Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in American Gods, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Mythology, Belief, and Community
Change and Growth
Life, Death, Desire, and Sacrifice
Deception
Plurality and the Power of the Individual in America
The Sacredness of American Land
Summary
Analysis
A man in a suit named Mr. Town knocks on Sam Black Crow’s door. When Sam answers, Mr. Town asks if Sam knows anything about the disappearance of his colleagues, Mr. Wood and Mr. Stone. Mr. Town asks if Sam knows an escaped felon who was arrested for aggravated assault of his partners after they stole his cut of a bank robbery. Looking at a picture Mr. Town shows her of Shadow, Sam makes fun of Mr. Town’s name and refuses to cooperate with Mr. Town at all. Sam slams her door and Mr. Town leaves.
Sam aligns herself with the Old Gods, distrusting the New Gods on sight because she is so resistant to what she sees as the ills of modern American culture. Mr. Town, another of the “men in black” type New Gods, represents Americans’ worship of the civilization, comfort, and luxury that can be found in suburban towns.
Themes
