American Gods

American Gods

by

Neil Gaiman

Teachers and parents! Our Teacher Edition on American Gods makes teaching easy.

Richie Hinzelmann Character Analysis

An overly nice old man in Lakeside who acts as the unofficial town leader. Hinzelmann’s affable exterior hides a Germanic kobold (cursed spirit) who is forced to sacrifice one child each year to protect Lakeside, ensure Lakeside’s prosperity, and keep himself alive. Hinzelmann begs Shadow to kill him after Shadow uncovers Hinzelmann’s plot, depicting the dark side of sacrifice and the toll it takes on everyone when the cost of the sacrifice is not worth the promised reward.

Richie Hinzelmann Quotes in American Gods

The American Gods quotes below are all either spoken by Richie Hinzelmann or refer to Richie Hinzelmann. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Mythology, Belief, and Community Theme Icon
).
Chapter 11 Quotes

"You shouldn't think badly of the town because of this," said Brogan. "It is a good town." …
"So what I'm saying is that Lakeside's lucky. We've got a little of everything here—farm, light industry, tourism, crafts. Good schools."
Shadow looked at her in puzzlement. There was something empty at the bottom of all her words. It was as if he were listening to a salesman, a good salesman, who believed in his product, but still wanted to make sure you went home with all the brushes or the full set of encyclopedias.

Related Characters: Shadow Moon (Baldur), Richie Hinzelmann
Page Number: 281
Explanation and Analysis:
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Richie Hinzelmann Quotes in American Gods

The American Gods quotes below are all either spoken by Richie Hinzelmann or refer to Richie Hinzelmann. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Mythology, Belief, and Community Theme Icon
).
Chapter 11 Quotes

"You shouldn't think badly of the town because of this," said Brogan. "It is a good town." …
"So what I'm saying is that Lakeside's lucky. We've got a little of everything here—farm, light industry, tourism, crafts. Good schools."
Shadow looked at her in puzzlement. There was something empty at the bottom of all her words. It was as if he were listening to a salesman, a good salesman, who believed in his product, but still wanted to make sure you went home with all the brushes or the full set of encyclopedias.

Related Characters: Shadow Moon (Baldur), Richie Hinzelmann
Page Number: 281
Explanation and Analysis: