Activity 1.7
Hamlet’s motivation for his transformations is mainly that of his desire to avenge his father, as the ghost asked him to. His anger from other people’s reactions and choices of what to do after King Hamlet’s death frustrate him, and madden him. When this madness it truly insane, or simply just anger is not clear. His seems to become harsher towards people, less forgiving and more bloodthirsty. His appearance seems to change less, however from seeing the ghost, he becomes pale, and his hair stands on end. The well known quote “you look like you’ve just seen a ghost!” fits into this very well.
Hamlet’s transformations are believed to be madness by all of those closest to him. Polonius believes that he has found the reason for his madness—not the fact that his father has died and his mother remarried so soon, but instead it’s that he’s deeply and madly in love with Ophelia. He’s concentrating completely on her, writing her poetry and love letters. Ophelia’s unsure reaction must be part of the cause as well. Ophelia herself seems a bit fearful of Hamlet’s transformations. She’s not comfortable with his maddened nature. She believes that he is mad in some way or another. Horatio may be the one person who does not believe Hamlet to be mad. He sticks by him through the whole changes that Hamlet makes, and seems to respect him quite a bit. In return, Hamlet also always shows Horatio more respect that other people close to him.
Gertrude does not like the transformations, and is worried that her son is truly going mad. She tries to find out what its wrong many ways, and always tries to talk with him about it. Hamlet however, pushes her away, and she is somewhat fearful of him because of it.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Activity 1.5
Activity 1.5
Thesis statement: Gertrude does everything she does because she loves her son, Hamlet, and wants to help him; nothing is done without consideration for him in one way or another.
Marrying Claudius right away would ensure she still has some power, to keep her son safe and perhaps next in line for the throne. Hamlet believes she’s done something awful by marrying Claudius, however she doesn’t see it that way.
“What have I done, that thou darest wag thy tongue
In noise so rude against me?” (III. iv. 14-51)
Gertrude truly sees what she’s done as something good for Hamlet.
Gertrude is heartbroken to see her son acting as madly and angry as he does. She wants only to help him be happy again.
“‘Forgive me this my virtue, For in the fatness of these pursy times Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg, Yea, curb and woo for leave to do him good.’
‘O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.” (III. iv. 147-202)
Hamlet here is still explaining how angry he is, and why, and she sees his point of view, and is very hurt. She didn’t ever mean to hurt him as she accidentally did. Gertrude even asks her son for his opinion on how to talk to Claudius after her meeting with Hamlet.
“‘The death I gave him. So, again, good night. I must be cruel only to be kind. Thus bad begins and worse remains behind. One word more, good lady—’
‘What shall I do?’” (III. iv. 147-202)
She goes along with the plan Claudius created that would go on after the play, to find out what was bothering Hamlet. She could have done this for the sake of her son, not for the sake of Claudius.
She agreed to talk to Hamlet in her room after the play, hoping to learn what was bothering him so. Was it really the fact she had married so soon, or something else? But she cared enough about her son to do this for him.
(Cannot find the example in the text I wanted to use, really sorry.)
Thesis statement: Gertrude does everything she does because she loves her son, Hamlet, and wants to help him; nothing is done without consideration for him in one way or another.
Marrying Claudius right away would ensure she still has some power, to keep her son safe and perhaps next in line for the throne. Hamlet believes she’s done something awful by marrying Claudius, however she doesn’t see it that way.
“What have I done, that thou darest wag thy tongue
In noise so rude against me?” (III. iv. 14-51)
Gertrude truly sees what she’s done as something good for Hamlet.
Gertrude is heartbroken to see her son acting as madly and angry as he does. She wants only to help him be happy again.
“‘Forgive me this my virtue, For in the fatness of these pursy times Virtue itself of vice must pardon beg, Yea, curb and woo for leave to do him good.’
‘O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain.” (III. iv. 147-202)
Hamlet here is still explaining how angry he is, and why, and she sees his point of view, and is very hurt. She didn’t ever mean to hurt him as she accidentally did. Gertrude even asks her son for his opinion on how to talk to Claudius after her meeting with Hamlet.
“‘The death I gave him. So, again, good night. I must be cruel only to be kind. Thus bad begins and worse remains behind. One word more, good lady—’
‘What shall I do?’” (III. iv. 147-202)
She goes along with the plan Claudius created that would go on after the play, to find out what was bothering Hamlet. She could have done this for the sake of her son, not for the sake of Claudius.
She agreed to talk to Hamlet in her room after the play, hoping to learn what was bothering him so. Was it really the fact she had married so soon, or something else? But she cared enough about her son to do this for him.
(Cannot find the example in the text I wanted to use, really sorry.)
Activiy 1.6 (No, they're not in order.)
Activity 1.6
Hamlet is securely past the first level of Maslow’s Hierarchy. We notice that he’s striving for revenge and focused on those psychological needs that he’s trying to fulfill. For much of the play he is trying to discover whether the ghost of his father was telling the truth about his death, or if he was just a hallucination. This would be listed under the highest level on Maslow’s Hierarchy, the ‘acceptance of facts’. Once this need has been met, Hamlet moves onto his next psychological need: avenging his father, by killing his uncle, Claudius. This need, however is temporarily abandoned when Claudius sends him away to England. His needs are lowered to a more basic level, (the second lowest level, to be exact) which is simply to survive and escape from certain death. Arriving back in Denmark, Hamlet resumes his plans for avengement, climbing higher on the Hierarchy.
One interesting thing about Hamlet is that he never seems to need to meet anything on the fourth level of the Hierarchy: esteem. His respect of and for others seems to either always be there for certain people. But for others—even when Hamlet is focused on the highest level—he shows little respect ever. He never acts as if he lacks confidence, and his self-esteem looks to be anywhere but low. It’s interesting, because though someone can jump back and forth on the levels if it’s required for them, Hamlet almost can be considered someone who almost cannot be ranked. There are levels that he doesn’t seem to ever try to achieve, some which he has little difficulty with, and some which are seemingly combined.
Hamlet is securely past the first level of Maslow’s Hierarchy. We notice that he’s striving for revenge and focused on those psychological needs that he’s trying to fulfill. For much of the play he is trying to discover whether the ghost of his father was telling the truth about his death, or if he was just a hallucination. This would be listed under the highest level on Maslow’s Hierarchy, the ‘acceptance of facts’. Once this need has been met, Hamlet moves onto his next psychological need: avenging his father, by killing his uncle, Claudius. This need, however is temporarily abandoned when Claudius sends him away to England. His needs are lowered to a more basic level, (the second lowest level, to be exact) which is simply to survive and escape from certain death. Arriving back in Denmark, Hamlet resumes his plans for avengement, climbing higher on the Hierarchy.
One interesting thing about Hamlet is that he never seems to need to meet anything on the fourth level of the Hierarchy: esteem. His respect of and for others seems to either always be there for certain people. But for others—even when Hamlet is focused on the highest level—he shows little respect ever. He never acts as if he lacks confidence, and his self-esteem looks to be anywhere but low. It’s interesting, because though someone can jump back and forth on the levels if it’s required for them, Hamlet almost can be considered someone who almost cannot be ranked. There are levels that he doesn’t seem to ever try to achieve, some which he has little difficulty with, and some which are seemingly combined.
Activiy 1.3
Activity 1.3
Reality known:
The play takes place in Denmark.
King Hamlet has died.
The queen, Gertrude has remarried to Claudius, the late King’s brother.
Hamlet discovers that Claudius murdered King Hamlet.
Hamlet is considered by some to be insane.
Hamlet murders Polonius.
Ophelia becomes depressed and goes mad.
Hamlet is sent off to England.
Hamlet- Hamlet mourns the death of his father probably more than anyone. He believes it’s wrong for his mother to have married Claudius so soon after her husband’s death. He shows his anger of this towards both his mother and stepfather. Hamlet begins to act more and more crazy, deceiving people into believing he is—he himself denies that he is mad. When he is sent off to England, Hamlet eventually manages to escape and get back to Denmark.
Because of Hamlet’s knowledge that Claudius killed his brother, he becomes angry, and bent on killing Claudius. This becomes him main focus, and he seems impartial to everything else. This affects him in that his hated for his stepfather isn’t exactly hidden forever. He eventually dies from a plot created by Claudius.
Claudius- Claudius is one of the few people who know the truth about the death of his brother, King Hamlet. Claudius was actually the reason for his death; he poisoned the king. Claudius believes Hamlet to be insane. He does not understand all of the ranting he does, and with all of the traumatic events that had happened to Hamlet, Claudius believes them to have pushed his stepson over the edge. He first says he’ll send Hamlet off to England to be out of the way, and to help him get better from all of the troubles going on. He decides afterwards, once he knows that Hamlet is aware of his murderous acts, that he must kill him, to solve the problem.
Claudius feels guilty for the acts he’s committed, and asks forgiveness for his sins. Hamlet overhears this, and decides to wait to kill him, so that he will not have been forgiven of future sins. Claudius sends Hamlet off to England to be rid of him, as he causes a bit of trouble around the castle, and once the play has been acted, and he realized that Hamlet knew about King Hamlet’s murder, Claudius adds that Hamlet should be killed, and that knowledge die with him. By sending him away, Hamlet was able to come to some realizations, and when he came back to Denmark, he was determined even more to kill the King. He does succeed, probably partially due to the fact that Claudius tried to be rid him.
Gertrude- Gertrude is unaware that Claudius has killed her husband for the throne. She believes that his death was accidental. She chooses to marry her husband’s brother, for whatever her reasons may be, in her eyes, this could be the best thing for her to do. When Claudius tells her that he’s going to send Hamlet to England, in his best interest, Gertrude believes that it truly could help her son. She sees him as delusional, when he sees the ghost in her room, and she cannot. By sending him away, Gertrude feels that it’ll be the best thing to do. By the end of the play, Gertrude’s ignorance disperses and she finally sees the truth, which only happens as she is dying from the poison.
Ophelia- Ophelia loves Hamlet, but when his focus turns onto killing Claudius, and she sees him becoming full of what appears to be madness and rage, she fears him and what she believes he’s becoming. She also hears from people that Hamlet is mad, and that she must find out what the reason for it is. So she beings to see that he is crazy.
Between the torment of losing her lover, and the death of her father, Ophelia becomes very depressed from it all; falling into a state of madness as well, finally ending in death ( not concluded whether it was by accident, or suicide.)
Polonius- Polonius was probably blinded a lot for the love of his children, Laerites and Ophelia. When he sees that Hamlet is acting mad and may be a danger to his daughter, Polonius is willing to go along with Claudius’s plans to discover Hamlet’s cause of personality change. Along with the fact he feels he must follow the king’s orders, Polonius had many a reason to spy on Hamlet, which in the end caused his death.
Laerties- With the death of his father, Laerites thinks that Claudius is to blame, and focuses his anger and sorrow briefly on him. Claudius assures him this is not the case, and blames Hamlet for everything. When Hamlet returns to Denmark, Laerties has accepted the plan to kill him. While Laerites does indeed manage to hit Hamlet with a strike that will kill him, Hamlet also is able to do the same to Laerties.
Journal Reflection.
The family unit in society is so very important. In Hamlet, it’s visible that the royal family, who very little acted like a ‘family unit’ all turned against each other in one way or another. In the end, it ultimately resulted in the whole family dying from each other’s murderous plans. Polonius’s family, which was a more caring and close family, did as well die, however they did because they were trying to avenge, or to protect their family members. Without family units in society, people would not be able to learn the important lessons; society might be more separated.
Reality known:
The play takes place in Denmark.
King Hamlet has died.
The queen, Gertrude has remarried to Claudius, the late King’s brother.
Hamlet discovers that Claudius murdered King Hamlet.
Hamlet is considered by some to be insane.
Hamlet murders Polonius.
Ophelia becomes depressed and goes mad.
Hamlet is sent off to England.
Hamlet- Hamlet mourns the death of his father probably more than anyone. He believes it’s wrong for his mother to have married Claudius so soon after her husband’s death. He shows his anger of this towards both his mother and stepfather. Hamlet begins to act more and more crazy, deceiving people into believing he is—he himself denies that he is mad. When he is sent off to England, Hamlet eventually manages to escape and get back to Denmark.
Because of Hamlet’s knowledge that Claudius killed his brother, he becomes angry, and bent on killing Claudius. This becomes him main focus, and he seems impartial to everything else. This affects him in that his hated for his stepfather isn’t exactly hidden forever. He eventually dies from a plot created by Claudius.
Claudius- Claudius is one of the few people who know the truth about the death of his brother, King Hamlet. Claudius was actually the reason for his death; he poisoned the king. Claudius believes Hamlet to be insane. He does not understand all of the ranting he does, and with all of the traumatic events that had happened to Hamlet, Claudius believes them to have pushed his stepson over the edge. He first says he’ll send Hamlet off to England to be out of the way, and to help him get better from all of the troubles going on. He decides afterwards, once he knows that Hamlet is aware of his murderous acts, that he must kill him, to solve the problem.
Claudius feels guilty for the acts he’s committed, and asks forgiveness for his sins. Hamlet overhears this, and decides to wait to kill him, so that he will not have been forgiven of future sins. Claudius sends Hamlet off to England to be rid of him, as he causes a bit of trouble around the castle, and once the play has been acted, and he realized that Hamlet knew about King Hamlet’s murder, Claudius adds that Hamlet should be killed, and that knowledge die with him. By sending him away, Hamlet was able to come to some realizations, and when he came back to Denmark, he was determined even more to kill the King. He does succeed, probably partially due to the fact that Claudius tried to be rid him.
Gertrude- Gertrude is unaware that Claudius has killed her husband for the throne. She believes that his death was accidental. She chooses to marry her husband’s brother, for whatever her reasons may be, in her eyes, this could be the best thing for her to do. When Claudius tells her that he’s going to send Hamlet to England, in his best interest, Gertrude believes that it truly could help her son. She sees him as delusional, when he sees the ghost in her room, and she cannot. By sending him away, Gertrude feels that it’ll be the best thing to do. By the end of the play, Gertrude’s ignorance disperses and she finally sees the truth, which only happens as she is dying from the poison.
Ophelia- Ophelia loves Hamlet, but when his focus turns onto killing Claudius, and she sees him becoming full of what appears to be madness and rage, she fears him and what she believes he’s becoming. She also hears from people that Hamlet is mad, and that she must find out what the reason for it is. So she beings to see that he is crazy.
Between the torment of losing her lover, and the death of her father, Ophelia becomes very depressed from it all; falling into a state of madness as well, finally ending in death ( not concluded whether it was by accident, or suicide.)
Polonius- Polonius was probably blinded a lot for the love of his children, Laerites and Ophelia. When he sees that Hamlet is acting mad and may be a danger to his daughter, Polonius is willing to go along with Claudius’s plans to discover Hamlet’s cause of personality change. Along with the fact he feels he must follow the king’s orders, Polonius had many a reason to spy on Hamlet, which in the end caused his death.
Laerties- With the death of his father, Laerites thinks that Claudius is to blame, and focuses his anger and sorrow briefly on him. Claudius assures him this is not the case, and blames Hamlet for everything. When Hamlet returns to Denmark, Laerties has accepted the plan to kill him. While Laerites does indeed manage to hit Hamlet with a strike that will kill him, Hamlet also is able to do the same to Laerties.
Journal Reflection.
The family unit in society is so very important. In Hamlet, it’s visible that the royal family, who very little acted like a ‘family unit’ all turned against each other in one way or another. In the end, it ultimately resulted in the whole family dying from each other’s murderous plans. Polonius’s family, which was a more caring and close family, did as well die, however they did because they were trying to avenge, or to protect their family members. Without family units in society, people would not be able to learn the important lessons; society might be more separated.
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Deliverable: Activity 1.2
Hamlet activity 1.2
Deliverable: Identify the major family units in the play and develop a family tree to illustrate the relationships among the family members. Identify what crises affect each family. Describe how each family copes. Compare and contrast how the roles of a stereotypical nuclear family are fulfilled in the play.
Royal family:
King Hamlet was married to the Queen, Gertrude.
Their son was Hamlet.
Claudius is the brother of King Hamlet—the uncle of young Hamlet. He marries Gertrude after the murder of King Hamlet; becoming Hamlet’s step-father.
Crises:
The death of King Hamlet and Gertrude marrying his brother so quickly afterwards. One could also argue that Hamlet’s acting of/or truly going mad also counts as a crisis.
Coping:
I don’t really see a lot that can be called coping in this family.
Hamlet lashes out at the people closest to him, feeling betrayed. He also seeks revenge on his uncle for the death of his father.
Gertrude marries Claudius, perhaps to keep herself secure as Queen.
Claudius, as being the one who murdered his brother, prays for forgiveness for murdering his brother, and attempts to remove Hamlet from Denmark.
Comparing to a stereotypical nuclear family:
Similarities--> Son is unhappy and confused as to how his mother could remarry so soon after the death of her husband.
-->Mother wants to help her son and support him, as she loves him dearly.
-->There’s a lot of stress and sadness in the family, as there would be, when a death occurs.
Differences--> One brother usually doesn’t kill another.
-->A son usually doesn’t take out revenge on their uncle, and then again, it’s not too common for the uncle to become the son’s stepfather.
--> Father’s ghost usually doesn’t come to his son and tell him to avenge him.
Family of Chamberlain:
Polonius is the father of Laerties and Ophelia. Their mother is not mentioned.
Crises:
Ophelia’s decent into madness and her state of depression. The death of Polonius later on in the play is also a crisis.
Coping:
Ophelia can’t seem to deal with the death of her father, and goes into a state of madness. Laerties is angry when he finds out about both his father and then his sister’s death, and wants to kill Hamlet for what he’s done.
Comparing to a stereotypical nuclear family:
Similarities--> Laerties is angry towards the man who has destroyed his family.
Differences--> Normally attempted murder is not a way that someone deals with problems. People usually try and save a person from going mad, rather than leaving her be.
Deliverable: Identify the major family units in the play and develop a family tree to illustrate the relationships among the family members. Identify what crises affect each family. Describe how each family copes. Compare and contrast how the roles of a stereotypical nuclear family are fulfilled in the play.
Royal family:
King Hamlet was married to the Queen, Gertrude.
Their son was Hamlet.
Claudius is the brother of King Hamlet—the uncle of young Hamlet. He marries Gertrude after the murder of King Hamlet; becoming Hamlet’s step-father.
Crises:
The death of King Hamlet and Gertrude marrying his brother so quickly afterwards. One could also argue that Hamlet’s acting of/or truly going mad also counts as a crisis.
Coping:
I don’t really see a lot that can be called coping in this family.
Hamlet lashes out at the people closest to him, feeling betrayed. He also seeks revenge on his uncle for the death of his father.
Gertrude marries Claudius, perhaps to keep herself secure as Queen.
Claudius, as being the one who murdered his brother, prays for forgiveness for murdering his brother, and attempts to remove Hamlet from Denmark.
Comparing to a stereotypical nuclear family:
Similarities--> Son is unhappy and confused as to how his mother could remarry so soon after the death of her husband.
-->Mother wants to help her son and support him, as she loves him dearly.
-->There’s a lot of stress and sadness in the family, as there would be, when a death occurs.
Differences--> One brother usually doesn’t kill another.
-->A son usually doesn’t take out revenge on their uncle, and then again, it’s not too common for the uncle to become the son’s stepfather.
--> Father’s ghost usually doesn’t come to his son and tell him to avenge him.
Family of Chamberlain:
Polonius is the father of Laerties and Ophelia. Their mother is not mentioned.
Crises:
Ophelia’s decent into madness and her state of depression. The death of Polonius later on in the play is also a crisis.
Coping:
Ophelia can’t seem to deal with the death of her father, and goes into a state of madness. Laerties is angry when he finds out about both his father and then his sister’s death, and wants to kill Hamlet for what he’s done.
Comparing to a stereotypical nuclear family:
Similarities--> Laerties is angry towards the man who has destroyed his family.
Differences--> Normally attempted murder is not a way that someone deals with problems. People usually try and save a person from going mad, rather than leaving her be.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Note:
My ISU isn't in proper format, but I'm handing it in on paper, so I hope that doesn't matter. I just posted it now to show that I completed it before the deadline. Hope there's no problems with that.
Second ISU
Humour is an important part of life. It cheer one up almost anytime, even reminders of sometime funny can make someone grin. There are so many different types of humour that can be found almost anywhere. In the Colour of Magic by Terry Pratchett, there are so many different types of humour that can be found. Satire is a large focus of his, but as well, to keep the jokes rolling in smaller scenes and not just the novel in general, he uses many literary devices to create humour. Pratchett manages to write using a distinct mix of different types of humour which aids in defining his style of writing—making it distinctly his own.
Many times in The Colour of Magic, Pratchett makes use of irony as a comedic device. The two most noticeable here are verbal irony, and dramatic irony. Verbal irony as sarcasm is used in this novel, as well as verbal irony simply where a character says something, yet means another. One of the characters, Twoflower, desperately wants to live the ‘adventurous’ life, living and breathing authentic perilous journeys and such. He has, before meeting Rincewind, never experienced anything remotely exciting before. Twoflower mentions to Rincewind that “[He] doesn’t take risks. About the most exciting thing that happened to [him] was knocking over a pot of ink. [He] assess[es] risks.”’ (Pratchett, 34) Knocking over a pot of ink is not exciting and though the reader could argue whether this is irony or not; whether Twoflower knows this and simply means that he’s not an exciting person, or rather does he just truly believe that knocking over a pot of ink could be considered funny. In some cases, this could be considered sarcasm, if Twoflower felt contempt for the absence of excitement in his life. However, Twoflower is rather a distracted character, and quite good natured, so for him, he would say it without any contempt, creating an amusing result.
When Twoflower and Rincewind are into their adventure, the tourist comes up with what he thinks are brilliant suggestions. They usually are something that people would disagree with, but Twoflower cannot figure this out.
‘“I have a great idea!” He burbled.
“Yah,” said Rincewind, wearily. “Why don’t we get Hrun to accompany us to Quirm?”’ (Pratchett, 100) Rincewind is completely against inviting Hrun the Barbarian to accompany them, as he is convinced the warrior would rob them of their provisions and money and then leave them to die. He doesn’t really mean what he says, and yet he doesn’t say it in a mocking tone. He says “[he] thought [Twoflower]’d think of it,” (Pratchett, 100). This is humourous not only in irony, but also that the reader can identify that Rincewind has become tired of his friend’s ideas.
Dramatic irony is when the reader knows something that a character does not. This is used in interesting ways throughout the novel; the dramatic irony does not include a large amount of the plotline, but instead focuses in smaller situations that take place.
‘Later, he remembered only two things about the fight. He recalled the uncanny way in which the wizard's sword curved up and caught his own blade with a shock that jerked it out of his grip. The other thing—and it was this, he averred, that led to his downfall—was that the wizard was covering his eyes with one hand.’ (Pratchett, 113-114)
The reader and Rincewind are aware of the true nature of the fight. They both know why Rincewind was able to win the fight without having any training—the magical sword did all the work. Rincewind’s opponent, however, has no idea of this; and as Pratchett writes this scene in third person, from the opponent’s point of view, the reader can laugh at the ignorance of the character. Rincewind also has been given his moments of ignorance, which in a case or two, can almost count as well for slapstick humour.
‘First, an enraged she-bear had barged through the undergrowth and taken the throat out of his horse with one swipe of her paw. Then, as Rincewind had fled the carnage, he had run into a glade in which a number of irate wolves were milling about. His instructors at Unseen University, who had despaired of Rincewind's inability to master levitation, would have been amazed at the speed with which he reached and climbed the nearest tree, without apparently touching it.’ (Pratchett, 71-72)
Before Rincewind ran into all of this trouble, Twoflower had came through and stirred up all of these animals. This is found funny to the reader as they are aware of the cause of these problems while Rincewind believes it to be just his bad luck, but the irony is what is unbeknownst to him.
Sarcasm is often considered to be the same thing as verbal irony; however there are important differences. Ridicule of the topic being discussed is required for something to be considered sarcastic. Verbal irony simply put is when someone says one thing, yet means another. There does not have to be any scorn in one’s voice. Pratchett uses both verbal irony and sarcasm throughout this novel, and both are different. Rincewind, one of the main characters in The Colour of Magic, is quite good at being sarcastic. As he has been dragged into an adventure he’d rather have stayed out of, almost anything ticks him off and his response is more often than not, one of mockery.
‘It held biscuits that turned out to be as hard as diamondwood.
"Captain Eightpanther's Travellers' Digestives, them," said the imp from the doorway to his box. "Saved many a life at sea, they have."
"Oh, sure. Do you use them as a raft, or just throw them to the sharks and sort of watch them sink?"’ (Pratchett, 45)
Having just been chased by thieves and almost attacked by animate luggage, Rincewind is thoroughly disappointed to find out that there is no good food around. Unfortunate events such as this happen to him all the time in The Colour of Magic; disappointed by them, Rincewind responds with sarcasm in a way that sparks laughter in the reader.
Rincewind also amuses readers by looking pessimistically at both Twoflower’s life and his own. Every situation will always be made the worst of, in his view. Twoflower at one point suggests that for an escape, they might leap out the window of their room.
‘“A great way of escape,” muttered Rincewind, from his perch halfway up the wall. “You said it looks out over the Edge. Just step out, eh, and plunge through space and maybe freeze solid or hit some other world at incredible speeds or plunge wildly into the burning heat of a sun?” (Pratchett, 185)
While Twoflower had suggested the window simply to leave out no options, Rincewind looks down at this, and has found almost every available end result to that suggestion. It’s amusing to read this, seeing as the reader will recognize that the wizard is contradicting himself when he says it’s a ‘great idea’ and then goes on to list anything and everything negative that could happen; hinting that he obviously doesn’t really like the idea.
Pratchett strongly bases his plot around parodies and satirical jokes, playing off ancient mythology and mocking different beliefs and theories. Funny about this also, is that he chooses not to prey on one certain culture or theory, but instead uses many different ones and mixes them together, showcasing a satirical group of the eclectic beliefs on Earth.
‘Great A’Tuin the turtle comes, swimming slowly through the interstellar gulf […] He thinks only of the weight. Most of the weight is of course accounted for by Berilia, Tubul, Great T’Phon and Jerakeen, the four giant elephants upon whose broad and star-tanned shoulders the Disc of the World rests.’ (Pratchett, 1)
Pratchett himself mentions that he did indeed borrow off ancient myths to create this world of which the Discworld rests; and of course, the Discworld happens to be flat—once a theory of the Earth. The reader may catch onto these analogies, finding humour in how Pratchett chooses to make fun of them.
‘An alternative [theory], favored by those of a religious persuasion, was that A’Tuin was crawling from the Birthplace to the Time of Mating, as were all the stars in the sky which were, obviously, also carried by giant turtles. When they arrived they would briefly and passionately mate, for the first and only time, and from that fiery union new turtles would be born to carry a new pattern of worlds. This was known as the Big Bang hypothesis.’ (Pratchett, 2)
The use of the word “obviously” in the quote above is important to the humour of it. Pratchett alludes to how people sometimes believe in a theory and act as if they are right, whether they can prove it or not. Here is the assumption that this theory is the only correct theory so how can one not agree with it. What else adds to the humour is Pratchett’s interpretation of the “Big Bang theory” for the Discworld; well known is the original hypothesis among societies and here it is turned into a satirical version.
Pratchett makes many small but noticeable jabs at society’s beliefs and along with concepts that are usually taken for granted or never really questioned. People have always created theories as answers for natural phenomena that at the time cannot otherwise be explained. Pratchett uses this, along with the “everyone says” tone of writing, to give a comedic outlook on theories and premises. ‘The imp gave him a kind but pitying look.
“Lightning is the spears hurled by the thunder giants when they fight,” it said gently. “Established meteorological fact. You can’t harness it.”’ (Pratchett, 44) The sentence here that strikes the most humour is “established meteorological fact.” The imp is explaining what lightning is, and how it’s been a proven fact, yet when Rincewind mentioned that he wished to harness it, the reader immediately thinks about harnessing the energy; when the surprise and absurdity of the explanation from the imp is revealed, it’s amusing to recognize how unreal it would be.
‘“Inn-sewer-ants,” repeated Rincewind. “Tha’s a funny word. Wossit mean?”
[…]”I Work out the odds against the cargo being lost, based on weather reports and piracy records for the last twenty year, then a add a bit, then you pay me some money based on those odds—”
“—and the bit—” Rincewind said, […]
“—and then, if the cargo is lost, I reimburse you.” […] “I get it. It’s like a bet, right?”
“A wager? In a way, I suppose.” (Pratchett, 34)
The reader will most likely share the surprise that Twoflower does when Rincewind compares insurance to a bet. When examined, one notices the similarities that exist between the two. Pratchett plays on this, pointing out somewhat of a flaw in the idea of insurance when Rincewind asks if Twoflower “bet Broadman it wouldn’t catch on fire?” (Pratchett, 59) The Drum was on fire when this conversation went on, and the reader knows that Broadman purposely set it on fire, so that he would get the money for it. The reader realizes the foolishness of Twoflower’s actions, and how insurance policies have interesting flaws to them.
There is a grand amount of humour throughout The Colour of Magic; this essay only covers a few examples of what can be found inside. Originality resides because of the mix of comedy, and how it’s used. There are so many various types of it and they’re all so funny, especially when mixed together; as they have been in Pratchett’s novel. Through the irony, the satire and the humourous other bits that are thrown in, there’s enough to say that Pratchett has defined a style of writing inside comedic literature, that he can call his own—and is distinctly identifiable.
Many times in The Colour of Magic, Pratchett makes use of irony as a comedic device. The two most noticeable here are verbal irony, and dramatic irony. Verbal irony as sarcasm is used in this novel, as well as verbal irony simply where a character says something, yet means another. One of the characters, Twoflower, desperately wants to live the ‘adventurous’ life, living and breathing authentic perilous journeys and such. He has, before meeting Rincewind, never experienced anything remotely exciting before. Twoflower mentions to Rincewind that “[He] doesn’t take risks. About the most exciting thing that happened to [him] was knocking over a pot of ink. [He] assess[es] risks.”’ (Pratchett, 34) Knocking over a pot of ink is not exciting and though the reader could argue whether this is irony or not; whether Twoflower knows this and simply means that he’s not an exciting person, or rather does he just truly believe that knocking over a pot of ink could be considered funny. In some cases, this could be considered sarcasm, if Twoflower felt contempt for the absence of excitement in his life. However, Twoflower is rather a distracted character, and quite good natured, so for him, he would say it without any contempt, creating an amusing result.
When Twoflower and Rincewind are into their adventure, the tourist comes up with what he thinks are brilliant suggestions. They usually are something that people would disagree with, but Twoflower cannot figure this out.
‘“I have a great idea!” He burbled.
“Yah,” said Rincewind, wearily. “Why don’t we get Hrun to accompany us to Quirm?”’ (Pratchett, 100) Rincewind is completely against inviting Hrun the Barbarian to accompany them, as he is convinced the warrior would rob them of their provisions and money and then leave them to die. He doesn’t really mean what he says, and yet he doesn’t say it in a mocking tone. He says “[he] thought [Twoflower]’d think of it,” (Pratchett, 100). This is humourous not only in irony, but also that the reader can identify that Rincewind has become tired of his friend’s ideas.
Dramatic irony is when the reader knows something that a character does not. This is used in interesting ways throughout the novel; the dramatic irony does not include a large amount of the plotline, but instead focuses in smaller situations that take place.
‘Later, he remembered only two things about the fight. He recalled the uncanny way in which the wizard's sword curved up and caught his own blade with a shock that jerked it out of his grip. The other thing—and it was this, he averred, that led to his downfall—was that the wizard was covering his eyes with one hand.’ (Pratchett, 113-114)
The reader and Rincewind are aware of the true nature of the fight. They both know why Rincewind was able to win the fight without having any training—the magical sword did all the work. Rincewind’s opponent, however, has no idea of this; and as Pratchett writes this scene in third person, from the opponent’s point of view, the reader can laugh at the ignorance of the character. Rincewind also has been given his moments of ignorance, which in a case or two, can almost count as well for slapstick humour.
‘First, an enraged she-bear had barged through the undergrowth and taken the throat out of his horse with one swipe of her paw. Then, as Rincewind had fled the carnage, he had run into a glade in which a number of irate wolves were milling about. His instructors at Unseen University, who had despaired of Rincewind's inability to master levitation, would have been amazed at the speed with which he reached and climbed the nearest tree, without apparently touching it.’ (Pratchett, 71-72)
Before Rincewind ran into all of this trouble, Twoflower had came through and stirred up all of these animals. This is found funny to the reader as they are aware of the cause of these problems while Rincewind believes it to be just his bad luck, but the irony is what is unbeknownst to him.
Sarcasm is often considered to be the same thing as verbal irony; however there are important differences. Ridicule of the topic being discussed is required for something to be considered sarcastic. Verbal irony simply put is when someone says one thing, yet means another. There does not have to be any scorn in one’s voice. Pratchett uses both verbal irony and sarcasm throughout this novel, and both are different. Rincewind, one of the main characters in The Colour of Magic, is quite good at being sarcastic. As he has been dragged into an adventure he’d rather have stayed out of, almost anything ticks him off and his response is more often than not, one of mockery.
‘It held biscuits that turned out to be as hard as diamondwood.
"Captain Eightpanther's Travellers' Digestives, them," said the imp from the doorway to his box. "Saved many a life at sea, they have."
"Oh, sure. Do you use them as a raft, or just throw them to the sharks and sort of watch them sink?"’ (Pratchett, 45)
Having just been chased by thieves and almost attacked by animate luggage, Rincewind is thoroughly disappointed to find out that there is no good food around. Unfortunate events such as this happen to him all the time in The Colour of Magic; disappointed by them, Rincewind responds with sarcasm in a way that sparks laughter in the reader.
Rincewind also amuses readers by looking pessimistically at both Twoflower’s life and his own. Every situation will always be made the worst of, in his view. Twoflower at one point suggests that for an escape, they might leap out the window of their room.
‘“A great way of escape,” muttered Rincewind, from his perch halfway up the wall. “You said it looks out over the Edge. Just step out, eh, and plunge through space and maybe freeze solid or hit some other world at incredible speeds or plunge wildly into the burning heat of a sun?” (Pratchett, 185)
While Twoflower had suggested the window simply to leave out no options, Rincewind looks down at this, and has found almost every available end result to that suggestion. It’s amusing to read this, seeing as the reader will recognize that the wizard is contradicting himself when he says it’s a ‘great idea’ and then goes on to list anything and everything negative that could happen; hinting that he obviously doesn’t really like the idea.
Pratchett strongly bases his plot around parodies and satirical jokes, playing off ancient mythology and mocking different beliefs and theories. Funny about this also, is that he chooses not to prey on one certain culture or theory, but instead uses many different ones and mixes them together, showcasing a satirical group of the eclectic beliefs on Earth.
‘Great A’Tuin the turtle comes, swimming slowly through the interstellar gulf […] He thinks only of the weight. Most of the weight is of course accounted for by Berilia, Tubul, Great T’Phon and Jerakeen, the four giant elephants upon whose broad and star-tanned shoulders the Disc of the World rests.’ (Pratchett, 1)
Pratchett himself mentions that he did indeed borrow off ancient myths to create this world of which the Discworld rests; and of course, the Discworld happens to be flat—once a theory of the Earth. The reader may catch onto these analogies, finding humour in how Pratchett chooses to make fun of them.
‘An alternative [theory], favored by those of a religious persuasion, was that A’Tuin was crawling from the Birthplace to the Time of Mating, as were all the stars in the sky which were, obviously, also carried by giant turtles. When they arrived they would briefly and passionately mate, for the first and only time, and from that fiery union new turtles would be born to carry a new pattern of worlds. This was known as the Big Bang hypothesis.’ (Pratchett, 2)
The use of the word “obviously” in the quote above is important to the humour of it. Pratchett alludes to how people sometimes believe in a theory and act as if they are right, whether they can prove it or not. Here is the assumption that this theory is the only correct theory so how can one not agree with it. What else adds to the humour is Pratchett’s interpretation of the “Big Bang theory” for the Discworld; well known is the original hypothesis among societies and here it is turned into a satirical version.
Pratchett makes many small but noticeable jabs at society’s beliefs and along with concepts that are usually taken for granted or never really questioned. People have always created theories as answers for natural phenomena that at the time cannot otherwise be explained. Pratchett uses this, along with the “everyone says” tone of writing, to give a comedic outlook on theories and premises. ‘The imp gave him a kind but pitying look.
“Lightning is the spears hurled by the thunder giants when they fight,” it said gently. “Established meteorological fact. You can’t harness it.”’ (Pratchett, 44) The sentence here that strikes the most humour is “established meteorological fact.” The imp is explaining what lightning is, and how it’s been a proven fact, yet when Rincewind mentioned that he wished to harness it, the reader immediately thinks about harnessing the energy; when the surprise and absurdity of the explanation from the imp is revealed, it’s amusing to recognize how unreal it would be.
‘“Inn-sewer-ants,” repeated Rincewind. “Tha’s a funny word. Wossit mean?”
[…]”I Work out the odds against the cargo being lost, based on weather reports and piracy records for the last twenty year, then a add a bit, then you pay me some money based on those odds—”
“—and the bit—” Rincewind said, […]
“—and then, if the cargo is lost, I reimburse you.” […] “I get it. It’s like a bet, right?”
“A wager? In a way, I suppose.” (Pratchett, 34)
The reader will most likely share the surprise that Twoflower does when Rincewind compares insurance to a bet. When examined, one notices the similarities that exist between the two. Pratchett plays on this, pointing out somewhat of a flaw in the idea of insurance when Rincewind asks if Twoflower “bet Broadman it wouldn’t catch on fire?” (Pratchett, 59) The Drum was on fire when this conversation went on, and the reader knows that Broadman purposely set it on fire, so that he would get the money for it. The reader realizes the foolishness of Twoflower’s actions, and how insurance policies have interesting flaws to them.
There is a grand amount of humour throughout The Colour of Magic; this essay only covers a few examples of what can be found inside. Originality resides because of the mix of comedy, and how it’s used. There are so many various types of it and they’re all so funny, especially when mixed together; as they have been in Pratchett’s novel. Through the irony, the satire and the humourous other bits that are thrown in, there’s enough to say that Pratchett has defined a style of writing inside comedic literature, that he can call his own—and is distinctly identifiable.
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