“Good Omens” by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett challenges the stereotypical conventions of Gothic literature and provides a more modern approach to the genre. Conventionally, Gothic is associated with terrifying creatures like Frankenstein or Dracula and remote, dark settings like abandoned castles or haunted cemeteries. These paradigms led to the stagnation of the Gothic imagination in the 20th century, where the clichéd plots of famous works such as Frankenstein or Dracula were simply reproduced under different names. This is evidenced in the seemingly countless cinematic variations of Dracula and Frankenstein that have been banished into obscurity. “Good Omens,” in large part, is a reaction to this partial decline of the genre. In an attempt to introduce some originality to the genre, Gaiman and Pratchett intentionally abandoned the typical conventions of the Gothic novel. As significantly noted on the opening page of the novel, “It was not a dark and stormy night” (Gaiman and Pratchett 4). Breaking away from these conventions, Gaiman and Pratchett helped develop a subgenre of Gothic literature known as Gothic satire. Although many Gothic stereotypes are parodied in the novel, the novel is thematically Gothic due to its rejection of the Catholic faith, which is one of the fundamental aspects of Gothic literature (Caballero 145). The novel criticizes the central tenets of the Catholic faith, particularly the dichotomous struggle between good and evil, and reveals how these pervasive beliefs often lead to excessive idealism that maintains significant influence on society. Essentially, the novel challenges the foundations of modern society, namely the numerous aspects of Catholic history and theology that have combined with different philosophical and political ideologies to form our notion of modernity. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The novel's irreverent attitude toward religious belief is evident before you read the first page. In character descriptions, the demon Crowley is jokingly referred to not as a fallen angel, but rather as an angel walking vaguely downward (Gaiman and Pratchett xiii). Obviously, this is a parody of the Catholic belief that Satan and his compatriots were once angels fallen out of God's favor due to their desire to become like God. As a result, they became the tempters of man and the source of evil in the world. Furthermore, in the time of the Apocalypse, the armies of good and evil will engage in an epic battle for the souls of humanity. To any rational non-Catholic, this seems to be an absurd explanation for the existence of evil and the ultimate destiny of humanity. While this may simply be a metaphorical abstraction of evil, it is troubling how often public leaders endorse this notion. Historically, Reagan called the “Evil Empire” and began a war of good against evil. George W. Bush used the same language in the War on Terror. For Gaiman and Pratchett, this physical embodiment of the figurative struggle between good and evil is troubling. They express their criticisms through the interaction between Crowley and Aziraphale. These two supernatural beings are fighters in the battle between good and evil. However, their supposed opposition is parodied through rather friendly dialogues. In one scene they both share several drinks and Crowley asks the question: “Anyway, why are we talking about good and evil? They are just names for the parts. We know this” (Gaiman and Pratchett 45). This comment trivializes the Catholic notion of the struggle between good and evil and reduces it to its one realitymeaningless distinction between two ineffable terms. In contrast, the Gothic deals with a sadomasochistic impulse focused on domination, destruction, and revenge over a transcendent potential for cooperation, creativity, and passion.(Pepetone 3). Gaiman and Pratchett also support this view of human behavior. As they claim, the devil hardly forced anyone to do anything. . . This was what some humans found difficult to understand. Hell was not a great reservoir of evil, any more than heaven, according to Crowley, was a source of goodness; they were just the sides in the great cosmic chess game. The place where you found the real McCoy, the real grace and the real heartbreaking evil, was right in the human mind (71). The Gothic approach advocates an existentialist view of human behavior. Rather than supernatural entities vying for the souls of humans, the Gothic proposes that the battle occurs within the human and is comparable to the Freudian struggle between Thanatos and Eros. It is a more humanistic vision that emphasizes the precept of free choice. Related to the struggle between good and evil is the existence of God's divine plan. Similarly, Gaiman and Pratchett characterize it through the conversation between Aziraphale and Crowley. As Aziraphale describes it, “Ah, but it is all part of the overall divine plan, your part cannot do anything without it being part of the ineffable divine plan” (Gaiman and Pratchett 43). Gaiman and Pratchett are critical of this deterministic philosophy and view it as nothing more than a feeble attempt to rationalize the inexplicable. This view is illustrated in the discussion of Agnes Nutter's death. There was much subsequent debate as to whether this had been sent by God or Satan, but a note later found in Agnes Nutter's cottage indicated that any divine or diabolical intervention had been materially aided by the contents of Agnes' petticoats, in which he had hidden eighty pounds of gunpowder and forty pounds of roofing nails (Gaiman and Pratchett 181). While comical, this passage bluntly demonstrates the lack of divine intervention in human affairs. It is senseless to try to impose a divine plan as the reason for all irrational events. The existence of free choice necessarily implies undesirable and unjustifiable acts. However, the Gothic argues that we must take these events for what they are and not attempt to rationalize them. As Gregory Pepetone states, The Gothic imagination gives expression and meaning to the darkly mysterious, painful, frightening, and seemingly irrational experiences of life, welcoming them as a potential source of insight and transcendence (23). The juxtaposition of the mysterious and frightening with intuition and transcendence suggests the Gothic notion of the sublime. This experience of the sublime provides the basis for Gothic spirituality which is in stark contrast to the determinism of a divine plan. While belief in a divine plan is seemingly harmless, it can transform into pernicious idealism with the help of extremist influence. This fact is demonstrated in Gaiman and Pratchett's version of the Catholic witch hunts and the Spanish Inquisition. The anti-Catholic aspect of Gothic is due, in large part, to a reaction against the horrors of the Spanish Inquisition (Caballero 153). Gaiman and Pratchett represent the irrationality of the inquisition process through the interrogation conducted by the Grand Inquisitor. As he says: "Are you a witch?" “Yes,” said Pepper's sister, who was six years old and built like a little golden-haired soccer ball. “You don't have to say yes, you have to say no,” the Chief Torturer hissed. “And then what?” the suspect asked. “And then we torture you to make you say yes,” said the leadertorturers (121). This reasoning was not far from that used in the current Inquisition. Thousands were tortured until they confessed to heresy and then killed. No one was able to see the faulty logic due to the fixation on God's divine plan. Gaiman and Pratchett use this comic interpretation of the Inquisition to illustrate how the mask of religion, or belief in a divine plan, can have catastrophic consequences. Furthermore, the absurdity of the witch hunt is made clear in the dialogue between Brian and Adam. When discussing the possibility of witches, Adam argues, like any rational human being, "I don't think it's okay to go around setting people on fire" (118). However, Brian replies, "It's fine if you're religious, and it keeps witches from going to hell, so I expect they'd be very grateful if they understood it correctly" (118). In essence, this is the basic argument of all religious extremists. Any act, regardless of its intrinsic moral value, is permitted in the name of religion. This type of extremism completely distorts the perception of reality and inhibits logical reasoning which often leads to violence. Gothic militates against this idea of ​​extremist dogma, particularly in the Catholic tradition. For the Gothic, what is Catholic intrudes into the characters' reality and not just their imagination, intervening in their lives in tangible and corrupt ways (Caballero 149). This religious intervention, or extremism, is clearly highlighted in Brian's character. He bases the rightness of an action on whether or not he will be condemned to hell for it, but he has no reservations about burning a human being. Although this is a somewhat hyperbolic example, religion certainly has a corrupting influence on him. The origin of the extremism that led to the atrocities of the witch hunts and the Inquisition is unclear. However, it seemed to be socially accepted on a large scale (by Catholics). Supposedly, it arose from a literal interpretation of a specific biblical passage or perhaps from a general perversion of Catholic doctrine. Regardless of its exact origin, religious extremism, and any type of extremism, is perpetuated and justified through excessive idealism. According to Pepetone, excessive idealism is the pursuit of a single-minded obsession that ultimately sacrifices one's principles for some lesser good. He argues that it is the function of the Gothic imagination in society to eradicate any dystopian elements from our natural experience, namely excessive idealism. As he notes, “Excessive idealism has turned the Salem judiciary into a witch hunt; it turned the fanatical defense of democracy during the Cold War into a political witch hunt, and it turned Dr. Jekyl into Mr. Hyde” (3). Gaiman and Pratchett are aware of the devastating effects of this excessive idealism on society. They relate this concern to the death and destruction resulting from the “deep political-religious divide” that exists between the fictitious pro-Turkish liberation faction, the pro-Greek Territorial Brigade and the Italian-Maltese freedom fighters. Despite the humorous names, this satire of political-religious factionalism is certainly poignant in the language of our times. Although the majority of the novel is filled with humorous satire and parody, Gaiman and Pratchett include serious social commentary on the state of modern society. During a powerful thunderstorm, Adam shares his thoughts on the Apocalypse with Dog. As he says: “ It would be good for everyone if all the nuclear bombs exploded and everything started again, only properly organized. Sometimes I think that's what I'd like to happen. And then we could fix everything” (201)., 2003.