The Role of Intertextuality in Neil Gaiman’s American Gods

Abstract

The American cultural identity and the essence of modern America are concepts difficult to describe
and define. Neil Gaiman, a highly acclaimed British writer, tried to capture, in his award-winning
novel, American Gods, the “real” America, and its elusive cultural identity. This article aims to
uncover the intertextual references in American Gods, since Gaiman’s work is renowned for its
extensive intertextuality. It also attempts to analyse the role and the importance of references in the
creation of the American identity, and its cultural representation in Gaiman’s novel, by examining
the types, functions, and effects of intertextuality.