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Mr. Wednesday (Odin)
Loki, the trickster and sometimes evil god of Norse Mythology, acts as one of the main antagonists in American Gods. As Low Key Lyesmith, Loki is nothing more than Shadow’s cell mate in jail, seemingly separate from the war between the gods. As Mr. World, Loki is the leader of the New Gods, spurring them on to fight the Old Gods instead of waiting for the Old Gods to die out on their own. As Loki, Loki is a shapeshifter and a double agent, at times helping the other gods of the Norse pantheon (such as Odin (Mr. Wednesday) and Thor) and other times wreaking havoc simply because he can. He is Mr. Wednesday’s partner in their two-man con to trick all the other gods for their own benefit. Loki thrives on deceit and chaos, helping instigate the fight between the Old and New Gods so that the turmoil of battle will feed his own power. Loki is killed with the ash stick, as Laura uses his own talent for lies against him.
Mr. World (Low Key Lyesmith / Loki) Quotes in American Gods
The American Gods quotes below are all either spoken by Mr. World (Low Key Lyesmith / Loki) or refer to Mr. World (Low Key Lyesmith / Loki). 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:
).
Chapter 13 Quotes
And as for keeping my word, well, these preliminary talks are being filmed and broadcast live," and he gestured back toward the camera. "Some of your people are watching as we speak. Others will see video-tapes. Others will be told, by those they trust. The camera does not lie."
"Everybody lies," said Wednesday.
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Mr. World assures Mr. Wednesday during their peace talks that the New Gods will be completely faithful to a truce, though they have not shown themselves to be trustworthy so far. Mr. World points out the fact that this talk is filmed, stating it as evidence that he could not be lying. In response, Mr. Wednesday re-emphasizes the fact that “everybody lies,” supporting the high volume of lies in the novel and Gaiman’s argument that lying is an inevitable part of human life. Mr. Wednesday himself is a grifter who makes his living by lying to other people in various Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique prae
Chapter 18 Quotes
“It's never a matter of old and new. It's only about patterns. Now. My stick, please."
"Why do you want it?"
"It's a souvenir of this whole sorry mess," said Mr. World. "Don't worry, it's not mistletoe." He flashed a grin. "It symbolizes a spear, and in this sorry world, the symbol is the thing."
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Mr. World, later revealed as the alias of the Norse god Loki, waits to send his New Gods in to fight the Old Gods until he can get a specific stick from the ash tree on which Shadow was sacrificed. Laura, delivering the stick, asks why Mr. World needs it, and Mr. World shows that he is far more aligned with the old ways and myths than anyone expects. As an Old God himself, Loki depends on retelling his myths in order to gain new life. As the patterns are repeated, he can gain strength the same way he did Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam.
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Mr. World (Low Key Lyesmith / Loki) Character Timeline in American Gods
The timeline below shows where the character Mr. World (Low Key Lyesmith / Loki) appears in American Gods. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1
...has gone as low as he can go. He tells this theory to his cellmate, Low Key Lyesmith , who laughs at Shadow’s “gallows humor.” Shadow marks off the days to his release...
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Low Key Lyesmith asks Shadow if he will be happy once he gets out of prison, but Shadow...
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A few weeks later, Low Key gets suddenly transferred to another prison, leaving Shadow his copy of Histories with several contraband...
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Shadow numbly packs his few possessions, leaving behind Low Key ’s copy of Herodotus and the coins. He walks out of the prison into a...
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Chapter 2
...Audrey angrily stomps on the gas pedal and drives away. Shadow keeps walking, thinking about Low Key calling a graveyard a “Bone Orchard,” and a dream Shadow once had about an orchard...
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Chapter 10
...hoping he can walk fast enough to keep himself warm. He goes outside, thinking of Low Key ’s stories about winter in Minnesota where it was cold enough that a man’s urine...
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Chapter 12
...can think of is how badly he needs to pee. Shadow’s policeman, Mr. Town, calls Mr. World and tells Mr. World the bad news that the Winnebago got away. Mr. World says...
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Chapter 13
Mr. World , with his back to the camera, asks Wednesday to take a peace treaty, which...
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Chapter 14
...Suddenly, saying Low Key’s name out loud makes Shadow realize that his name is actually “Loki Lie-smith.” Shadow and Loki go back to Shadow’s room, where Loki admits that he lied...
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At five minutes to midnight, Loki tells Shadow it is time to go to Wednesday’s room and light candles. In Room...
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...this time of sadness and death. At midnight, the New Gods turn to leave on Loki’s signal, with Technical Boy murmuring “call no man happy” to Shadow as he goes.
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Chapter 17
...wearing the confidence of being worshipped and adored. Technical Boy walks among them, looking for Mr. World .
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...for directions. He finally finds it, thinking that he is too old for this nonsense. Mr. World has asked him to cut a stick from this specific tree (the world tree), but...
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Back at Lookout Mountain, Technical Boy finally finds Mr. World and tells him that everything is on schedule. Technical Boy then awkwardly lingers, looking troubled....
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Disturbed, and assuming that Mr. World is lying about making such a fuss about a stick, Technical Boy says he doesn’t...
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Chapter 18
...the network of caverns that make up Rock City. She goes into a cavern where Mr. World is reading the paper. Mr. World welcomes her as the spear carrier and Laura introduces...
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Mr. World asks for his stick, but Laura asks for a cigarette and some answers first. Laura...
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Laura says she will give Mr. World the stick, turning away from Mr. World to look out the cavern door. Mr. World...
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Meanwhile Laura grips the stick tightly and waits for Mr. World to get close enough. Mr. World cautiously comes right behind Laura and reaches his arm...
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Shadow asks for Laura and Loki. Wednesday doesn’t answer, so Shadow walks farther into the caverns and finds Loki, who is...
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...power. Wednesday explains that he feeds off of deaths that are dedicated to Odin, and Loki feeds on chaos, making this battleground a huge source of power for them both.
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Wednesday and Loki commiserate to each other about the details of their plan, from finding Shadow to making...
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...who Shadow is, and Shadow replies that he is Odin’s son. Shadow then reveals that Mr. World never existed at all. He ends by saying that he would rather be a man...
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...voice and Shadow explains that he stopped the battle, and he thanks Laura for killing Mr. World .
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