Anansi Boys

The major theme throughout Anansi Boys is duality, or the opposing forces of one person. The clearest example of this is in the protagonist, Fat Charlie, and his other-half-turned-brother Spider. While each side of himself grew into a fully formed human being, this represents the two natures that existed within him as a child. Mrs. Dunwiddy attempted to pull the darkness and mischief from him, but the power of Anansi’s god bloodline took it to the extreme of separating him into two people.

Because Fat Charlie was cut into two identities, neither him nor Spider were ever completely whole. Fat Charlie was unfulfilled in his career and personal life, unable to embrace his love of singing and passively accepting the minimum life had to offer. Spider, by contrast, was confident and successful but lacked any true human connection. It’s only when they are reunited, when the two disparate sides of the self come together, that they each find what they need.

This theme is visited within one of the Anansi stories told throughout the text. While Anansi fakes his death to gorge on his garden’s crops, his family builds a man of tar to stand guard over the patch of land—a man “as black and proud as Anansi himself” (103). Anansi attempts to send this man away first with commands, then by fighting him. However, each limb becomes caught in the sticky tar. With every punch and kick, he only renders himself more immobile. The symbolism here is clear: Anansi is fighting a version of himself and becomes his own downfall.

This parallels the story between Fat Charlie and Spider. When they first encounter each other, they’re put immediately at odds and Fat Charlie goes to great lengths to get rid of him—the way Anansi tried to send away his other self. However, Fat Charlie only creates greater problems in his own life. Once they stand together as equals, they finally defeat their opponents.

Grahame Coats also experiences this discordant duality when he leaves under his pseudonym of Basil Finnegan. While he intended the fake name and identity to be a convenient device, he starts to feel as though Basil is taking on a life of his own and overriding Grahame Coats in the process. Grahame Coats experiences another conflict of dual identity when he becomes possessed by Tiger. Although they are two separate entities, they inhabit one physical form in one space. Initially, their selves seem blended into one cohesive self; however, once they encounter Maeve Livingstone, the two identities separate and pursue different goals. If they remained unified, they might have overcome her. However, allowing themselves to separate is what led to their defeat—an inversion of Fat Charlie and Spider’s victory.

The narrator begins exploring the origin and immutable permanence of Fat Charlie’s nickname right from the second page of the text: “He would introduce himself as Charles, or, in his early twenties, Chaz, or, in writing, as C. Nancy, but it was no use […] like it or not—and he didn’t—he would be Fat Charlie again” (5). Here we see how Fat Charlie attempted to redefine himself through the act of naming, an act which he will manage successfully towards the end of the novel. The narrator goes on to reminisce about the dog “Goofy,” who was another being whom Anansi named. Through the brief anecdote about the formerly prize-winning dog, we see how the creature’s very self was shaped by its name.

The title character is also notable in that he’s the only god of the pantheon who’s given his own name. The others are known only by their representation: Tiger, Elephant, Monkey, Bird or the Bird Woman, and so forth. Practically, this allows the namesake “Spider” to be used by Spider’s character without confusion; however, it also reflects Anansi’s role as the god of knowledge and stories. The narrative choice to give Anansi another name sets him at a level above the other gods and deepens his connection through life and story.

We see this connection between names and life when Spider shapes his golem using dirt, spit, and blood—but none of it is enough to give life without first giving it a name. Through this lens of a name as a life force, Grahame Coats’s dismay at losing himself to Basil Finnegan takes on new poignancy; by losing his name, Grahame Coats is in danger of becoming effectively dead to himself. When he is overtaken by Tiger, he gives up his name and self completely.

One of the novel’s most pivotal moments isn’t tense or explosive; it’s incredibly subtle (in the author interview at the back of this edition, Gaiman comments on how he chose this moment specifically and enjoys that most readers don’t even notice it). When Fat Charlie encounters Dragon in the realm of gods, he introduces himself: “‘I’m Charlie Nancy,’ said Charlie Nancy” (314). Before this, the narrator referred to him as “Fat Charlie,” but with this moment—the name delivered twice in quick succession for emphasis—the nickname is never mentioned again. Charlie names himself, just as his father did all those years ago, and reshapes his fate.