Are Pratchett's Discworld novels a comment on society?

[Tenthegg]

Terry Pratchett has often been said to be 'guilty of literature', which books would be most appropriate as social commentaries, can anyone think of examples of books or passages in books which mirror our own world or have something to say about reality?

[Jan Van Quirm]

Too many to sort out properly is the quick answer - back soonish when I have

[LilMaibe]

Small Gods for example when you want it obvious and yet entertaining.
UA when you want it heavy-handed and blunt-trauma.inducing

[DaveC]

Welcome to the site Tentheegg!

Is this an essay question?

The easy answer is yes even in the less obvious ones, you get in-sewer-ants in Colour of Magic.

[Tonyblack]

Welcome to the site, Tenthegg!

Terry's books are famous for their social commentary. It's one of the reasons he's been compared to such writers as Dickens, Swift and Twain.

Apart from the first two books - which are largely to do with parody of the Fantasy genre, just about all of the other books are making some comment or another.

One of the reasons his books are so popular is that he writes about the human condition, even if the humans he's writing about are trolls, dwarfs, vampires or goblins.

Have you read any of the books? I'd say, by your username, you are at least familiar with the streets of Ankh-Morpork.

[stripy_tie]

Almost all of them have some form of a commentary on something, this is just a very vague list and there's a lot more to each book.

Small Gods- religion and belief
Hogfather- belief and christmas and human concepts
Sam Vimes books- the police and the nature of justice
The witches- tend to focus on stories and fairytales and how humans relate to them and give them power and meaning

then there's the ones that focus on one subject and pick it apart into tiny peices and then put it back to together again in strange and awesome ways like

Maskerade- opera
Soul Music - music
wintersmith- winter and autumn and the change of seasons in general
Moving pictures - cinema and it's effect on people and the nature of fame to a lesser extent

This is a pretty poor list but you get the idea.

[Tenthegg]

Welcome to the site Tentheegg!

Is this an essay question?

The easy answer is yes even in the less obvious ones, you get in-sewer-ants in Colour of Magic.

I am looking at doing a dissertation studying citizenship in a selection of Pratchett's Discworld novels, looking at how his writing mirrors our own world and might shine a light on what it is to be a citizen, but at the moment I'm just not sure which novels to choose, I need around 3 or 4.

I thought I'd look at 'Equal rites' because it has the central theme of equality and a form of activism in a girl wanting to be a wizard and thought one of the watch books would be a good start but wasn't too sure where to go from there.

[pip]

Welcome to the site Tentheegg!

Is this an essay question?

The easy answer is yes even in the less obvious ones, you get in-sewer-ants in Colour of Magic.

I am looking at doing a dissertation studying citizenship in a selection of Pratchett's Discworld novels, looking at how his writing mirrors our own world and might shine a light on what it is to be a citizen, but at the moment I'm just not sure which novels to choose, I need around 3 or 4.

I thought I'd look at 'Equal rites' because it has the central theme of equality and a form of activism in a girl wanting to be a wizard and thought one of the watch books would be a good start but wasn't too sure where to go from there.

sticking with the female thing why not look at Monstrous Regiment.
The whole role of the woman is questioned in the book as well as a major questioning of religion and nobility. Definitely falls into your spectrum.

[Tenthegg]

Almost all of them have some form of a commentary on something, this is just a very vague list and there's a lot more to each book.

Small Gods- religion and belief
Hogfather- belief and christmas and human concepts
Sam Vimes books- the police and the nature of justice
The witches- tend to focus on stories and fairytales and how humans relate to them and give them power and meaning

then there's the ones that focus on one subject and pick it apart into tiny peices and then put it back to together again in strange and awesome ways like

Maskerade- opera
Soul Music - music
wintersmith- winter and autumn and the change of seasons in general
Moving pictures - cinema and it's effect on people and the nature of fame to a lesser extent

This is a pretty poor list but you get the idea.

Thanks, this has given me a good overview and somewhere to start from.

[Bouncy Castle]

Dont' forget Going Postal and Making Money.

[pip]

Too late bouncy. we sorted it.

[raisindot]

PARTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD

I am looking at doing a dissertation studying citizenship in a selection of Pratchett's Discworld novels, looking at how his writing mirrors our own world and might shine a light on what it is to be a citizen, but at the moment I'm just not sure which novels to choose, I need around 3 or 4.

If I were choosing 3 or 4 novels, I'd choose:

The Truth. Because it examines the role of free speech, liberty and personal responsibility in a society that hasn't fully embraced these concepts, and also delves into issues of racial superiority and multi-culturalism.

Small Gods. Because it gets to the very heart of the battle between faith and natural philosophy, and examines how these systems of thinking affect the creation of cultures, laws, and power structures.

Monstrous Regiment: Not because it's a great book, but because it examines how xenophobia, repression, and the cult of personality can lead nations to war and other acts of national suicide.

Night Watch: Consider it because it examines the dynamics of popular uprisings of ordinary citizens against repressive societies and how different power groups (policemen, aristocrats, private militia) choose sides in the struggle.

[Tenthegg]

PARTIAL SPOILERS AHEAD

I am looking at doing a dissertation studying citizenship in a selection of Pratchett's Discworld novels, looking at how his writing mirrors our own world and might shine a light on what it is to be a citizen, but at the moment I'm just not sure which novels to choose, I need around 3 or 4.

If I were choosing 3 or 4 novels, I'd choose:

The Truth. Because it examines the role of free speech, liberty and personal responsibility in a society that hasn't fully embraced these concepts, and also delves into issues of racial superiority and multi-culturalism.

Small Gods. Because it gets to the very heart of the battle between faith and natural philosophy, and examines how these systems of thinking affect the creation of cultures, laws, and power structures.

Monstrous Regiment: Not because it's a great book, but because it examines how xenophobia, repression, and the cult of personality can lead nations to war and other acts of national suicide.

Night Watch: Consider it because it examines the dynamics of popular uprisings of ordinary citizens against repressive societies and how different power groups (policemen, aristocrats, private militia) choose sides in the struggle.

Thanks, this is really useful. It seems like I could almost pick any book and find something interesting to write about in my dissertation.

[Tonyblack]

Thanks, this is really useful. It seems like I could almost pick any book and find something interesting to write about in my dissertation.

Pretty much so.

[Penfold]

I'm a bit surprised that no one's mentioned "Jingo" with its attitudes towards war, racism, and (mis)conceptions of foreign cultures.

Oh, and welcome as well Tenthegg!