Anansi Essay
Melissa McIsaac
Professor Marc Thackray
English 1000
December 4, 2013
Anansi Boys: The relationship between brothers Charlie and Spider
Neil Gaiman 's Anansi Boys tells a coming of age story of protagonist Charlie Nancy as he is influenced by his brother, Spider, who he meets after their father 's sudden death. Throughout the novel, Gaiman develops Charlie as a shy character who is afraid to put himself out there into a self-confident trickster who learns to be comfortable in his own skin through many interactions with his brother. In this mythological story, the author outlines the relationship of these two by causing Spider to create stressful situations that push Charlie out of his shell and to take control of his life. It is evident throughout the novel that Charlie 's character consistently develops into, like Spider, a more positive, confident and charismatic person, one by which fits into the Nancy family reputation.
In the beginning of this story, there was nothing extraordinary about the character of Charlie Nancy. He could be described as a somewhat boring character: he had a nine to five job, a fiancé and enjoyed partaking in normal day to day activities. Charlie 's initial character comes across as a very insecure person; he never puts himself out there and has been known to get extremely embarrassed for the littlest things. Charlie rationalizes these attributes by blaming his father for embarrassing him as a child. Gaiman writes, "The worst thing about Fat Charlie’s father was simply this: He was embarrassing."(Anansi Boys, 10) The story continues into a description of how Charlie 's father made him dress up as Taft:
"Well, when I changed schools, when I was a kid, my dad made a point of telling me how much he had always looked forward to Presidents’ Day, when he was a boy, because it’s the law that on Presidents’ Day, the kids who go to school dressed as their favorite presidents get a big bag of candy."(10)
Of course, there was no such thing as
Professor Marc Thackray
English 1000
December 4, 2013
Anansi Boys: The relationship between brothers Charlie and Spider
Neil Gaiman 's Anansi Boys tells a coming of age story of protagonist Charlie Nancy as he is influenced by his brother, Spider, who he meets after their father 's sudden death. Throughout the novel, Gaiman develops Charlie as a shy character who is afraid to put himself out there into a self-confident trickster who learns to be comfortable in his own skin through many interactions with his brother. In this mythological story, the author outlines the relationship of these two by causing Spider to create stressful situations that push Charlie out of his shell and to take control of his life. It is evident throughout the novel that Charlie 's character consistently develops into, like Spider, a more positive, confident and charismatic person, one by which fits into the Nancy family reputation.
In the beginning of this story, there was nothing extraordinary about the character of Charlie Nancy. He could be described as a somewhat boring character: he had a nine to five job, a fiancé and enjoyed partaking in normal day to day activities. Charlie 's initial character comes across as a very insecure person; he never puts himself out there and has been known to get extremely embarrassed for the littlest things. Charlie rationalizes these attributes by blaming his father for embarrassing him as a child. Gaiman writes, "The worst thing about Fat Charlie’s father was simply this: He was embarrassing."(Anansi Boys, 10) The story continues into a description of how Charlie 's father made him dress up as Taft:
"Well, when I changed schools, when I was a kid, my dad made a point of telling me how much he had always looked forward to Presidents’ Day, when he was a boy, because it’s the law that on Presidents’ Day, the kids who go to school dressed as their favorite presidents get a big bag of candy."(10)
Of course, there was no such thing as
Cited: Gaiman, Neil. Anansi Boys. Australia: HarperCollins Publishers Pty. Ltd., 2005. Print. R.U. Sirius. "Neil Gaiman Has Lost His Clothes: An Interview with Neil Gaiman." 10Zen Monkeys.” 4 Oct 2006. . 30 Nov 2013. <http://www.10Zenmonkeys.com/2006/10/04/neil-gaiman-has-lost-his-clothes-2/>.