Masarykova univerzita Filozofická fakulta

Katedra anglistiky a amerikanistiky

Bakalářská diplomová práce

2019 Marek Holub

Masaryk University Faculty of Arts

Department of English and American Studies

English Language and Literature

Marek Holub

Use of Cultural Stereotypes in ´s Bachelor’s Diploma Thesis

Supervisor: Stephen Paul Hardy, Ph.D.

2019

I declare that I have worked on this thesis independently, using only the primary and secondary sources listed in the bibliography.

…………………………………………….. Marek Holub

I would like to thank my supervisor, Stephen Paul Hardy, for his remarks and patience with reading my thesis. I would also like to thank my girlfriend and family for support.

Table of Contents

Introduction ...... - 1 -

Chapter 1: Stereotypes ...... - 3 -

Definitions ...... - 3 -

Prejudice ...... - 5 -

Perception of groups ...... - 7 -

Stereotypes as shortcuts ...... - 9 -

Narratives and fiction ...... - 11 -

Parody ...... - 14 -

Chapter 2: Oriental stereotypes and culture in Sourcery and ...... - 17 -

Sourcery, a parody of Arabian folk tales ...... - 18 -

Jingo, a satire of stereotyping and prejudice ...... - 21 -

Chapter 3: Australian culture and stereotypes in The Last Continent ...... - 29 -

Conclusion ...... - 38 -

Works Cited ...... - 40 -

Resumé ...... - 42 -

Resumé ...... - 43 -

Introduction

Discworld is a fantastical realm created by Terry Pratchett in a series of genre . What makes Discworld different from other fantasy realms is the fact that it is a parody of these realms, drawing on the previous fantasy texts with intention of parody and satire. Furthermore, it also draws on the real world matters and patterns and its real content to create parody and satire. To achieve that, Pratchett creates images resembling real world narratives, myths, tales, nations and cultures. Discworld is devised as a mirror of the real life

Earth.

For parody or satire to work properly, the reader must know and recognize the original text, culture or notion the author is referencing. Discworld, although containing various images of the real life cultures and texts, does not use their original names, they are only written as images of their real life counterparts. Therefore for the reader to recognize the categories, Pratchett inevitably needs to employ stereotypes. The stereotypes used in

Discworld are used with purpose of giving clues to the reader to recognize the categories used for either parody, satire or simply illustrating the specific culture. For the purpose of this thesis, national stereotypes and references are going to be analysed, as Discworld counterparts of the real world nations are always named differently and therefore the reader depends solely on Pratchett´s clues to recognize their templates. Pratchett, when depicting a Discworld version of a real , employs both well-known and less-known stereotypical characteristics, behavioural patterns and appearance of the nationalities portrayed as well as their various historical fictional texts, tales and fables.

The use of stereotypes is going to be demonstrated on three Discworld novels: Soucery,

Jingo and The Last Continent. The first two novels were chosen because they deal with and portray the nation of Klatch, which is an image of real world Orient with emphasis on Arabian

- 1 - countries with some elements of India. Comparison of Sourcery and Jingo allows for observation of the shift in Pratchett´s style from predominantly textual parody to a real world parody. Sourcery is one of the earliest Discworld novels, while Jingo is in the middle of the series. Furthermore, Jingo offers Pratchett´s own critical view of prejudice and stereotyping, which are a target of satire in this .

The Last Continent takes the reader to the Fourecks continent, Discworld version of

Australia. The novel´s focus lies in portrayal and parody of Australian environment, customs culture and pop-culture. The emphasis is put on relaxed Australian lifestyle and worriless attitude. The Last Continent, similarly to Jingo, is one of the mid-series novels, nevertheless it resembles the earlier novels by its structure.

Preceding the textual analysis are a chapter considering academic view of stereotyping and, in a brief chapter, parody. The chapter on stereotypes considers the progress of the notion since it has been devised up to contemporary views and ideas. Stereotyping is a cognitive process enabling a quick assessment of people and surrounding world. However, since stereotypes are mostly inherited from culture, they often lead to distorted ideas, prejudice and discrimination and are therefore considered with a negative connotation.

The brief section on parody summarizes the use of parody in novels and addresses

Pratchett´s own employment of parody. A progress is apparent during the Disworld series, which, at its beginnings, employed mostly simple parody of various fantasy genre texts and their narrative clichés to later proceed into parodying mostly real world matters and satirizing various aspects of the society.

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Chapter 1: Stereotypes

Definitions

A stereotype is a term used frequently and widely in relation with cognition, prejudice and viewing the worlds and various categories within it. It has been defined and used variedly by many researchers and scholars. Some of them view stereotypes as a shortcut of cognition, others as a tool for justification of conduct towards various groups of people, some argue a negative connotation to the term while others neutral. Either way, stereotypes are used daily by each member of the society. Literature and fiction is no exception and Pratchett employs stereotypes in various situations and with varying intentions in his novels.

First one to coin the term of stereotype was Walter Lippmann. Stereotyping is a practise of meaning acquisition, which helps in introducing “definiteness and distinction” and

“consistency and stability” of meaning into something lacking these characteristics. As the world is a complex and complicated space, people perceive what was stereotyped by experience or culture:

For the most part we do not first see, and then define, we define first and then see. In the

great blooming, buzzing confusion of the outer world we pick out what our culture has

already defined for us, and we tend to perceive that which we have picked out in the

form stereotyped for us by our culture. (Lippmann, 81)

People pick signs from the environment. From these signs they recognize an idea for which they might stand. For these ideas people have a stock of images, which they then use to fill and complete the idea (Lippmann 88).

His definition, although it has laid the basis for the theory of stereotypes, is nowadays often perceived as too wide. Allport defines a stereotype as an exaggerated belief concerning

- 3 - a category, which justifies behaviour towards that category. He discerns stereotypes and categories, considers stereotypes markings of the category, not the core concept of it (Allport,

188).

“It is possible for a stereotype to grow in defiance of all evidence.” People´s selective memory overgeneralizes a few distinct encounters into a stereotype, no matter how little evidence is behind them. (Allport, 186). Allport is going as far as describing a perfect stereotype, referring to Aristotle´s defence of slavery. Slaves are slaves because they were born slaves, and it is natural this way (192). There is no kernel of truth at the bottom of this perfect stereotype, it is simply a tautology used for justification of slavery.

The justification of conduct through stereotypes leads to prejudice and therefore to a negative connotation of stereotypes. Ruggiero deems stereotypes harmful: “A stereotype is an overgeneralization that is especially resistant to change . . . They are discriminatory; they are restrictive; they place people in strict categories and limit diversity and opportunity” (qtd in

Hinton, 201). The notion is that stereotypes are a bad thing and should not be used at all. This general idea is contemporarily shared by the public.

On the contrary, Dyer argues that it is a matter of control and definitions, the purpose and use, of stereotypes that pose a problem and can be abused and not the stereotypes themselves, as they are merely “aspect of human thought and representation” and important is who controls them and towards what purpose (Dyer, 12).

Hilton and von Hippel mention a variety of reasons why people stereotype. The range is rather wide with various purposes and motivations and concerns a variety of processes.

Firstly, stereotypes simplify the information received by the perceiver, who can use his previously acquired experience to evaluate incoming information. Besides that, stereotypes have a variety of social functions, including dealing with social roles, group differences and

- 4 - competition, power struggle or justification of status quo and to create and maintain social identity (Hilton and von Hippel, 238). Stereotypes can be and are used with various purposes and motivations considering various contexts.

Generally, stereotypes are closely tied to prejudice, which leads to discrimination, and therefore are considered harmful. However, stereotyping, together with categorizing, is a useful cognitive tool for people to make sense of the complicated reality of the world and can be used without prejudice if considered carefully and with the possible damage in mind, saving time and effort.

Prejudice

As soon as the term was devised, even Lippmann realized that stereotypes are taking part in judging people, things and concepts and therefore lead to prejudice. Something invokes a stereotype and then we judge it using the whole set of images bound to the invoking element. We can realize, refine and shape our prejudice, however we cannot get rid of it, as our civilization is vast and we need to carry our pictures to deal with various situations.

Through emphasizing and standardizing certain prejudices we create moral codes (Lippmann

120). That, however, can cause discrimination: “Probably the most important consequence of stereotypes is that they can lead to unfair, negative outcomes when they are applied to members of stereotyped groups (Hinton and von Hippel, 254).

Stereotypes as generalizations can be both positive and negative. Either way, they can be discriminatory, as both negative and positive discriminations are still discriminations.

Modern western democratic societies are based on the notion of fairness and equality and negative stereotypes causing prejudice and discrimination are viewed as wrong.

Predominantly those concerning ethnicity and gender. Stereotypes serve as an explanation and justification of particular discriminations. The discrimination is promoted by the stereotype. If

- 5 - a group is considered lazy because of high unemployment, the employer hesitates to employ the people from the group as they are considered lazy. Laziness becomes an inherent quality of the group, resulting in a circle of unemployment (Hinton, 204).

Discrimination is deemed wrong by the society and wrongdoing is usually blamed onto someone. Koening and King argue that cognitively complex people perceive the world and society in more complex, richer manner, having a larger variety of narrower categories. On the contrary, the cognitively simple see the world in less flexible manner, employ less much wider categories and therefore inevitably use more stereotypes and are more prejudiced

(Koening and King in Hinton, 209).

On the contrary, Hinton does not consider complexity of cognition or intelligence an important factor for prejudice or non-prejudice. Firstly, it would privilege people who seemingly do not stereotype as people better than those seemingly simpler, who use stereotypes, while this notion itself was devised by those “complex”; this Hinton considers untenable. Secondly, stereotypes are used by cognitively complex as well (Hinton, 211). The difference between the prejudiced and non-prejudiced people stems from the different use of categories, specifically from the choice and support of particular categorizations, which justify their prejudiced view. “Prejudiced people use sophisticated arguments. Prejudiced people do not have a simple view of the world; they have a prejudiced view” (Bilig in Hinton,

212). They do not use simple or stiff stereotypes, they just use different stereotypes to support their opinion.

Stereotype can and do get out of hand, grow irrelevant as they are but simplifications of real world, they are rather static and are not shifting quick enough to follow the real world.

That is the point when they need to change. This change comes from critics, leaders and

- 6 - tolerant people willing to adapt. Otherwise, huge amounts of energy and effort get wasted

(Lippmann 112).

However, people tend to seek out familiar and expected patterns. They have a tendency to ignore what is alien and unexpected, and, on the contrary, glorify things which fit their expectations and philosophies (Lippmann, 119). Furthermore, stereotypes perpetuate themselves via their apparent confirmation by behaviour, it takes only a bit of self-fulfilment for people to, thanks to the confirmation bias, seek out evidence to support their current opinions and views (Hinton, 206). These images are not a complete picture of our world, they portray world we expect and are adapted to. Therefore any disturbances or things not going according to expectance delivered by the stereotype could be very unpleasant (Lippmann 96), which is the reason people would rather seek out confirmation of their fixed views.

Prejudice is the reason for the negative connotation of stereotyping, as it leads to discrimination. It is arguable whether complexity of cognition is a determining factor on frequency of prejudice in people, as the cognitively complex choose and apply prejudice on purpose. The problem of prejudice is that it is difficult to eradicate, because it is natural for people to seek out familiar patterns which lead to confirmation bias.

Perception of groups

Stereotyping can be either viewed as a process of perception of groups or a cognitive process of simplifying perception of anything around us, employing any previous experience to simplify the process of perception and decision making. Allport was the first to observe this distinction, as he recognized two main functions of stereotypes: a tool for justification for either rejection or acceptance of a group and a tool for simplification of perception and thinking. (Allport, 188)

- 7 -

Tajfel argues that employment of stereotypes is an outcome of a cognitive process used to create categories and opinions about people belonging to different groups, including their own group. That allows people to distinguish different groups and judge their members with limited information. This “process of categorization accentuates perceived between-group differences and within-group similarities” (Tajfel in Hinton, 211).

People from the in-group are going to be perceived more similar to the viewer than they actually are, while the people in the out-group is going to be perceived more different than they are. Also, when comparing people in the same out-group, the differences between them are going to be reduced. This emphasis of the out-group differences leads to homogenising and therefore to stereotyping. Another thing is the desire to maintain positive social identity, to be better than “them”, which leads to prejudice in group comparison. Tajfel demonstrates that on an example of being careful with money, where positive connotation is appointed to the in-group and negative to the out-group: “we are thrifty . . . they are mean” (Tajfel in

Hinton, 212)

The content of a stereotype of an out-group is determined by a cognitive process described by Fiske as a stereotype content model. Outcome of the stereotype depends on two factors. Firstly, whether the members of a group are competitors or cooperative and harmless and secondly, whether they are competent and successful in achieving their goals. The level of competitiveness determines whether the out-group will be judged in warm or cold manner, a friend or a foe. The level of competence can be judged through the social status of the out- group, high status hints high level of competence (Fiske et al in Hinton, 213). Combined, these two factors determine how the out-group is perceived. High competitiveness combined with high competence result in perception of a threat and envy (“these immigrants are going to take our jobs”), while competitive and incompetent groups induce disgust (poor people).

On the warm side, competent and cooperative out-groups are perceived similarly as in-group

- 8 - members, while the incompetent (elderly are often viewed this way) usually induce pity

(Cuddy et al in Hinton, 213).

Either way, as argued by Esses and his colleagues, the out-groups are more likely to be viewed in negative light than the members of the in-group, despite their perhaps better characteristics (Esses et al in Hilton and von Hippel, 240). That further promotes exaggerated negative prejudice and therefore reinforces the negative connotation of stereotypes.

Perception of groups is a way of employing stereotypes with a goal of determining conduct towards people categorized beforehand. People in the same group as the observer are perceived similar to the viewer than they really are while people from an out-group are perceived similar to each other, as they are perceived through stereotypical view. Depending on the competence and competiveness negative or positive prejudice is created. In literature, this approach is useful if the reader recognizes a familiar group so he can employ his own ideas and confront them with the author´s.

Stereotypes as shortcuts

Stereotypes, although they are overgeneralizations, are very useful when making quick decisions and judgements when uncertain or without sufficient amount of information. In such situations, particularly when pressured by time, using quick cognitive processes instead of careful reasoning, offers quick and possibly effective solution. Drawing onto learned expectations can prove as an effective tool, although as any heuristic solution, it can prove inaccurate (Hinton, 216). Macrae et al. argue that stereotypes are “energy-saving devices in the cognitive ‘toolbox’: the stereotype led to more efficient processing of the characteristics and freed up resources” (qtd. in Hinton, 217).

The reason for doing this is economic, as to process every detail in fresh is nigh impossible, so people use stereotypes to create shortcuts. When considering a close person, a

- 9 - friend or a family, the shortcut is not necessary, as we possess an individualized understanding, we know them as a specific person instead of a classification. However, we encounter numerous people we do not have time nor opportunity to make a proper acquaintance with and so we observe a trait or multiple traits associated with a stereotype build before in our head and use it to complete the idea of someone, including expected personality or behaviour, based on our stereotype. Most things get imagined even before experiencing them, build up from small signs. (Lippmann, 90).

Important part of the shortcuts is automaticity and activation. According to Devine, stereotypes are automatically activated same way as in numerous other cognitive operations.

That can be supressed with age and experience, automatically presented stereotyped thoughts can be replaced by those created via reason (Devine in Hilton and von Hippel, 254). Later

Devine with Sharp admitted the activation is not totally unconditional (Devine and Sharp in

Hinton, 218) Different stereotypes might or might not be activated, depending on “the task, the context and the perceiver.” As an example, Quinn and Rosenthal suggest that perceiving an African American in a crime news reports is more likely to activate a criminality related stereotype than talking to an African American about a football match (Quinn and Rosenthal in Hinton, 218). Hornsey explains what happens if multiple categories can be employed at the same time. Depending on the context, the most salient category is chosen. The person is then viewed through the particular category, up to a degree of being viewed exclusively through that category, as a stereotype is “reflecting the social context of situation rather than a fixed mental representation” (Hornsey in Hinton, 213). Whether unconditionally activated or not, certain automaticity is in function and it is possible to supress any prejudice drawn from a stereotype.

Stereotypes, despite the possibility of prejudice and discrimination, are, as a cognitive tool, useful for creating mental shortcuts to allow people quickly evaluate incoming

- 10 - information through employment of categories they invoke. This way the perceiver can save his mental capacities for other reasoning while getting a reasonably precise picture of the situation, although, as any heuristic processes, the accuracy might be low sometimes. This process is at least partially automatic but can be supressed by reasoning or context. The notion of stereotypes as shortcuts in perception and reasoning is useful in reader – text relation, as it might help the author induce desired categories and lead the reader with considerably low effort.

Narratives and fiction

In narratives and fiction, besides expressing author´s prejudice or discriminatory opinions, stereotypes are useful as a shortcut for both author and the reader to arrive to the same idea or category. These categories create expectations in the reader, which might or might not be fulfilled by the author and thus making a point or leading the reader towards a conclusion.

According to Dyer, stereotypes can be classified as a sub-category of the fictional character category of type. A type is a character with a few well distinguishable traits and aesthetics. Such character is an image of real world recurrent social or cultural feature. Dyer offers other expressions similar to the type: “archetype”, “social types” or “stereotypes”.

Opposing the type is the novelistic character, which is distinctive by higher count of traits revealed throughout the narrative, individuality and character development. However, the type and the novelistic character in their definitions lie on the edges of a scale, meaning any character can be created more or less typically, employing more stereotypes and fixed categories or letting it grow and develop individually. The choice is up to the author (Dyer,

13).

- 11 -

Very similar concept is suggested by Tyler, who analyses indexicality of Aesop´s animals. For the sake of morals portrayed in Aesop´s fables the individual traits of animals are suppressed, leaving mostly indexical traits (E.g. lion is brave, fox is cunning). The indexicality will “ossify into a mere stereotype . . . define and delimit the animal, specifying that the lion, fox, or sheep is always and only like this” (Tyler, 53). To avoid that, Tyler suggests emphasis on the animal´s ambivalence and individuality. This creates a fluidity and breaks the boundaries fixed by the indexes, freeing the animal from the stereotypes, letting it to be “wild” (54). This notion is similar to Dyer´s type, as with increasing individuality the rigid stereotypicality decreases.

Hinton argues that “well-known stereotypes can provide canonical information for the listener or reader” (Hinton, 226). By portraying these categories with the help of stereotypes, there is no need for the author to elaborate widely on something retrievable through a couple of clues. However, as Amossy and Heidingsfeld notes, it is crucial for the reader to recognize the stereotype, which is dependent on the reader´s previous knowledge and on proper clues given by the author (Amossy and Heidingsfeld, 699). On the other hand, use of stereotypes can restrict reader´s reading to just the stereotype. By its nature, a stereotype restrains possibilities of reading to the recognition of its category (693). Overall, the use of stereotypes is a double-edged tool, on one hand useful for conveniently leading the reader to desired categories without much effort, on the other risking him missing information by lack of knowledge or taking up unwanted impressions.

Stereotypes used in narratives and fiction have a purpose of inducing categories familiar to the reader. They can relatively simply invoke a complex notion in reader´s mind without a need of complex description and characterization by the author. The extent of stereotyping of a character is flexible and can be decreased by the author during the narrative by character progression and individualization. However, stereotypes might limit the reader´s reading if he

- 12 - gets too preoccupied with his own image of the category. Either way, to function, a stereotype needs to be recognized by the reader for the author to achieve his intentions with the stereotype. In case of Pratchett´s Discworld, it allows the reader to recognize texts or matters intended for parody.

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Parody

Pratchett takes well-known stories and various fantasy fiction and pop-cultural texts,

“copies stereotypical patterns and places them on the Discworld to turn them on their head”

(Lüthi, 139). Discworld is a parody of the real world and Pratchett uses patterns and texts of the real world to lead the reader to recognize parodied matters. Quintero remarks that for satire to fulfill its purpose it is necessary for a reader to identify its subject and compare the standard with its parody (Quintero, 3). He employs various forms of parody and varying degrees of satire to either poke fun or criticize while keeping the boundaries of the fantasy fiction genre, although, as Lüthi notes, with a high degree of rationality (139).

Dentith defines parody in an inclusive manner. While others tend to distinguish several forms or subcategories of parodical spectrum, ranging from imitation, pastiche, mock-heroic, burlesque and further on, he argues such scaling is reductive and too pigeon-holing. He arrives to this definition: “Parody includes any cultural practice which provides a relatively polemical allusive imitation of another cultural production or practice” (Dentith, 9). By relative polemicity he means the degree of critique or satire towards the original text, as he considers “some sense of parody mocking the parodied text at least usual” (11). The inclusive definition of parody fits considering of Discworld well, as Pratchett with his writing moves along the whole fluid scale of parody sub-categories and evaluating the purpose of each piece of reference allows more precise assessment.

Parody can be employed by various tools. Dentith notes that the purpose of parody in

Cervantes´s Don Quixote is, besides playfulness of imitation and pleasure of recognition, a critique of the form parodied and analyses its mechanism. This mechanism of parody would be characteristic in coming centuries. The form of chivalric romance infects Don Quixote´s mind to the extent of him being obviously irrational, which is contrasted by the saner and

- 14 - healthier view of Sancho Panza (58). It is a common practise in ridiculing parodies to project delusion of criticised notion into mentality of deluded characters and emphasize the irony through the perspective of another, rationally thinking character; Pratchett´s work is no exception.

Parody can be very specific or general. Specific parody aims a specific text while general parody targets whole sets of texts or genres, or even go beyond text and target real life matters. Dentith sets examples: Lewis Carrol´s How Doth the Little Crocodile is a parody of

Isaac Watts´s Against Idleness and Mischief, a specific poem. Cervantes´s Don Quixote is a parody of a whole genre of chivalric romance, therefore of a set of texts within the genre.

Finally, Dickens´s Bleak House contains parodies of various conducts at nineteenth century

English court, without a specific text or a set of texts as targets. (Dentith, 7). Pratchett employs parody along the whole scale, from specific texts, like Arabian Nights, through the whole genre of fantasy fiction, of which is Discworld parody, to a real world matters, as the notion of Australians speaking in funny manner. He puts together a whole secondary world which parodies specific texts and social patterns alike.

Parodizing of a text does not cancel the genre of the text it targets. Often novels include the parodized genre into their own (76). This is very relevant when considering Pratchett´s

Discworld. Despite the genre of fantasy fiction is being parodized in Discworld novels,

“rather than denigrating or diminishing the mode, [it] actually augments it” (Roberts in Lüthi,

128). Discworld, although a parody of a fantasy fiction, mostly respects the genre, employing more of a playful pastiche rather than mocking it. Instead, Pratchett often mocks real world matters. Discworld is “both a parody of a fantasy world and an engaging world in its own right” (Hanes, 287). Pratchett is considerably more critical towards the real world.

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Pratchett´s use of parody had shifted with increasing number of Discworld novels. Hanes remarks that while the first novels were “almost entirely a simple parody of genre fantasy”, the later ones are more sophisticated than “merely making fun of stereotypical plots and ” (Hanes, 286). This pattern is observed by Haberkorn as well: “Over the course of the Discworld series, Pratchett also increasingly uses the Disc as a for satire, commenting on our world from a distance” (Haberkorn, 150). Pratchett gradually moves from the parody of texts towards parody of the real world, targeting social and cultural patterns, human stupidity rather than narrative clichés.

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Chapter 2: Oriental stereotypes and culture in Sourcery and

Jingo

The country of Klatch is a vast land and a Discworld counterpart of real life Orient, encompassing countries of Arabia, India and all that lies in between, excluding the Far East, melting their cultures together to form an image of a country accommodating a blend of specific and familiar culture. Klatchian culture appears in several Discworld novels, but it does so most notably in Sourcery and Jingo. In Sourcery, the portrayal of Orient culture is more arbitrary and mostly irrelevant to the plot. On the contrary, the plot of Jingo, as the even the name of the novel hints, very much revolves around the clash of cultures, xenophobia and stereotyping. This shows considerable difference in Pratchett´s use of stereotypes and cultural referencing among novels. As Haberkorn notes, Pratchett uses two ways of relating his narratives to the outside world: by referencing to other texts or by referencing to our real world (Haberkorn, 138).

In earlier novels, he works mostly with parody of other texts. This applies very well to

Sourcery, the fifth Discworld novel, where he references mostly to other texts, notably

Arabian Nights, to create funny situations via parody, while references to the reality are without much of purpose other than depicting the narrative setting, which is Oriental, but not essential for the plot development and could be replaced by any other foreign culture without many differences to the progression of the narrative.

In Jingo, the 21st novel of the Discworld series, Pratchett´s approach is based prevalently on references to reality, the culture of Klatch is built on the image of real life

Orient rather than on its most well-known folk tales. Furthermore, the notion of stereotyping and cultural referencing is not only a tool of , parody and satire; it is being - 17 - scrutinized by the characters themselves as the central theme of the novel is a clash of different cultures.

Sourcery, a parody of Arabian folk tales

Sourcery is the fifth Discworld novel, one of the earliest, and the notion of Klatchian culture is used mostly to enable a space for Arabian folk tales parodies. Plot-wise, Klatch just happens to be a nearby country when protagonists need to flee Ankh-Morpork. Despite that, about a third of novel´s setting is the country of Klatch, and thus some cultural stereotyping and referencing occurs, although it is not very relevant to the plot and is employed predominantly to illustrate the setting or to create a funny situation.

The most obvious employment of Oriental culture in Sourcery is parody of Arabian tales. One of Pratchett´s frequently employed, even outside of the Sourcery, stereotypical archetype is the treacherous conspiring grand vizier, portrayed in The Thief of Bagdad (1940), inspired by Arabian Nights and later popularized by Disney´s Alladin (1992). This archetype is used in numerous other popular texts and is a very recognizable and predictable figure.

Pratchett employs the familiarity in the grand vizier Abrim: “That man . . . has got Grand

Vizier written all over him . . . He wore a turban with a pointy hat sticking out of it. He had a long thin mustache, of course” (Pratchett, “Sourcery” 160). The Vizier carries all the characteristic anticipated features and immediately recognizes the stereotype and realizes, who he is dealing with. The Vizier delivers and proves himself a scheming villain and acts to expectations of the reader as well as the protagonists. This parody is made funny by exaggerating the stereotype to the point that the Vizier himself is aware of his archetype and antagonistic role: “‘Oh, I employ the slavers. I am the vizier, after all,’ said Abrim. ‘It is rather expected of me.’” (165). The figure of evil grand vizier Abrim is a parody of well-

- 18 - known trope of an evil vizier employed in numerous Oriental folk tales as well as western- made Oriental stories.

Another recognizable character parodied from Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp and later from The Thief of Bagdad is the genie. Pratchett portrays a magical, wish fulfilling genie living in an enchanted lamp, which is to be rubbed to summon the genie. To induce a funny vibe, the genie is written with a personality of a stereotypical hard-working businessman or manager trope: “‘Great. It’s a slice, believe me. Have your people call my people. Stay beyond, okay? Bye.’ He lowered the instrument. ‘Bastard,’ he said vaguely” (261). There are numerous genies in Arabian tales and Pratchett works with this notion in his parody, making wish granting a business with a tough, competitive, western market resembling environment.

As result, a character firstly described as Oriental, with a turban and shoes with curly toes, receives a familiar western personality, shifting the reader´s perception of him, delivering a different impression than expected by judging the appearance of the genie.

To strengthen the Arabian folk tale impression, various other references to various tales are mentioned or used in the novel. In the treasury protagonists find a set of magical items known either from The Thief of Bagdad or Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp, a set expected in the Oriental environment: “there was no mistaking the magic carpet. It lay rolled up on a raised slab in the middle of the room. Next to it was a small, sleek oil lamp and—Rincewind craned to see—a small gold ring” (230). These are typical Arabian magical artefacts, expected by Rincewind and familiar to the reader.

Pratchett parodizes even the core narrative of the Arabian Nights, as protagonists make fun of the idea of telling stories in the harem: “He asked me to tell him a story . . . Telling stories in a harem isn’t bloody normal . . . It’ll never catch on” (202). Apart from irony, this reference is made funny by a juxtaposition: it is Creosote, the owner of the harem, who

- 19 - requests stories, not the abducted girl trying to save her life, Conina. The roles and personalities of the characters are switched. Creosot is a feminine, spoiled son of a wealthy ruler and Conina is a gender-bent parody of Conan the barbarian, a dauntless and muscular warrior. This switch turns the main narrative of Arabian Nights around and thus conceives the parody.

Considering referencing to the real world, such references are rather scarce. Klatch in

Sourcery is a picture of near Orient, which Pratchett achieves mostly by frequent mentions of sand. Probably the most notable reference regards Arabian habit of drinking strong coffee: “ you could use the coffee to waterproof roofs . . . it went through the untrained stomach lining like a hot ball bearing through runny butter . . . It made you knurd” (173). This exaggeration of the coffee´s strength is more of a travesty than a parody, considering Pratchett went as far as inventing the word “knurd” which is “drunk” backwards and is widely explained in author´s note as an extreme variety of sobriety. However, this reference is the only real world remark of Oriental culture among a plethora of mentions and parodies of various Arabic fantastical texts and films.

Overall, Oriental cultural references and stereotypes in Sourcery are employed predominantly as parodies of folk tales told in Arabian Nights and their various interpretations and remakes, mostly of western origin. This is in congruity with Haberkorn´s notion of

Pratchett´s employment of mostly pastiche and parody of various fantastical texts episodically connected to a narrative, which is of lesser importance, in his earlier Discworld novels (139).

Jingo, fifteen novels and nine years later, is constructed notably differently.

- 20 -

Jingo, a satire of stereotyping and prejudice

Jingo, the 21st Discworld novel, depicts a conflict between Ankh-Morpork and Klatch, an almost-war over an island which emerged from the sea exactly in between the two countries trying to claim it as theirs. Ankh-Morpork is a city state, Discworld version of modern, highly multicultural London. Klatch, as already suggested before, is Discworld´s counterpart of real world Orient, without the countries of far Orient, such as China or Japan, with emphasis on Arabian culture. The notion of cultural and racial differences, stereotypes and stereotyping is the central theme of this novel, the whole plot revolves around the sudden conflict which brings up the clash of cultures. The division into “us” and “them”, as observed by Said in real world (45), is a subject of repeated satire throughout the novel as Pratchett demonstrates the similarity of both competing sides. Pratchett depicts the Oriental culture through a series of images, references and, most importantly, through various character´s approach to stereotypes, prejudices and cultural differences. Unlike Sourcery, Jingo relies mostly on real world referencing, employing familiar stereotypes of both English and Oriental nations to produce satire as well as to create Discworld counterparts of the aforementioned nations.

Although the narrative focus lies in the clash of cultures mirroring Orient and London,

Pratchett once again employs Arabian Nights references, although in a subtler manner.

Klatchian soldiers are equipped with flying carpets, typical magical item of Oriental tales. A reference to Sinbad the Sailor´s encounter with an island which is a sea monster is made:

“those nautical stories about giant turtles that sleep on the surface, thus causing sailors to think they are an island” (Pratchett, “Jingo” 266). Corporal Nobbs, dressed as a Klatchian woman, is telling stories to wives of soldiers: “Oh, I've got a thousand and one of 'em” (324), referencing the number of stories in Arabian Nights. Through these hints Pratchett reminds

- 21 - the reader of Oriental folk tales which are part of Oriental cultural heritage and therefore of

Klatchian as well.

Portraying the Oriental

Besides textual clues used to evoke the Orientality in reader´s mind Pratchett employs numerous images tied to the culture. The environment of Klatch is defined by vast deserts and mountains, there are minarets and bazaars in their cities and other clues pointing to a general image of Arabic countries. Klatchians wear turbans or fezes and sandals, grow beards, ride camels. All these various hints push the reader to use his set of stereotypes to complete the image of the Orient.

On the other side, in Ankh-Morpork, Pratchett employs stereotypes of immigrant Arabs or Indians. Good example is portraying these immigrant as owners of street food vendors:

“They were…faces. They were usually at the other end of some arms holding a portion of curry or a kebab” (62). This stereotype is employed to meet reader´s expectations of an image of these immigrants and serves no purpose regarding the plot nor as a basis for a joke.

An important cultural image is that of religion. In Sourcery, Pratchett mentions importance of religion in Klatch, depicting an argument between two Klatchians whether there are five or seven moons of Nasreem (Pratchett, “Sourcery” 313). Religious arguments are emphasized again in Jingo, as Carrot explains to Vimes why Mr. Gorrif dislikes Mr.

Wazir despite both being Klatchian and that there are different countries in Klatch: “the two countries only stopped fighting ten years ago. Religious differences . . . Centuries of war because a fly crapped in the wrong place” (Pratchett, “Jingo” 160). It is well known that religion in Orient often sparks conflicts. This usually concerns two most common religions,

Judaism and Islam. However, depictions of these two are avoided by Pratchett. Instead,

Klatch is shown as a country of great number of religions: “There are six hundred and fifty-

- 22 - three religions on the Klatchian continent.” (272). In doing so Pratchett depicts Klatchians as deeply religious people, as they are commonly stereotyped, and bypasses delicate matters of

Muslim and Jew conflicts. Although he avoids these religions if possible, he still makes a couple of references to Islam, for example Klatchian polygamy or the existence of minarets in

Al-Khali. This way religion serves only as an element to accentuate religiousness of Klatchian people.

Various approaches to prejudice by various characters

The focus of the novel lies in dealing with stereotypes, prejudice and cultural differences. The looming war between the two nations creates a great tension between residents of Ankh-Morpork, as the Klatchian minority is a significant one. That is narrated via different characters´ way of dealing with the problems tied to the clash of cultures. Vimes,

Carrot, Rust, Colon with Nobbs and Mr. Solid Jackson with his son each have their own set of stereotypes and their own way of dealing with the foreign culture; they each represent a different class or position. All of them, however, serve as a critique of prejudices and excessive stereotyping.

Solid Jackson and his son, Les, are fishermen who discover the emergent island while disputing over squids with their Klatchian fishing competitors, Greasy Arif and his son,

Akhan. They represent the working class and their view of Klatchians is mainly as “them”, different from “us”, as Said denotes, to recognize a clear difference between the two pairs to justify antagonism (45). “‘You said this place gives you the willies.’ ‘All right, but they’re

Ankh-Morpork willies, see? And no foreigner’s going to get his hands on them.’” (Pratchett,

“Jingo” 64). Despite his dislike of the island, Jackson feels the patriotic duty to antagonize his competitor, to show dominance over the other nation. Pratchett focuses on portraying a symmetry of the two pairs of fishermen. They exchange stereotypical name-calling, such as

- 23 -

“camel-eating devil” or “second cousin of a jackal” (65), face the same problems, even accidentally exchange their sons. This symmetry shows the reader that although the fishermen are enemies, they are, apart from their cultures, the same.

Sergeant Colon with corporal Nobbs have a couple of long dialogues considering their foreign enemy while keeping a watch. Sergeant Colon is widely familiar with various stereotypes, as Pratchett notes, “He’d been to the School of My Dad Always Said, the College of It Stands to Reason, and was now a postgraduate student at the University of What Some

Bloke In the Pub Told Me” (40), and he is certain about truthfulness and wide applicability of stereotypes and prejudices he accumulated. On the other side of this satirical is Nobbs, in the role, as Haberkorn points out (Haberkorn, 149) as Muecke´s “simpleton or ingénu” (Muecke,

58). Through naïve, but perfectly aimed questions dismantles Colon prejudiced statements, points out contradictions and weak points of his arguments, yet he still admires Colon for knowledge and understanding of the culture of Klatch. Colon argues that Klatchians are very cowardly and are going to flee at the first sign of battle (Jingo, 40), then, a few statements later, depicts Klatchian viciousness and thirst for blood, which Nobbs summarizes: “You mean, like…they viciously attack you while cowardly running away after tasting cold steel?”

(42). This contradiction points out to the reader that the variety of stereotypes is wide enough to contradict themselves when used by someone lacking intelligence to evaluate their use properly.

Even more interesting are Colon´s prejudices applicable to himself. He states the impoliteness of burping after meal, which he himself does regularly (40) or criticizes strange food Klatchians eat, like curry, which he himself likes to eat, or the wrong colour of the skin, which is supposed to be white - “Not brick-red, then? ’Cos you—” (189) – or their mindset, which is supposed to be white as well, although Mr. Gorrif´s mindset seems whiter by the definition provided by Colon (190). In the end, after all the arguments are degraded by Nobbs

- 24 - spot-on remarks, it comes down to the pure otherness and the fact that “we” are better than

“them”, the notion suggested by Said (45), as Colon summarizes: “You know we’re better’n

Klatchians. Otherwise, what’s the point?” (Jingo, 190). Gibson calls it an example

“unthinking prejudice” from Colon´s side (63), which is a fitting description, as Colon never stops to think about these ideas and despite Nobbs´s well devised critique he never abandons his racist stereotypes, always justifying them in one way or another. Colon´s use of prejudice also corresponds with King and Koening´s notion of prejudice being used predominantly by those cognitively less complex, as was mentioned before. Overall the debates of the two watchmen make a funny satire of stubborn stereotyping performed by Colon.

Another approach worth mentioning is the one of lord Rust, a ruling class aristocrat, unlike Colon and Nobbs well educated, however, about as stubborn and intelligent as Colon.

He is resolutely convinced of superiority of his race and culture, considers the fact that Klatch sends only the brother of prince ruling the country to Ankh-Morpork on a diplomatic mission beneath him: “‘A really greasy piece of work—’ Lord Rust whispered to Mr. Boggis, in that special aristocratic whisper that carries to the rafters. ‘It’s an insult to send him here!’” (Jingo,

34). Throughout the whole novel he expresses bigoted opinions, pushes the war forward as he is certain of victory based on his prejudices and ultimately leads inexperienced Ankh-

Morporkian army to face tenfold larger army of Klatch, decided of his superiority: “No stomach for a battle, Johnny Klatchian. Once he tastes our steel, he’ll be off!” (353). He is the most villainous character in the novel, the battle is prevented and Rust is proven wrong.

His conviction and bigotry resembles Said´s idea of Orientalism. He, among others, mentions various nineteenth century writers and their supremacist texts. A good example are

Kingslake´s texts, deemed “undeservedly popular . . . pathetic catalogue of pompous ethnocentrisms . . . of the Englishman´s East” by Said (193). Kingslake´s text describe Orient as inferior, worth only as an adventure for “moulding of character” for English gentlemen.

- 25 -

That fits lord Rusts character very well, as he is a well-educated aristocracy, firmly believing in his supremacy. The character of lord Rust serves as a satire of bigoted aristocrat, which, ends up mocked and proven wrong.

Sir Samuel Vimes, commander of the Watch, serves as an opposite of lord Rust, a and a voice of reason. Contrastive to lord Rust, despite being an aristocrat, he lacks the aristocratic upbringing and education so, when considering stereotypes and cultural differences, he relies on his wits and police instincts. It is thanks to his insight and analytical abilities as a policeman that he is able to see through prejudices and work with stereotypes to his advantage.

At the beginning of the novel Vimes demonstrates that he is not going to comply with the “us” and “them” notion when he exposes Mr. Jenkins scheme to use prejudice against

Klatchians in his favor by accusing them of stealing a load of silk from his ship. With a series of well-aimed questions he reveals contradictions in Mr. Jenkins´s story and dismisses his claims (Jingo, 18). By doing so Vimes shows that justice and reason for him comes before prejudice.

Vimes shows off his ability to work with stereotypes and prejudice at the convivium hosted for prince Khufurah, with many other diplomats and ambassadors. Lippmann argues that good diplomats, especially those in wartime, should be able to use a repertoire of stereotypes (130). Vimes proves himself to be diplomatic, as he is able to get over the sets of stereotypes about Klatchians, unlike the other diplomats. He does not consider Khufurah uneducated, and admits that “towelhead” means an insult to the prince: “Of course he knows, thought Vimes. And he knows I know…” (Jingo, 75). A bit later he shows to the prince that he is not prejudiced when he gets an offer of camels for his wife: “‘This is another test, isn´t it…?’” (77). The other diplomats were complying with prince Khufurah probing, leaning on

- 26 - the stereotypes and idea of Klatch being backward country rather than admitting to themselves that the prince might be a cunning man. Very similar situation occurs at the D´reg emcampment, where Vimes sees through the prejudice of Klatchians eating sheep eyes (273).

Vimes is portrayed as an unprejudiced man in this novel. He always prefers reason and thorough observation instead of relying on categories formed by stereotyping. That is to be expected, as he is a good policeman and mental shortcuts which stereotyping provides would hinder his police work.

Captain Carrot Ironfoundersson is an extreme example of naïve, unprejudiced and by stereotypes untouched personality. He is a human raised by dwarves, and despite his above average height contrasting greatly with limited height of dwarves, he never realizes he is not a dwarf, overlooking physical differences. It is work of Carrot that “The Watch becomes symbolic of the potential of the communities involved to exist together in difference”

(Gibson, 68), as it is he who signs up anyone regardless of his race or shape, because he considers anyone a citizen of Ankh-Morpork and any citizen is able to enrol (Pratchett, “” 300). Carrot represents an unambiguous, unprejudiced and straight-forward character, who, instead of stereotyping uses vast effort and knowledge of individuals and their cultures, as he simply takes interest; he sees individuals for who they are, not just as a representatives of a category.

Instead of stereotyping, Carrot takes time and effort to learn to know anyone and everyone. As he organizes matches of street football for Ankh-Morporkian lower class youths, otherwise widely regarded as thugs, thieves and killers (Pratchett, “Jingo” 38), he shows knowledge of the boys which earns him respect: “No one knew his name . . . But

Carrot had found out somehow. If anyone else had called him ‘William’ they’d be looking for their ear” (37). Similarly, when dealing with arson of Mr. Gorrif´s shop, Vimes notes that

- 27 -

Carrot not only knows Mr. Goriff and his family well, he also speaks Klatchian: “Carrot’s hardly been here five minutes and he gargles the language like a native” (62). Later he proves himself again by knowing the issues between Mr. Goriff and Mr. Wazir, as mentioned before.

Carrot does not need to use stereotypes, he knows everybody.

In regard to anyone he shows friendship and understanding. Lippmann notes that stereotypes are a substitute for an individualized understanding (88), which is a fitting reason why Carrot does not use or need to use stereotypes. Pratchett portrays him as a perfect case, an unreachable ideal of person capable befriending and understanding practically anyone.

That, however, makes him naïve and, at times, too simple. He has difficulties to recognize and understand subtler nuances of social behaviour, like sarcasm or flirtation. That hints stereotypes as a part of natural social behaviour, in which Carrot is, at times, lacking.

Oriental culture in Jingo serves as an antagonist to British culture, a foreign culture contrasting with the domestic and providing a basis for clash of cultures. While it is necessary for Pratchett to employ stereotypes and references to Oriental cultures to create the culture of

Klatch as a mirror of Arabia and India, the focus of the novel lies in satire of excessive stereotyping and prejudice. Various approaches to dealing with foreign are observable in a set of characters, ranging from completely prejudiced and stereotype dependent Colon to unrealistically unprejudiced Carrot. Prejudiced characters are being used for satire and those able to see through stereotypes and prejudice are being portrayed as heroic and virtuous.

Overall Pratchett´s approach is different than in Sourcery; Jingo, as is common for his later novels, focuses on mirroring the real world rather than various texts.

- 28 -

Chapter 3: Australian culture and stereotypes in The Last

Continent

The Last Continent is the 22nd Discworld novel and its main narrative thread follows

Rincewind´s adventures on the XXXX continent, shortly Fourecks. Fourecks is Discworld´s analogy of Australia and is portrayed through a quantity of environmental and cultural stereotypes as well as pop-cultural references. The narrative´s central purpose is to fit numerous references, stereotypes and images of Australia onto Rincewind´s straightforward adventure in a new setting. Racial stereotyping is barely present as the Aboriginal culture is omitted and Fourecks is inhabited by people of western culture. A whole plotline narrative focuses on exploration and portrayal of the Fourecks continent as a mirror of Australia and does so to such extent that the plot itself is supressed in favour of creating a Discworld image of Australia, its culture, people and environment. The plotline is episodic, by its structure resembling the earlier novels, although Pratchett relies less on referencing and parodizing various texts, mostly recent pop-cultural ones, and more on mirroring the real world, which he does substantially.

Portraying environment

Australia is well known for its inhospitable and dangerous environment, which is the first characteristic feature used to create the Australian impression. The continent is widely known for its high temperatures and low humidity as well as for the fact that large portion of its area is desert. Apart from that, Australia is inhabited by numerous venomous, poisonous or otherwise life-threatening wildlife species, its spiders and snakes being a notable example.

Pratchett employs these to humorously introduce the reader to the setting of The Last

Continent. Firstly, through academic publications: Snakes of All Nations, a fictional publication, claims that the “continent has very few poisonous snakes,” as “Most of them

- 29 - have been killed by the spiders” (Pratchett, “The Last Continent” 49). Another comes up in a different scene:

HMM… picked up a book at random and read the cover. DANGEROUS

MAMMALS, REPTILES, AMPHIBIANS, BIRDS, FISH, JELLYFISH, INSECTS,

SPIDERS, CRUSTACEANS, GRASSES, TREES, MOSSES, AND LICHENS OF

TERROR INCOGNITA, he read. His gaze moved down the spine. VOLUME 29c, he

added. OH. PART THREE, I SEE (59)

Highly exaggerating the stereotype creates a humorous bit as well as contributes to overall feeling of Australinness, even though it is irrelevant to the plot. Rincewind´s journal entries serve a similar purpose:

Friday: hot, flies. Dinner: some kind of roots which tasted like sick.

Saturday: hotter than yesterday, extra flies. V.thirsty (52)

The hot arid environment is well demonstrated by the portrayal of a Fourecksian river.

While crossing a stretch of sand via an unnecessary bridge, upon which purpose Rincewind wonders, he spots a boat: “a small boat went past. It was being towed by a camel . . . on its four wide wheels” (150). The explanation by the natives suggests that is the shape used for boats and boats are supposed to be used for navigating rivers and they consider the lower patch of sand a river. That, besides referencing the dryness of Australia, satirizes blind use of stereotypes. No matter that there is no water for the boats to float on, rivers are meant for boats and therefore, without further thought, Ecksians comply with the category.

The environment of Fourecks is, corresponding to well-known stereotype of Australia, hot, arid and filled with dangerous animals. This fits very well the image expected by the

- 30 - reader. Considering the dangerous environment, a stereotypical character is tied to surviving and overcoming the dangers of the continent.

The bushman trope

Rincewind on his journey magically adapts and fills the trope of a bushman hero, a character well-versed in the bush survival. This stereotypical figure was largely popularized by the character of Michael “Crocodile” Dundee from the film Crocodile Dundee or by Steve

Irwin and his Australian wildlife documentary series. He attains the skills magically, from a mysterious character resembling an Aboriginal shaman: “He was sitting cross-legged against the dawn. He was black. Not brown, or blue-black, but black as space. This place baked people” (Pratchett, “The Last Continent” 68). Aboriginal shamans are known for their singing magic, which, to reinforce the Aboriginal image, the figure uses to enchant Rincewind: “I got to tell you the secret of findin´tucker in the bush. There´s always a beaut feed if you know where to look, mate . . . Gonna sing you into a real bush-tucker finder, true” (Pratchett, “The

Last Continent” 69). Despite being visually Aboriginal, the mysterious character speaks the

Australian Vernacular English, resulting in a pastiche of stereotypes.

Rincewind´s newly attained ability is immediately and repeatedly exaggerated, creating a humorous element. He finds food anywhere: “He edged over a flat stone and . . . pulled it up. There was a chicken sandwich underneath (70), referring to bushmen´s abilities to find food in seemingly barren places.

As the narrative progresses, Rincewind accomplishes numerous feats which shape him into an Ecksian hero. All these achievements are more or less tied to Australian stereotypes.

He starts to wear flip-flop sandals - “Every night he made a new pair of thonged sandals”

(52), for which Australians are notorious. He proves himself a master sheep-shearer - “You just sheared thirty sheep in two minutes!” (195), and a master horse rider - “That was bloody

- 31 - great riding, mate!” (215) which, once again, refers to bushman skills. He even invents vegemite, which is one of the Australian national foods (250) or the cork hat (189). All these categories are associated with Australia and also serve as an ironic humorous element, since

Rincewind is known for his cowardice rather than prowess.

Finally, to complement his bushman persona, he is convicted for sheep stealing. Besides contributing to the image of the stereotypical character, it serves as a tool to depict Australian personality and attitude. Rincewind´s jailer explains:

“Oh, very notorious crime, sheep-stealing,” said the warder cheerfully. “Strikes a chord.

Little man battlin’ against the forces of brutal authority. People like that . . . “To tell you

, a lot of people these days haven’t even seen a bloody sheep, but hearing that

someone’s stolen one makes ’em feel proper Ecksians. It even does me good to have a

proper criminal in the cells for once, instead of all these bloody politicians.” (271)

Pratchett builds an image of an Ecksian based on a stereotypical image of an Australian.

Ecksians praise Rincewind for being a sheepstealer. They convict him to hang, yet treat him with a great respect. The image of an Ecksians is as of a rather rowdy, beer drinking and very unworried people.

Beer drinking as an attitude

Beer drinking is stressed several times throughout the novel. Pettigrew claims that beer consumption core function in Australia is image management: consumption patterns, brand choices etc. provide Australians with means to communicate their personas to others

(Pettigrew, 116). Other way around, it allows to “assign personal characteristics to an unknown other on the basis of beer consumption” (119) – the consumption patterns are stereotyped. This process is parodized in Ecksians. They either reject themselves as beer- centric imbibers –

- 32 -

An´ you´re gonna come here and make a lot of cracks about us all drinkin´ beer and

fightin´ and talkin´ funny, right? . . . An´ I expect you don´t even know that we happen

to produce some partc´ly fine wines, our Chardonnays bein´ specially worthy of

attention and compet’tively priced, not to mention the rich, firmly structur’d Rusted

Dunny Valley Semillons, which are a tangily refreshin’ discovery for the connesewer

(Pratchett, “The Last Continent” 157)

and thus are shifting the Australian beer drinking stereotype in a funny manner considering the combination of a thick accent and a sophisticated content. Mostly, though, the

Ecksians drink beer throughout the whole novel, or use it just about for anything (350), including the magicians at their university (375), despite the fact that scholars are otherwise not likely to be linked with beer consumption. Beer drinking is a category well linked with

Australians and judging from the frequency of mentioning it as a part of Ecksian culture (even the story climax takes place in a brewery), Pratchett considers it necessary to create an image of parodized Australian.

Associated with the beer consumption and possibly even more typical is the “no worries” attitude shared by Australians and Ecksians alike. It goes very well with

Rincewind´s personality: “It was an amazing phrase. It was practically magical all by itself. It just . . . made things better. A shark´s got your leg? No worries. You´ve been stung by a jellyfish? No worries! You´re dead? She´ll be right! No worries!” (196). This attitude is deemed by Terry Pratchett as very essential and central to Australian and consequently

Ecksian culture; “NULLUS ANXIETAS” is even inscribed as a motto on the university entrance arch (363). The stereotype, it seems, stems from the “tendency towards apathy and procrastination”, which is caused by extraordinary heat (Lewis, 209). Overall it expresses the friendliness and calmness of the nation, their, as they would probably call it, mateship. It has been called a national motto of Australia (Wierzbicka, 388). It is one of the central themes

- 33 - used by Terry Pratchett to portray Ecksian character and together with beer drinking it is the most outstanding trait used in the novel to stereotype an Ecksian/Australian.

Australian English

As already mentioned before, Australians, and therefore Ecksians, their parody, speak in a very recognizable and distinctive manner. Pettigrew describes the dialect as a melting pot of

Cockney, Irish and Northern English dialects, with Aboriginal expressions mixed in resulting in a colourful language with an exceptional use of metaphors and similes (Lewis, 207).

Pratchett uses this to either create funny situations or to evoke Australinness in Ecksians.

Foremost and most obvious is the frequent use of “mate” to address each other. All

Ecksians uses it constantly, quickly infecting even Rincewind. Death, when visiting

Rincewind, greets him “G’DAY, MATE”, just to, as he says, “ENTER INTO THE SPIRIT

OF THE THING” (Pratchett, “The Last Continent” 277). By doing so he effectively parodizes the parody which Ecksians are. The way Ecksians express themselves serves not only to create the image of Australinness, but to induce funny situations as well.

Rincewind´s encounter with a group of Outback riders is employed to devise a satire of

Australian language´s richness of similes and metaphors, as mentioned by Pettigrew:

“Er…what’s Ecksian for going mad with terrified fatigue and collapsing in a boneless

heap?”

The men looked at one another.

“Isn’t that ‘snagged as a wombat’s tonker’?”

“No, no, no, that’s when you chuck a twister, isn’t it?” said Clancy.

- 34 -

“What? Strewth, no. Chucking a twister’s when…when you…yeah, it’s when

you…yeah, it’s when your nose…Hang on, that’s ‘bend a smartie’…” (215)

The exchange goes on for a few more pages, concluding in Clancy admitting he makes some of the expressions up.

This satirical exchange makes fun of the overuse of for non-Australian unusual similes and metaphors by exaggerating their diversity and variability to an extent they are no longer comprehensible. It is a known matter that Australians use numerous peculiar expressions, therefore it is a notion well expected by the reader and delivered by Pratchett. It makes fun of the stereotypical manner of speech as well as induces the Australian setting, although it does not contribute much to the narrative.

Australian cuisine

Another rewarding satire target is food. Australians, despite the relative youth of their nation, have their distinct food related habits and dishes. Their well-known passion for barbecuing prawns is briefly mentioned (299), but Pratchett selected two particular dishes to elaborate on.

Pavlova is a well-known cake of Australian origin; it is a widely recognized fact that it is named after a ballerina. Pratchett takes the opportunity to extend it into a stereotype and has

Ecksian chefs regularly naming their desserts after opera related dames: “the great Nunco invented the Strawberry Sackville for Dame Wendy Sackville, and the famous chef Imposo created the Apple Glazier for Dame Margyreen Glazier” (299), which results in a funny situation including a dame of not very flattering name.

The second dish is the meat pie floater, one of the national foods, which is very popular in Australia. Ecksians express great pride considering the dish: “Meat pie floating in pea soup.

- 35 -

Best bloody supper on earth, mate” (273). Pratchett, however, is apparently very disturbed by this dish, voicing his concern through Rincewind:

“You put pies upside down in runny peas and then put sauce on them. Someone actually

sat down one day, after midnight if I’m any judge, and thought that would be a good

idea. No one will ever believe this one.” Rincewind looked at the submerged pie.

“That’s going to make the story about the land of the giant walking plum puddings look

very tame, I don’t mind telling you. No wonder you people drink so much beer…”

(295).

Through this remark Pratchett stereotypes Australians not only as bad cooks, but also as heavy drinkers with little concern for stylish food who, however, take pride in what is theirs.

This way he strongly constructs the image of an Ecksian, a mirrorred Australian.

Australian pop-culture

Lastly, the whole novel is interwoven with pop-cultural references related to Australia.

The most noticeable is the brief parody of the Australian film Mad Max 2, including a wild chase and road battle, a dwarf named Max and a parody of the famous quote: “Man without hay is a man without a horse, and out here a man without a horse is a corpse” (Pratchett, “The

Last Continent” 132). It could be a stand-alone episode and is not closely tied to the narrative, but the reference ties Fourecks to Australia.

Similarly work the other references, as a parody of a famous knife scene from the

Crocodile Dundee film: “You call that a knife? The giant unsheathed one that´d be called a sword if it had been held in a normal-sized hand. “This is what I call a knife!” (158), or the magical kangaroo whose name is Scrappy, as a parody of the television series with a kangaroo protagonist Skippy. They do not serve much purpose in the narrative nor are critical, but the recognition pleases the reader.

- 36 -

In The Last Continent, Pratchett employs Australian national and cultural stereotypes and references to create an image of Fourecks and its culture. They are used to create an

Australian feel, as a parody or as a satire. This occurs in greater frequency than in his other novels depicting a nation; an effort to fit as many Australian references as possible is apparent. However, this happens at the expense of the narrative, which is structured as a series of episodes from a land mirroring Australia, without a properly progressing plotline or characters other than Rincewind, which resembles his first Discworld novels. Most of the stereotypes used serve in a parody of Australian customs and culture or to illustrate the environment.

- 37 -

Conclusion

Pratchett employs stereotypes with various purposes, mostly to introduce categories and ideas to target with parody. Discworld is a fantastical realm and a mirror of the real world, onto which Pratchett places numerous parodies of texts, cultures, nations and their social patterns or customs as well as popular culture. Discworld´s nations are fantastical analogies of real world ones and Pratchett employs stereotypes to induce the recognition of correct cultures and their environments in the reader´s mind.

In Sourcery and Jingo the parodized nation is an Oriental combination of Arabic countries with Indian elements; its Discworld counterpart is the nation of Klatch. This category is brought to the reader via the Klatchian environment, culture and historic texts and fables. Klatch is an arid country composed mostly of deserts and mountains, its inhabitants ride camels, wear turbans and eat mostly curry. In Sourcery, as expected from an earlier novel, most of the parody lies in using Arabian Nights as a subject, besides some brief mentions of sand and turbans.

On the other hand, Jingo offers a more sophisticated image of Oriental nations.

Immigrants in Ankh-Morpork run kebab and curry shops, struggle with prejudice and discriminations as immigrants. A looming conflict between Ankh-Morpork brings forth a clash of cultures, Pratchett portrays racial issues not dissimilar to real world ones. Characters themselves are stereotyping and showing various degrees of prejudice. That is used for a satire and criticism of prejudice, as the unprejudiced characters are portrayed as rational.

Besides that, reader once again recognizes the culture in turbans, curved swords, sand, camels and numerous other stereotypical clues.

- 38 -

Finally, in The Last Continent, Pratchett creates a Discworld version of Australia.

Although The Last Continent is a mid-series Discworld novel, its structure resembles the earlier novels. Although it is focused on a parody of a real world matters rather than fictional texts, it has an episodic structure and a rather simple narrative. Pratchett references Australia a lot. Ranging from the infamous dangerous environment, through Australian worriless attitude and beer drinking all the way to the cuisine and particular popular culture references. In this novel Pratchett prefers quantity over quality, stereotypes and parodies are numerous but without much critical intention or importance to the narrative.

Pratchett uses cultural stereotypes predominantly in order to portray cultures of

Discworld nations which are parodies of real world ones. These stereotypes are used to illustrate their culture for the reader to recognize. This way parody and satire, which, by definition, need their subject to be recognized by the reader, can function. Although Pratchett himself satirizes stereotyping and prejudice in Jingo, he sometimes employs stereotypes unnecessarily often and with little purpose, as seen in The Last Continent.

This thesis covers the portrayal Klatch, an image of near Orient and Fourecks, an image of Australia. For a further research I would suggest analysing other nations which have their counterparts on the Discworld, specifically Überwald, an image of Germany, Agatean

Empire, an image of China and Japan, which have a lot of space in Discworld novels and are thoroughly portrayed with their stereotypes employed. Other stereotype requiring categories worthy of analysis would be religion, gender and academics, each represented widely in

Pratchett´s Discworld.

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Resumé

Terry Pratchett in his Discworld novels creates a mirror of the real world. This thesis analyses the use of stereotypes and cultural references to achieve a fantastical portrayal of existing nations. The stereotypes are used mostly to enable recognition and subsequently parody of various texts and real world matters. The thesis consists of a research of history and use of stereotypes, a brief overview of principles of parody and Pratchett´s development in this matter and, finally, an analysis of three Discworld novels, Sourcery, Jingo and The Last

Continent, evaluating Pratchett´s use of stereotypes and their role in the novels.

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Resumé

Zeměplocha Terryho Pratchetta nastavuje zrcadlo reálnému světu. Tato práce analyzuje využití stereotypů a kulturních referencí odkazujících na existující národnosti. Pratchett používá stereotypy především proto, aby navedl čtenáře k rozpoznání těchto národností. Tím si umožňuje použití parodie, která ve své podstatě vyžaduje rozpoznání parodovaného subjektu. Tato práce se skládá z akademické rešerše stereotypů a jejich užití, stručné přehledu principů parodie včetně vývoje využití parodie Pratchettem a končí literární analýzou tří

Zeměplošských novel, Sourcery, Jingo a The Last Continent, u kterých se hodnotí využití stereotypů a jejich úlohy v těchto novelách.

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