Discworld and Member Articles
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Written by maljonic
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Tuesday, 13 June 2006 |
I nice article on Small Gods by Anne Butler at The Rebel Yell
UNLV Reads: Terry Pratchett's 'Small Gods:' humourous or sacreligious - we're not telling you
Good humor is a hard thing to accomplish in all kinds of writing, but it is especially difficult to achieve in fiction.
As writers, we are so often tempted to create serious characters and serious dilemmas – after all, the usual story starts off with a character, happy at home and then there is a problem – the character must go out from their comfort zone to confront that problem.
The only way to prevent the loss of seriousness in a story is to add just the right touch of dark humor to it – the kind of humor which is so absurd that one just has to laugh … or go insane.
Terry Pratchett has found the perfect mix for adding humor to a good story in one of his many "Discworld" novels, Small Gods, published in 1992.
While, at times, his characters are absurd, they are believable – and the same can be said of his topics.
The idea behind Small Gods is that every god in existence must have at least one believer in order to exist.
There are gods of all kinds – of nouns and of vague ideas; they only need one human being to believe that they exist so they may achieve substance – and power.
Thus, the more believers a god has, the stronger that god becomes.
Small Gods concerns a very small god (in more ways than one) named Om and his one true believer, a slow-witted novice called Brutha.
Om, once upon a time, was a very strong god, but the people who now call themselves his believers don't believe directly in him anymore, merely his image.
Because he once had so many believers, Om is a little full of himself and must go through a serious identity shift before he becomes an admirable character; Brutha, on the other hand, is lovable throughout, if only because he is so slow-witted and staunchly devoted to doing the right thing.
And here is where the absurdity comes in: Om, because he has lost his believers, has gotten himself stuck in the form of a turtle – and many creatures are overly fond of eating turtles.
Brutha's role is to protect Om and attempt to get Om's followers back before the villains of the world achieve their own goals – destruction in the name of Om.
Of course, there is the typical villain, Vorbis, and Pratchett's trademark plethora of hijink-inducing characters.
His villain Vorbis is an interesting character in that he is a typical bad guy but also strays from the typical bad guy path in that there is no maniacal laughter or stupid bad guy moves – you know the type: "I'm going to leave you alone in this room to contemplate the horrible death I have planned for you … oh, and to give you a chance to escape."
Vorbis goes through his own character shift – of course, he becomes more intent upon killing Brutha than following his own goals.
Unfortunately for him but much to the pleasure of the reader, his end is incredibly comical.
Pratchett has a habit of using oddball characters in oddball situations that just happen to seem normal.
For example, the Orangutan Librarian, who opted to stay an Orangutan because it allowed him better reach with his Pipe Organ.
Death is always an interesting character in Pratchett's novels, speaking only in all capital letters and responding with sarcastic quips.
In one instance, Death mentions how much he hates chess because he can never remember "HOW THE LITTLE HORSE-SHAPED ONES MOVE."
Another hallmark of Pratchett's is the use of a turtle in many forms in his novels – after all, Discworld itself is carried along through interstellar space on the backs of two elephants, who, in turn, are riding on the back of a gigantic turtle, swimming through the stars.
While the idea is a strange and absurd, it mimics ancient ideas of belief and, ultimately, is oddly conventional.
Turtles pop up throughout the novel – Brutha is almost skewered alive while strapped to the back of another giant, metal turtle.
Even the ultimate weapon (created by the good guys but not used because of its very nature) is in the shape of a turtle.
Pratchett's wit is the highlight of the novel – he is fond of using one-liner quips placed in attention-grabbing areas of conversation to make the reader pause to laugh or contemplate the absurdity of an idea.
For instance, one of his Philosopher characters, in Brutha's one moment of grave doubt, tells him,
"The way I see it, logic is only a way of being ignorant by numbers."
Even the back of the book follows this: "…the strangest things happen to the nicest people. Like Brutha, a simple lad who only wants to tend his melon patch.
Until one day he hears the voice of a god calling his name.
A small god, to be sure.
But bossy as Hell."
Pratchett himself, we are informed on the back, lives in England with his wife, daughter and four turtles.
It mentions that his novels are "fast becoming bestsellers in the United States."
It goes on to add, "Which is why they warned us about free trade."
While the novel is infused with comedic relief, the point behind it is anything but.
Brutha helps bring about a revolution of sorts in his country – but he learns that fighting isn't the only way to bring about the truth.
In fact, as he puts it: "The truth is too precious to die for."
Pratchett's novel is an entertaining lampoon on faith that serves to poke fun without causing offense.
Comical observation combined with a razor sharp wit seeks to transcend the reader to a veritable Nirvana of laughter.
Fantasy and comedy fans alike will appreciate the gentle demeanor of Brutha and his raging yet powerless god Om, and the subtle-yet-obvious co-dependant relationship that exists between them – Man believing God is responsible for his existence, and God relying on Man for the power to enforce that belief.
A must-read.
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