Georgia Southern University Digital Commons@Georgia Southern Electronic Theses and Dissertations Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of Spring 2018 Not Cruel, Blessed, or Merciful: Pratchett, Gaiman, and the Personification of Death Kiki V. Canon Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd Part of the English Language and Literature Commons Recommended Citation Canon, Kiki V., "Not Cruel, Blessed, or Merciful: Pratchett, Gaiman, and the Personification of Death" (2018). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 1713. https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/1713 This thesis (open access) is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate Studies, Jack N. Averitt College of at Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons@Georgia Southern. For more information, please contact
[email protected]. NOT CRUEL, BLESSED, OR MERCIFUL: PRATCHETT, GAIMAN, AND THE PERSONIFICATION OF DEATH by KIKI CANON (Under the Direction of Joe Pellegrino) ABSTRACT Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman helped to change the cultural view of Death personified through their work with the Discworld novels and Sandman comics. Despite taking seemingly different paths in portraying Death, these two authors presented a cohesive view of mortality that encourages readers to re-consider the long-held Western cultural notions of Death as a frightening figure to be tricked or avoided at all cost. Despite meeting Barthes’ criteria of the work of “bliss” that changes the mythology of the culture, academic circles frequently overlook the importance of “pop culture” writers, especially when dealing with underrepresented genres such as fantasy, horror, and media such as comics.