Det outsägliga spelet av Armageddon : En narratologisk analys av apokalyptiska maktförhållanden i Good Omens av Terry Pratchett och Neil Gaiman

Sammanfattning: This paper is used to study the implications that power has in a fictive story about the apocalypse. In the fictional novel, Good Omens by Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman, there are different positions that express power and by analyzing them different attitudes emerge. This study uses the narratological model by Mieke Bal, which is used to analyze the different aspects of a text by focusing on the different dimensions of structure in narratives. To interpret the results this study uses the power and knowledge theory developed by Michel Foucault by inserting it in an apocalyptic and eschatological context. By analyzing the material one should consider the modern approach to religious authority that exists in modern adaptation, such as popular culture. Therefore, including popular culture as a culture hostile to authority, the results show that the material criticizes traditional values and norms regulated by religious authorities in society. The thesis demonstrate that the novel by Pratchett and Gaiman can be defined as apocalyptic and eschatological literature and that it contains different connotations of power in an eschatological and apocalyptic context, such as God and fatalism and also the suspense between Heaven and Hell as well with individuals. The last result shows that different attitudes towards power are present in the novel, such as social justice, fairness and independent thinking. The final result is later used to discuss how the different attitudes can be used in popular culture to influence their readers. Finally the total sum is that the characters are used to bring forth a band of various criticisms against the power displays of religious authorities in society through a selective reading of the novel.