Mort – Terry Pratchett Storyline, Overview and Analysis Science Fiction books can be written on the serious way about new or old scientific invention, but sometimes we can see them as a parody where they try to laugh on the real world where the story is a parody. One of my favorite science-fiction and fantasy writer is Sir Terry Pratchett. Sir Terry Pratchett is a British writer who is very famous for his science fictional fantasy comic book world known as Discworld. Sir Terry Pratchett makes no secret of outside influences on his work.
They are a major source of his humor. He imports numerous characters from classic literature, popular culture and ancient history always adding an unexpected twist. Discworld series of book are just like that, they are laughing on almost every topic from real life. Discworld has a volume of forty books and Mort is the third book in series of Discworld. The book Mort is like good comedy movie where actors trying to be serious but at the same time they are very funny. Every Character in the book has a certain role that are somehow connected with the main plot.
There are two main character that will take us thru the storyline trying to explain complexity of life in Discworld. Both characters will go thru different life situation that are not common for their life. It is very interesting that book has name Sir Terry Pratchett ironically name this book Mort that come from Mortimer which can be mortician. On one interesting style of writing is when Terry Pratchet was try to make funny the way that Death talk to other characters in the book. The font will always be capital. Some of this book comedy will be explain in next few paragraphs.
Discworld is a flat disc world that is balanced on the backs of four elephants who standing on the back of the giant turtle, Great A’Tuin. This ironical story about Death and Mort will happened on the Discworld. Mort is a story about the boy whose name is a Mortimer. Mort is teenager who had a personality and temperament that made him rather unsuited to the family farming business. One day his father Lezek decide to took him to a local hiring fair, hoping that Mort would land an apprenticeship with some tradesman, carpenter or other job related …. The day on the fair was really hard for Mort because nobody really put interest for hiring him.
Terry Pratchett described Mort as a funny looking tall boy which might be the reason why other boys had better chances to get employment then Mort. At the end of the day, just before the stroke of midnight, a man concealed in a black cloak arrives on a white horse. He was looking for a young man to assist him in his work. The man turns out to be Death, and Mort is given an apprenticeship in ushering souls into the next world. Mort’s father can’t quite understand that Death is in fact death and believes that his son is going to become an undertaker of some type..
As soon as Death hire Mort he start taking complete care about Mort. He show him a world of living on one side but also he take him to another dimension, which was the world of Death. Death shared his property and life in another dimension with two other characters. Death was living with his adopted daughter Ysabell and his servant Albert who was a wizard that decline to die. Mort was learning a lot about his new job and all of the thing that Death try to teach him. Months and months passed until one day Death decided to send Mort to do his first job alone.
Mort was able to do the first part of the job very well. He reject to do the second part of job on proper way which will bring him into trouble later. Mort decide to save the beautiful princess from death. Saving her from death and lying about it put him in trouble that will completely change the way of Discworld history. Trying to fix his own mistake he get into bigger trouble hiding the truth from Death. At one point of the story Death decide to go on vacation leaving all of his duties to Mort. Atmosphere in the house was different when Death was not there.
Mort was able to make a friendship with Death’s daughter Ysabell. Ysabell liked Mort from the first day when Death bring him to the house. She was trying to pretend that she don’t care about him trying to yell and fight with Mort. Ysabell was hiding her feelings for Mort. At some point she help him doing daily duties. She helped him trying help the princess who supposed to be dead. They start to look together the best way to save the princess. When Mort start doing most of the Death duties he loses some of his former character traits, and essentially starts to become more like Death himself.
Mort start even talking like Death. Death, in turn, yearns to relish what being human is truly like and travels to one of the Discworld cities Ankh-Morpork to indulge in new experiences and attempt to feel real human emotion. At some point Death decide to change his career and try to do something else. At the end Death find out the truth about princess. Instead of punishing and killing Mort, Death decide to give him a second chance. The main reason for that was that his daughter was in love with Mort. At the end of book princess was saved from her second death and Mort and Ysabell get married.
The story about Mort try to show the reader not only about after life where people find out their final faith. The whole story is about family and friendship. Terry Pratchett on one ironical and funny way try to explain one of the main character Death. It is very interesting how writer try to copy and paste reality from real life to the story. Who will ever think that Death can have a problems in his life? Death was character who has the problems too. Some part of story in the book will show us that Death has boring life in human world. Death decided to create his own world copying a real things from human world.
Even that Death try to hide his personality from Mort, this will show that Death has personality. Story will explain that very nicely, because even Death is able to create his own world. “Death’s garden was big, neat and well-tended. It was also very, very black. The grass was black. The flowers were black. Black apples gleamed among the black leaves of a black apple tree. Even the air looked inky. ” Comparing two main characters writer try to show us that they try to help each other to understand the other world better but on their own weird way.
They try to teach each other the bad and good side of the life and death. These two character come from different world and with different prejudice. Mort who never see the cities come from village finding an adventure as being a Death apprentice. At beginning he was thinking that being a Death apprentice will be the easy job. He learned on the hard way that nothing can be easy in that job. Toward the end he realize that Death has a hard job and big responsibility. Transforming to death show him the truth about humans and their fear from death.
This experience make him mentally stronger which is exactly what Death try to teach him. Death was coming from different dark dimension so he was tryin to help Mort to find himself in the universe teching him more about life. This citation will explain a lot about the way that Death see life. “Then the pinpoint blue eyes turned back to the book. OH YES, he said, MORT. WELL, BOY, DO YOU SINCERELY WISH TO LEARN THE UTTERMOST SECRETS OF TIME AND SPACE? “Yes, sir. I think so, sir. ” GOOD. THE STABLES ARE AROUND THE BACK. THE SHOVEL HANGS JUST INSIDE THE DOOR.
He looked down. He looked up. Mort hadn’t moved. IS IT BY ANY CHANCE POSSIBLE THAT YOU FAIL TO UNDERSTAND ME? “Not fully, sir,” said Mort. DUNG, BOY. DUNG. ALBERT HAS A COMPOST HEAP IN THE GARDEN. I IMAGINE THERE’S A WHEELBARROW SOMEWHERE ON THE PREMISES. GET ON WITH IT. Mort nodded mournfully. “Yes, sir. I see, sir. Sir? ” YES? “Sir, I don’t see what this has to do with the secrets of time and space. ” Death did not look up from his book. THAT, he said, IS BECAUSE YOU ARE HERE TO LEARN. ” Ironically Death didn’t know anything about life.
Working and spending the most of their time together making Death to ask himself how is being human. What is the real point of feelings? Death was able to benefit from taking vacation and leaving daily duties to Mort, but it was not able to really understand human feelings and human desire for happiness. It is important to say that people can’t live their life on their own. Almost every creature need to have somebody to compassion. Death was lonely even in his own world. That was the reason why he adopted his daughter Ysabell. He was treating her with a lot of respect, just like that she was his own child.
At some point Death admit that it is lonely and that almost every creature on Discworld afraid of him. Writer constantly try to put the question to the readers, “What will be the reason why Death give the job to Mortimer and not someone who is older and with more life experience? ” Death was definitely looking for many reason why did he hired Mort as he apprentice. One of the reason was that death need vacation from daily duties that sometimes bring him a headache. He want somebody who was pure and clean soul. He also need somebody who will think rationally and who will do the job on the best way.
We find out about this when Mort start asking more about bad people and justice. Another big reason why he hired Mort and not somebody who was older is to make his daughter Ysabell happy. He knows that she was lonely in their house. There was nobody her age in their dark dimension where they lived who can spent time with Ysabell. Bringing Mort, Death was hoping that his adopted daughter will be happier. Death didn’t count that bringing Mort to the house will take her from him. In the future book about Discworld Terry Pratchet will write more about characters like Mort, Ysabel and Death.
He constantly making fun of world expanding the Discworld with new books and characters who will on one funny way try to describe their lifes. In Conclusion this book will on great way represent how true friendship will grow into something bigger like love. Pratchett was trying to put a love story into one fun and hilarious world full of troubles. This friendship is not happening between two characters that get in love. On one ironical way this friendship will also include the Death who pretend that doesn’t care about friendship, love and human feelings.
Terry Pratchett definitely know how to make people laugh. In the future book about Discworld Terry Pratchett will write more about characters like Mort, Ysabel and Death. He constantly making fun of world expanding the Discworld with new books and characters who will on one funny way try to describe their lives.
- Pratchett, Terry (2009-10-13). Mort (Discworld) (pp. 198-199).
- HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. Pratchett, Terry (2009-10-13).
- Mort (Discworld) (p. 46). HarperCollins. Kindle Edition. Pratchett, Terry (2009-10)
