed 3 Apr. 2017.
“Why Do We Have Trials?” The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Apr. 2017.