The Theme Of Growth In Neil Gaiman’s Fictions

Neil Gaiman(1960—),was a dazzling star rising from the literary world in Europe and the United States.His works have successively won awards such as the World Fantasy Award,the Hugo Award,and the Nebula Award.Neil Gaiman demonstrates the uniqueness of his creations in expressing the theme of growth in his novels.This article focuses on the study of Neil Gaiman’s novels from the perspective of the theme of growth.Through the analysis of several representative novels by Neil Gaiman,the theme of growth is interpreted,involving texts such as Stardust,Coraline,Anansi Boys,The Graveyard Book,Neverwhere,Odd and the Frost Giants,and The Ocean at the End of the Lane.Firstly,this article starts with the types of growth themes in Neil Gaiman’s novels,and classifies them into the growth of personal qualities,the growth of love relationships,and the growth of family relationships.The second part is about the role of guide in Neil Gaiman’s novels.They have both fantasy and initiation story characteristics,and are“unnatural” guide images.At the same time,they have different ways of promoting the growth of the protagonist.The third part is an analysis of the spatial construction of the novel,while further exploring the unique significance of the construction of growth space in promoting the growth of the protagonist.Secondly,as one of the top ten postmodern writers,Neil Gaiman’s narrative style also exhibits postmodern characteristics,such as the zero degree emotional expression he uses in his narration,and the multi perspective narrative style.These help him to conduct a more calm and objective observation of the growth of contemporary children,and demonstrate a comprehensive concern,which also typically reflects the characteristics of contemporary American initiation stories that focus on reality.Finally,theoretical analysis will eventually return to reality.Therefore,in the last part,this article analyzes the literary value and practical significance of Neil Gaiman’s novel growth writing.The theme of growth in Neil Gaiman’s novels permeates all aspects,reflecting both the trend of the times and having its own unique characteristics.It is precisely these factors that make Neil Gaiman’s novels timeless and attractive to generations of readers.