Crocodile and falseness
Shadow accepts a job proposition from Mr. Wednesday at Jack’s Crocodile Bar where after Shadow tries to outsmart Mr. Wednesday he is the one who must admit that was played in the end. The Crocodile Bar has a metaphorical value as well apart from being only a place where the two characters meet. The bar suggests the idea of falsehood and deceit and it is the place where both characters try to outdo each other and where they try to play the events in their favor. From this perspective, one could say that the bar is a metaphor for deceit and falsehood.
New Gods
In comparison with the Old Gods portrayed in the novel who appear human and have a dynamic personality, Technical Boy is anything but such. He is unsure where he belongs and he lacks the originality and innovation the Old Gods have. Instead, he always leaves the impression that his words are not necessarily his own and that his ideas are taken from someone else. But Technical Boy is more than just a character and he is actually used as a metaphor to suggest how the modern society is in comparison with the one from the past. While modern society leaves the impression that everything is under control, in reality everything is chaotic and confusing. The people in the modern society lack the same feeling of purpose the past generation had and they are left instead to wander in the dark trying to figure out what they are supposed to do with their lives.
Metaphor for acceptance
It is suggested that the first outsiders to reach the now American-soil where northern sailors who stumbled by accident on the new continent. The first time the northerner visited the new land is described in the novel and also the ceremonies and sacrifices given by the men to ensure that their main God, Odin, still protected them. When the northerner encountered for the first time a Native American, the Vikings captured him and hung him as a sacrifice to Odin. The next day, they were pleased to wake up and see two ravens eating the eyes of the dead man. For them, the ravens were a clear sign that Odin continued to protect them and that their sacrifice was accepted. The ravens are an important element because they have a metaphorical value. The ravens stand for wisdom, cunningness and also the presence of the Old Gods on the new soil. It also marks the first time when the Old European Gods reached the unexplored territory.
Metaphor for life and death
The association of spring with life and winter with death is not uncommon in literature and mythology. Spring is generally considered as a time for birth while everything stops from growing during winter time. The same principle applies to the first Vikings to reach the new land. While they did managed to settle down and hoped that in spring they will be able to return home for their wives, winter came and killed them all. The Native Americans came out of nowhere and they wiped out from existence any Viking from their land. But spring came eventually and with spring a new wave of Vikings, stronger and much better equipped that the last wave and they did eventually settled on the new land. In a sense, the Vikings were born again during spring time and they were reborn in a metaphorical way with the new season.
