Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Good Omens, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Good and Evil
Human Nature
Destiny vs. Free Will
Humor and Absurdity
Friendship
Summary
Analysis
It’s a nice day, but all days have been nice so far. Rain hasn’t been invented yet, but there are clouds gathering east of Eden. The angel of the Eastern Gate, Aziraphale, shields himself from the first raindrops as the serpent, Crawly, says that whatever just occurred didn’t go well. He continues that it seems like an overreaction, and he doesn’t see a problem with knowing the difference between good and evil. In a tone that suggests he doesn’t get it either, Aziraphale says that it must be bad, since Crawly was involved, and he’s a demon—it’s not possible for him to do good because of his basic nature. Meanwhile, Crawly thinks to himself that he wants to change his name to something more fitting.
Aziraphale and Crawly are in the Garden of Eden, the biblical paradise from which Adam and Eve (the first man and woman in the Christian tradition) were expelled from for eating from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. This event is referred to as humankind’s “fall” from innocence and obedience to sin and disobedience (since God forbade Adam and Eve to eat fruit from the Tree of Knowledge). This opening passage is implied to take place just after the fall—the demon Crawly is apparently the serpent from the biblical story who tempted Adam and Eve to eat the fruit. And here, he’s referencing God’s overreaction in punishing Adam and Eve. The angel Aziraphale situates himself as someone who views life in a black-and-white way, especially when it comes to good and evil—he believes that some beings (like demons) are inherently evil, and that this intrinsic nature prevents them from performing any good deeds. Crawly, on the other hand, seems to believe that there should be a balance between good and evil.
Themes
Crawly continues to say that it seems a bit silly—He should’ve put the tree far away if He didn’t want them to touch it, instead of pointing to it and telling them to not touch it. Crawly wonders what He’s planning next, but Aziraphale reminds Crawly that it’s better to not speculate, since one can’t “second-guess ineffability.” He insists that there’s Right and Wrong, and that if a person does Wrong, they deserve to be punished. Crawly and Aziraphale sit, embarrassed.
Throughout the novel, Aziraphale and Crawly repeatedly return to the idea of “ineffability.” Simply put, ineffability means that something is impossible to understand—so here, Aziraphale is essentially saying that it’s not worth trying to guess what He (referring to God) has in store. Aziraphale also puts forth a simplistic view of right and wrong, good and evil—one that even he seems to find embarrassingly simplistic.
Themes
Crawly asks if Aziraphale used to have a flaming sword. Aziraphale looks guilty, and with some prodding, admits that he gave it away. “They” were cold, and “she’s” already pregnant—he thought they’d need it. He asks Crawly if that was the best course. Crawly sarcastically replies that Aziraphale can’t do evil, but Aziraphale is too worried to notice the sarcasm. After a few minutes, Crawly says that he’s been wondering if he actually did the right thing by showing “her” the apple—as a demon, he could get in trouble for doing the right thing. He jokes that it’d be funny if he did the right thing and Aziraphale did the wrong thing, but Aziraphale insists that it’s not funny. The angel and the demon watch the animals in Eden cower from the storm.
Aziraphale implies that “they,” that is, the people who now have his sword, are Adam and Eve—and that he probably wasn’t supposed to give the sword to them. This suggests that Aziraphale has free will to make choices and bend the rules that God lays out for him, and that he thinks doing so is morally right. When Crawly then questions whether he did the right thing by pointing out the apple (the biblical forbidden fruit) to “her” (Eve), it makes it clear that good and evil aren’t as clear-cut as Aziraphale would like to think. Rather, it may be possible for anyone to do good or bad.
Themes
