Graveyard Book Themes
The Graveyard Book: A Novel Full of Fantasy
Deciding if a work literature is fantasy proves to be a daunting task for any scholar. There are plenty of elements, themes, and motifs that furnish the fantasy genre as a whole, and Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book without question encompasses a number of these. Through the lens of magic, the battle of good versus evil, and the presence of hope The Graveyard Book delivers a taste of fantasy literature, while also supporting the elements of the new mythology for global humanity by rediscovering harmony, bridging the past with the future.
Even a superficial glace at the text will prove to the reader that magic is present. Magic is evident in the fact that the ghosts are able to communicate with the living, and is also present in nearly every single important scene through the book, as first noted by the special attributes of the knifed used to kill Bod’s family (Gaiman 4). Time and time again magic proves its importance to the novel, and to the genre of fantasy. As Tamora Pierce said, “Most important of all in fantasy is that great equalizer between the powerful and the powerless: magic” …show more content…
In a perceptive analysis of Harry Potter, Melody Briggs and Richard S. Briggs offer an explanation of good versus evil being absolutely morally opposite (Briggs 33). This is entirely true to the core of The Graveyard Book. From the beginning of the novel the man Jack is seen as dark and evil, even the illustration on the first two pages is entirely black except for the knife visible in his had (Gaiman 1). While the novel waivers in between, it becomes clear that story will culminate with good and evil squaring off. This central theme correlates strongly with other fantasy such as the combat that Pierce addresses (Pierce 181). This enables the reader to anticipate the ending, and have some stake in the fight that is inevitably going to
Deciding if a work literature is fantasy proves to be a daunting task for any scholar. There are plenty of elements, themes, and motifs that furnish the fantasy genre as a whole, and Neil Gaiman’s The Graveyard Book without question encompasses a number of these. Through the lens of magic, the battle of good versus evil, and the presence of hope The Graveyard Book delivers a taste of fantasy literature, while also supporting the elements of the new mythology for global humanity by rediscovering harmony, bridging the past with the future.
Even a superficial glace at the text will prove to the reader that magic is present. Magic is evident in the fact that the ghosts are able to communicate with the living, and is also present in nearly every single important scene through the book, as first noted by the special attributes of the knifed used to kill Bod’s family (Gaiman 4). Time and time again magic proves its importance to the novel, and to the genre of fantasy. As Tamora Pierce said, “Most important of all in fantasy is that great equalizer between the powerful and the powerless: magic” …show more content…
In a perceptive analysis of Harry Potter, Melody Briggs and Richard S. Briggs offer an explanation of good versus evil being absolutely morally opposite (Briggs 33). This is entirely true to the core of The Graveyard Book. From the beginning of the novel the man Jack is seen as dark and evil, even the illustration on the first two pages is entirely black except for the knife visible in his had (Gaiman 1). While the novel waivers in between, it becomes clear that story will culminate with good and evil squaring off. This central theme correlates strongly with other fantasy such as the combat that Pierce addresses (Pierce 181). This enables the reader to anticipate the ending, and have some stake in the fight that is inevitably going to