Reinvented Myth in Anansi Boys

     Anansi Boys reinvents a piece of native African folklore and updates it to a modern world setting. A primary element of African fables and mysticism is the importance of animals and the traits of said animals in the world. Where Greek gods were placed above of world and made the creators of it, the gods of traditional Africa stem from nature originally and are much more intertwined with it. 

     Neil Gaiman embraces this by making the primary characters of the story, the descendants of Anansi the Spider god, exhibit traits that spiders typically are associated with. The spider is cunning, patient, and manipulative, a trickster. Consequently, it is interesting to see what the west would often be considered villainous traits be used by the protagonists. 

     Meanwhile, the main antagonist, Tiger, exhibits all the cunning and ruthlessness that one would expect from a tiger, which ultimately leads to his downfall.  In the end, like with many traditional stories of this nature, the large intimidating enemy was brought low through the wits of the main character. The spirituality and ancestor worship of many African cultures comes into play as well, as the death of Anansi plays heavily into the story. In the end, though, he watches his sons from the afterlife with approval of their triumphs and how they developed into men.

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