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FINAL Current Developments at the Intersection of British Children ONLINE VERSION
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Men, A Hat Full of Sky and Wintersmith. In all three novels, the endearing Pictsies care for the well-being of the young witch Tiffany. The interplay between her and the Pictsies frequently results in chaotic, hilarious situations caused by the unasked interference of the little blue men with the events. Selfless and brave as they are, the Wee Free Men always attempt to make amends, often causing even more trouble by doing so. One contributing factor might be that the term “discretion” is not part of their vocabulary. Whatever their enterprise, the belligerent Pictsies never mean any real harm. The Nac Mac Feegle easily succumb to any temptation in the form of a chance for looting, fighting or drinking. Stopping off for stealing whenever possible, the Pictsies “will in fact steal anything that is not nailed down. If it is nailed down, they will steal the nails as well.” 174 They benefit from their incredible strength permitting them to transport loot which is their size and weight many times over, for example sheep. Yet it is not only the stealing, but also the fighting that the Pictsies love. If by chance there aren’t any opponents available, they quite happily start a passionate brawl among themselves. As for alcohol, the Wee Free Men can take a lot more than anyone else would be capable of, shrinking back from nothing. Even the mysterious concoction “Special Sheep Liniment” is unable to get at them. Furthermore, the Nac Mac Feegle tend to avoid telling the truth if it is not captivating enough. A prime example for this is the following quotation: “Er...would you accept a wee bitty lie? [...] It’s interestin’. There’s dragons an’ unicorns in it –.” 175 In this connection, their very own and unique logic is unrivalled and irrefutable, especially when they try to arrive at conclusions all 174 Terry Pratchett, A Hat Full of Sky. London: Corgi, 2004, p. 9. 175 Terry Pratchett. Wintersmith. London: Corgi, 2007, p. 76. 145 by themselves. All in all, the Pictsies leave a lasting impression. Whoever makes their acquaintance cannot forget them, even if they wanted to. 176 Still, it is not only the Nac Mac Feegle themselves who contribute to the overall humour of these three Discworld novels. The narrator also plays an important role commenting on events or explaining details, traditions or conditions or providing background information. In doing so, he makes fun of almost anything he can get hold of. For instance, the narrator picks on society’s hypersensitivity to allergies and its subsequent paranoia with food labels, or on misnomers. A scullery is thus not used for storing skulls, even if it would be only logical to infer this from its name. 177 Whereas other authors of fantasy novels for children portray wizards mostly as venerable wise men worthy of being paid tribute to, Pratchett’s humour does not share this view. Very down to earth, he treats wizards none too gently or respectfully. Far from granting them a mystic aura, he invents Ankh-Morpork’s Unseen University as the not very flattering scholarly centre of the wizards. Yet it is not only the wizards who are made fun of. Irish mythology is ridiculed or a ham sandwich endowed with an immortal soul. 178 Even Discworld animals have the potential to be funny. Nanny Ogg’s tomcat Greebo is always good for a surprise and a laugh, especially when his prey is several times his size. Incidents like this contribute to the novels’ humour since they are so incredible in reality, but they are narrated with such a matter-of-factness in the novel. Even during excursions into the spiritual world of the Discworld gods one searches in vain for venerable representatives. Rather, there exists a multitude of entities for even the smallest thing or circumstance, for example a god for lost buttons. Even Discworld cheese has potential for humour. In The Wee Free Men, the narrator introduces the reader to the secrets of Lancre Blue, which has a life of its own and can be quite aggressive towards other cheeses. Horace is probably its most famous representative. It is only natural that a cheese with its own characteristic personality receives an individual name. In order to encourage his independence further, the free range Horace gets his own cheese flap. 179 As a Lancre Blue, the cheese is eventually admitted to the clan of the blue- skinned Nac Mac Feegle, where he sometimes even wears a kilt. 176 Ibd., p. 245. 177 Ibd., p. 97. 178 Ibd., p. 171. 179 Ibd., p. 100. 146 There is hardly any area of life in Discworld which is not somehow linked with humour. Discwordly wisdom, collected in the Almanack, a compendium of the sum total of experience and useful tips, is at least par with the wealth of information found in the trusty handbook Diseases of the Sheep. In the latter, the entry “turpentine” reveals an essential piece of knowledge as far as the handling of sheep is concerned. A universal cure, turpentine can be applied to everything and anything: “Recommended treatment is daily dosing with turpentine until there is no longer either any trembling, or turpentine, or sheep.” 180 Needless to say that there exists probably not a single Wee Free Men that has not drunk it yet. 180 Pratchett, The Wee Free Men. London: Corgi, 2004, p. 173. |
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