Mythology and belief
The main theme in the novel is mythology, particularly how Gods are created and how they die. Contrary to popular belief, Gods did not create human kind but rather the Gods were created by the humans who tried to explain the strange phenomenon around them. The Gods depend on the attention the humans give them and once this attention disappears, the Gods die and fade into nothingness. People and society are always creating and coming up with a new system of beliefs adapted to the new times they live in and so the reader sees the appearance of new Gods into the world such as Technical Boy who is more powerful than the humble Gods who came on the American soil centuries ago. Gods and deities are not disregarded as useless into society but are rather considered an important element in understanding the world and relating to the other people and the community in general.
Old VS. New
The New Gods and the Old ones seem to be at war with one another and the reason why they fight each other is because they try to establish who is worthy and who should rule America in the future. While the Old Gods are happy to live in the shadows and feed their need for being worshiped through sexual relationships, the New Gods feel the need to destroy the old ones so only they remain. The Old Gods cohabit with the new ones but the New Gods feel themselves threatened by the presence of the Old Gods even if no one worships them. The battle between new and old can be applied to the society as a whole with old customs replacing the old ones. But what the new customs are trying to do is not simply upgrade something already existing but rather destroy the old and replace it with something completely different.
Deception
Another major theme in the novel is deception and how it affects the characters. But deception is not something that can be avoided since it is an important element in everyone’s life. But deception can hurt and affect negatively a person in the long term. The characters who lie the most in the novel are the Gods, both the old ones and the new ones and the reason why they do it is to ensure that they will not lose the trust of their followers. Laura lies to Shadow because she loves him and doesn’t want to see him suffer but in the end she causes him more pain than anybody else. No matter the reason why a character choses to lie, in the end truth prevails and the aftermath is not always pleasant for the characters who used to lie to succeed. The Gods lose their powers because of their lies while Shadow gains his God-like status at the end of the novel because he chooses to tell the truth.
