Interesting Times, which was first published in 1994, is the seventeenth book in the Discworld Series and belongs to the series of Rincewind novels. Rincewind is one of the most famous characters in the Discworld Series; he is a failed wizard but manages to
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gain victory against his enemies at the end of each novel. The title Interesting Times comes from an old Chinese curse 'May you live in interesting times'. As the title of the novel implies, there are references to China and the Chinese communist revolution.
Pratchett satirizes the communist revolution in China and some other political issues such as the rulers' hypocrisy, secret agreements for their personal gains, and tyrannical conditions created by the regimes. Pratchett also mixes some cultural stereotypes of Asia, especially those of Japan and China, such as origami, tea ceremonies, and terracotta warriors. Thus, Pratchett skillfully directs his criticism at people or institutions. Alvin B. Kernan indicates in his Plot of Satire
irresponsible railer lashing out at anyone or anything which displeases him. But his criticism must be witty as well as moral, it must be phrased in such a way as to make its point with some elegance and sting (8). In this novel, Pratchett writes about the culture clash between Western philosophies of rebellion, communism, and anarchism, and the traditional culture of submission to authority. Before proceeding to analyze the satirical aspects of Interesting Times, a brief synopsis is to be given for better understanding.
The Patrician of Ankh-Morpork is sent a letter from the distant Agatean Empire
Archchancellor of The Unseen University, Mustrum Ridcully, to find a wizard to be sent to the Agatean Empire. The Archchancellor holds a meeting with the other academics at the univ
Rincewind, and they decide to send him. They use a machine named Hex and summon Rincewind to the university from a distant island. The Archchancellor talks to Rincewind and persuades him to go to the Agatean Empire. A summoning spell is used again to send Rincewind, and as the exchange of a mass is required for the teleportation, a heavy cannon arrives at the university, and Rincewind goes to Agatea. When
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Rincewind arrives at the Counterweight Continent, in which the Agatean Empire is located, he finds himself in the middle of The Silver Horde led by one of his old acquaintances: Cohen the Barbarian. The Silver Horde consists of elderly warriors who plan to overthrow the Emperor and 'steal' the country. Rincewind learns that the country is in turmoil due to a revolutionary document titled "What I did on my Holidays"
written by Twoflower, who was Rincewind's companion in Ankh-Morpork in the earlier Rincewind novels of the Discworld Series. Rincewind eventually understands that the first Emperor in Agatea had conquered the country with the help of a great wizard and a
revolution, and Rincewind, as a wizard, is the missing point for the revolution. Also, there are five strong lords in Agatea: Hong, Tang, Fang, Sung, and McSweeney. They
Sungs and the McSweeneys have been killing one another
is the strongest of all, and he manipulates the other four lords and foments the Red Army for his political gains. Further, it is Lord Hong who brings Rincewind to Agatea so that he can put the blame on foreigners for the problems in the country and suppress the revolution, and finally conquer Ankh-Morpork. Lord Hong's men assassinate the Emperor and intend to frame the Red Army, but it creates an opportunity for The Silver Horde to install Cohen as the new Emperor. Then, Lord Hong and four other lords rally their armies against The Silver Horde. When the battle is about to start, Rincewind flees and goes to an ancient hill outside Hunghung, the capital of Agatean Empire. Rincewind falls into a mysterious cave there and finds terracotta warriors that can be controlled by a magical armour. Rincewind wears the armour, controls the army, and destroys the five lords' armies on the battlefield. Upon being recognized as the Emperor, Cohen loosens
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the people's oppression stemming from the strict regime rules. Lord Hong, who escapes the battlefield, emerges again, and Twoflower challenges him to a duel, as his wife was murdered in a battle waged by Lord Hong. Just as Lord Hong is about to kill Twoflower, the wizards of Unseen University summon Rincewind and the cannon re-lit by the faculty arrives and kills Lord Hong and Ronald Saveloy, a member of the Horde who is a retired schoolteacher and tried to civilize the warriors, but never managed it. At the end of the novel, Rincewind arrives at an unexplored continent instead of Ankh-Morpork due to a miscalculation in Hex, which means that Rincewind is pulled into a new adventure.
In the section that follows, how Pratchett uses satire for politics in Interesting Times is to be portrayed. As is pointed out in the synopsis, Lord Hong brings Rincewind so that he can blame the Red Army, led by Rincewind, for the suicide of the Emperor and can mount a counter revolution, thus he can take control of the Empire. Pratchett shows that in politics controlling only your side cannot be sufficient to gain absolute political power. It is also crucial to control your rivals and bring someone who is not eligible for being a leader, as the rival group leader is one way of achieving this.
Accordingly, the reason lying behind Hong's desire to bring Rincewind to the Agatean
being incompetent, cowardly and spineless. Quite proverbially so. So I think the Red
political gains and a failed leader makes it easier for Hong to put his plan into action.
This is one of the well-known political techniques however as Ronald Paulson remarks:
n
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Destroying a long-established empire is very demanding, so The Red Army is expected to be full of professional revolutionists who know well what to do to carry out the revolution. However, Pratchett distorts that expectation using humour and mocking
session. They opened their meeting by singing revolutionary songs and since disobedience to authority did not come easily to the Agatean character. These had a title -Formulated
, the absurd and humorous titles of the revolutionary songs distort that seriousness. Pratchett treats revolution, a serious topic, as something trivial with his word choice. Moreover, Pratchett portrays the emptiness and inappropriateness of the Red Army in a dialogue between the members of the Red Army: "'And then, comrades, we must strike at the
said, 'Excuse me, Two Fire Herb, but it is June'. 'Then we can storm the Summer Palace!'" (55). Like the first example, the dialogue starts with a serious remark, and the -assured, but Pratchett distorts the serious atmosphere once more and reveals how the Red Army is unaware of what to do for the revolution. Pratchett satirizes their present condition and shows the incompetence and lack of dedication of such groups; at first sight, the Red Army seems to be determined; however, it is understood that they are not well-organized for the revolution. They use some ostentatious remarks in their secret meetings, but they do not have even a plan to be put into action in order to fulfill the revolution. It is not the group itself that is trivial, but it rather seems like the group members treat the revolution as a trivial matter, like an everyday occurrence. Therefore,
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Pratchett does not suggest that a revolution is something trivial, but he emphasizes the clumsiness of those who take on the task even though they lack the necessary skills and qualities.
As already stated, Interesting Times is seen as a satire of the regime in Asia, specifically in China, and in the novel, Pratchett uses the technique of unexpected honesty to reveal the real conditions of the Agatean Empire. Ridcully describes the Empire as such: "Very peaceful place, Very tranquil. Very cultured. They set great store in politeness" (58). However, the Lecturer in Runes from the Unseen University clearly expresses the other side of the coin and reveals the real situation of the Empire as follows: "'I heard it was because people who aren't tranquil and quiet get serious bits cuts off, don't they? I heard the Empire has a tyrannical and repressive government!'"
(58). Pratchett sheds light on the regime's hard conditions by changing the adjectives used to describe the Empire. The positive adjectives such as 'peaceful', 'tranquil' and 'cultured' are replaced by 'tyrannical' and 'repressive'. Pratchett uses the outspokenness of the Lecturer in Runes in order to create a contrast and underlines the harsh conditions created by the regime in the Empire.
Pratchett does not direct his criticism at specific people, religions, or countries straightforwardly; instead, he prefers to employ some skillfully designed references to imply his targets. In Interesting Times, the narrator mentions some Asian traditions such as the tea ceremony and the use of a sword: "Lord Hong was watching the tea ceremony. It took three hours, but you couldn't hurry a good cuppa" (73). Also, when Lord Hong hears something vexing from the messenger, he is described as follows: "He stood up and took his sword off the rack" (74). During this ceremony, Lord Hong kills the girl serving tea as she tries to poison him. Lord Hong cuts her head with his sword and orders the messenger: "Send me another tea girl. One with a head" (75). Pratchett
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uses such images intentionally to imply what or where he satirizes because, on the next page, he uses direct criticism and portrays all the tyranny in the Agatean Empire. Such traditional images remind the readers of Asian countries, especially China and Japan. In Rincewind's dialogue with Cohen, the narrator delineates what people really experience in the Agatean Empire. Pratchett creates a contrast between what Rincewind hears about the Empire and what Cohen sees in the Empire. Rincewind's ideas about the Agatean are as follows: "Agatean Empire was a peaceful place. It was civilized. They invented things." (77). But Cohen explains the Agatean Empire's situation as follows: "Supposing the population is being a bit behind with its taxes. You pick some city where people are being troublesome and kill everyone and set fire to it and pull down the walls and plough up the ashes" (77). Cohen also continues his criticism by emphasizing the citizens' role and remarks that: "People think that's how a country is supposed to run.
They do what they're told. The people here are treated like slaves" (77). Pratchett satirizes both the ruler and the citizens in the Empire using Cohen who functions as a focal character and observes what is going on in the Empire. After covertly showing what he satirizes by inserting some images of the Asian culture into the story, Pratchett overtly criticizes the Agatean Empire's ruling and emphasizes the cruelty and tyranny which become a part of the regime in the Empire. Furthermore, the narrator emphasizes the citizens' blind devotion to such hard-to-resist conditions. It is inferred from Cohen's remarks that the residents' inactivity provides the continuance of the regime. The narrator keeps on satirizing the Empire by describing its realities using a dialogue between Cohen and Rincewind:
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Cohen is a warrior and barbarian, accordingly his words are sharp and show rage, on the other hand, Rincewind's words cause humour even in such a serious topic.
This is Pratchett's style; he never hesitates to add humour in his criticism in order to prevent his novels from being regarded as merely satirical ones. What is satirized here is that people in the Agatean Empire cannot meet their basic needs, such as feeding themselves, while the rulers live in wealth. Last but not least, the physical structure of the Empire is described in another dialogue between Cohen and Rincewind:
(79).
Pratchett uses a comparison of the views of an insider-Cohen- and an outsider-Rincewind- in order to direct his satire at the regime, and he underlines the fact that people suffer from the tyranny of the rulers. Pratchett also exemplifies that what is heard about a regime can be totally different than what it really is, and the tyrannical regimes reflect themselves differently to the outer world. Although the citizens of a country suffer from inadequacy of their basic needs, the rulers' lives in wealth can deceive the other people whose information about a country depends on what they hear, not what they witness.
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As is already mentioned, Lord Hong's aim is to assassinate the Emperor and put the blame on foreigners, so he brings Rincewind to the Agatean Empire. Pratchett reveals in the following sentences that creating an unknown enemy outside the country is an easy way to create a fearful atmosphere that leads to the country's control.
Pratchett satirizes the rulers' overambitious actions and their hypocrisy using Lord Hong's lies. Hong explains to the other lords that a senior wizard from Ankh-Morpork has come to Hunghung to help the rebels and assassinate the Emperor, and he concludes that: "'I must naturally assume that the foreign devils are behind this'" (83). Pratchett sheds light on Lord Hong's insidious character and shows how a potential ruler can bend the truth and create so-called enemies in order to obtain his personal gains. The phrase 'foreign devils' is also used intentionally by Pratchett by which he satirizes the common tactics of politicians who regard foreign countries as the devils in order to justify their misdemeanors and manipulations. As Knight remarks: "Although satiric characters are actual, satire treats them as examples of broader problems" (204). In fact, Pratchett does not personally attack Lord Hong for his self-seeker plans, in a broader sense, he criticizes politicians' mentality who are eager to create enemies outside their countries to create fear and make people accept their self-interested decisions without questioning.
After the information given by Cohen about the Agatean Empire, Rincewind starts a journey in the country's rural areas, and the narrator uses Rincewind's point of view to criticize the regime. Earlier in the novel, the traditional images of Asian culture such as tea ceremony and sword were mentioned, and during Rincewind's journey on the back of a horse, another Asian image, the rice fields, are portrayed as such:
"Occasionally, he'd see a man standing ankle deep in a flooded field" (93). Similar to the previous example, Pratchett directs his satires at the regime by portraying the
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farmers' cowardly and strange behaviors when they see a man on horseback:
Rincewind's views about the farmers are given as follows: "They were probably descended from people who learned that if you look too hard at anyone on horseback, g up at people on horseback had become hereditary" (94). Pratchett's intentionally and skillfully selected words show his satire on the regime. Using the words 'descend' and 'hereditary' Pratchett underlines the fact that the regime turns its citizens into mere servants who are suppressed through fear. What is also inferred from those remarks is that suppression and fear have long been a part of the policy, as they are transferred from one generation to another, thereby turning the acceptance of lack of freedom into a hereditary quality. Furthermore, the phrase 'sharp stinging' also implies that the rulers revert to violence to create fear and shape society according to their wishes.
Pratchett satirizes how ordinary people are exploited in order to provide better conditions only for those in authority. The events and situations that Rincewind witnesses through his journey in the rural areas of the Agatean Empire confirm what Cohen tells about the country, and Rincewind remembers Cohen's words, for example upon witnessing the miserable conditions of the people in rural areas: "Cohen had said, 'There's man here who can push a wheelbarrow for thirty miles on a bowl of millet with a bit of scum in it. What does that tell you? It tells me someone's porking all the beef'"
(94). The conditions that the people in rural areas are forced to live under and how their efforts are exploited for others' personal and political interests are expressed in Pratchett's rural life portrayal. In addition to the rulers' role, Pratchett also criticizes the society and uses the unexpected event technique for his satirical aims; Rincewind, as a foreigner in the Agatean Empire, is not happy with what he sees in the rural area and wants to grant his horse to a poor family, but they escape as soon as they hear
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Rincewind's offer. Upon this reaction, Rincewind's ideas reveal the present condition of the society: "Worse than whips, Cohen had said. They've got something here worse than whips. They don't need whips any more" (96). Pratchett's satire largely depends on his word choice; in this example, the word 'whips' refers to one of the concepts of slavery.
It is implied that the citizens of the Empire have become not the residents but the slaves in their homeland. Also, the phrase 'any more' shows that the whips and similar other things were used earlier in the Empire to turn the citizens into slaves. The sense of slavery was imposed on people utilizing violence. It can also be concluded that the physical violence has been used for a very long time to make these people obey, for a such a long time that eventually they started taking their exploitation for granted and stopped questioning the justice of it all. Their exploitation became the norm in that country.
When Rincewind reaches the capital Hunghung, he realizes that people secretly talk about a revolution, and they read Twoflower's book entitled 'What I did on my Holidays'. It is the recounting of Twoflower's days in Ankh-Morpork. Pratchett satirizes the life in the Agatean Empire of which lines are strictly drawn by a tyrannical regime and uses a simple diary of a tourist from the Agatean Empire. The narrator draws a contrast between life in Ankh-Morpork and life in Hunghung, and underlines that an ordinary daily life in a city has the potential of prompting revolutionary movements for freedom where even the basic needs of people are not met. In the novel, Rincewind is given one of the copies of the book by the teacher in The Silver Horde, and upon encountering many different people secretly reading the same book, he concludes that:
The Empire had a wall around it. If you lived in the Empire then you learned how to make soup out of pig squeals and swallow spit because that's how it was
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done, and you were bullied by soldiers all the time because that was how the world worked. But if someone wrote a cheerful little book about . . .
. . . what I did on my holidays . . .
. . . in a place where the world worked quite differently . . .
. . . then however fossilized the society there would always be some people who asked themselves dangerous questions like 'Where's the pork?' (111).
Pratchett uses Rincewind's ideas to direct his satire at the regime and reflect on human nature. Pratchett tells his readers how the idea of revolution emerges in people's minds. Furthermore, Pratchett regards the societies that do not react to any injustice as 'fossilized' which can be regarded as a criticism against such societies. The narrator also adds that the result of the ongoing tyranny and injustice of any kind in a country is the revolution of its residents, especially when they have a chance of comparing their harsh conditions to places with better conditions. It is also implied in the novel that an ordinary diary of a tourist, written during his travels abroad, turns out to be the source text for a revolution if his homeland's conditions are much worse than those of any other places. Moreover, this is also what Pratchett himself does, he writes these books of satire in which it seems like he is merely making humour on the surface, but in fact, he is encouraging people to ask important questions.
In Interesting Times, Pratchett employs a technique, which is not common in many other Discworld novels, for his satirical purposes. He spares several pages only for the narrator's views about the related subject, and those pages do not include any dialogue between the characters. The narrator focuses on 'The Great Wall' which surrounds the Agatean Empire completely and it is implied that the wall means a lot for the regime of the Agatean Empire. Pratchett deals with the wall as a symbol of the