Nation: Difference between revisions

[[File:Terry_Pratchett_Nation.jpg|frame]]

 

Soon, other survivors begin to arrive and more things are stirring. There will be trials, terrors, and secrets revealed, and always the forever danger of Locaha, the God of Death.

 

 

A stage version, adapted by Mark Ravenhill, debuted in 2009.

* [[Action Survivor]]: Everyone to some extent.

* [[Action Girl]]: Daphne, but not in the "fighting" sense of trope, in the "she doesn't sit around waiting to be rescued" part. She's the one who insists that Mau move the big stone in front of the Cave of the Grandfathers, which ultimately saves the Nation. Oh, and she doesn't take anybody's crap.

** Or the fact the monarch killed off by the epidemic was the ''king'' -- at a time when, in our history, Victoria had been ruling for at least 22 years.

* [[Ancient Tradition]]: The Grandfathers and the Grandmothers

* [[Arc Words]]: ''"Does Not Happen"'' is said by more people than just Mau and ''"End of the World"'' {{spoiler|is referenced : geographically (Nation/England, mythologically, (the flood from the time when things were otherwise), culturally with Daphne's new life, Mau's with the wave and Locha's other worlds.}}

** Of course, {{spoiler|that's the whole point of the offer.}}

* [[Awesome Moment of Crowning]]: Played with: Mau is already the Chief of the Nation, it's Daphne's father who is crowned King.

* [[Ax Crazy]]: First Mate Cox. There's a reason that if a ship already has a first mate, they'll quickly ask to be second mate if First Mate Cox comes aboard.

* [[Bittersweet Ending]]: The Nation survives and flourishes. Daphne's father is crowned king. However, Daphne {{spoiler|leaves the island and only sees Mau one more time}}. Although {{spoiler|the girl who's being told the story}} insists that {{spoiler|two dolphins were seen swimming together immediately after both Mau and Daphne died}}

* [[Coming of Age Story]]: Quite literally for Mau, as he was in-between being a child and man. In fact, he thought he lost his "child soul" and would gain a "man soul" when he got back to the Nation... but when he did, everyone was dead. So afterwards, the other survivors call him the Boy Without a Soul.

* [[Cool Old Lady]]: Mrs. Gurgle (called so because Daphne can't pronounce her real name).

* [[Crazy Prepared]]: Cookie

* [[Deliberately Cute Child]]: although it doesn't happen onscreen, it's hinted that Daphne is not above pulling this when she has to. There's an interesting flashback when, as a child, she corners a particularly-[[Jerkass]] cousin, tells him to stop his antics, and [[Wounded Gazelle Gambit|promptly bursts into tears when the adults arrive]]. (The narrative also notes that her family could never have survived as long as it did without a mean streak.)

* [[Disaster Dominoes]]: {{spoiler|The destruction of the Grandfathers, in a literal domino effect}}.

* [[Distant Finale]]: The entire book takes place in 1859 or '60, except for the Epilogue which is the "Present Day."

* [[Embarrassing First Name]]: Daphne, who is ''not'' Ermintrude.

* [[Even Evil Has Standards]]: ''Cannibals'' don't like First Mate Cox.

** And vice-versa: he won't eat their diet...

* [[Far Side Island]]: Referenced.

* [[Flat Earth Atheist]]: After the wave, Mau steadfastly refuses to believe in the gods...even as the ghosts of the Grandfathers shout in his ear. Even as he ''talks to Locaha, the God of Death''. In the end, it is said that he believes "Imo made us smart enough to realize he didn't exist."

** Lampshaded when a priest points out that Mau ''needs'' the gods to exist [[Nay Theist|just enough so that he can be angry with them for not existing]].

** Daphne gets a few shades of this too.

* [[Genre Savvy]]: Daphne, and she knows it too:

* [[The Grim Reaper]]: Locaha. And he's not as nice as Pratchett's other [[Discworld|Grim Reaper]].

* [[Heroic BSOD]]: Mau goes through a pretty extreme version of this when he's sinking the bodies of his tribe in the ocean. Basically, his body's moving, but his mind isn't there any more. He doesn't even notice Daphne standing directly in front of him. He only wakes up just before drowning himself.

** Daphne gets a beneficial one via the Grandmothers to help her birth a baby.

* [[In Spite of a Nail]]: Despite the [[Alternate History]] aspects of the story, the present day epilogue suggests many major scientific figures still exist and work in the same fields.

* [[Kick the Dog]]: First Mate Cox is the embodiment of this trope.

* [[Klingon Promotion]]: What Daphne's afraid may have happened after 137 people die, leaving her father as king.

* [[The Men in Black]]: The Gentlemen of Last Resort wear black suits and are named after colours.

* [[The Multiverse]]: As explained by Locaha:

* [[Parental Abandonment]]:

*** Not so much the coffin as the fact that her little brother will be separated from his mother in death...

** [[Disappeared Dad]]: Daphne's father went off to be the head of a colony. She was going to follow him a few months later, but then the wave happened...

** The last few chapters also contain a lot of "Cox swore" -- but then he ''is'' the one who taught the parrot.

* [[Nay Theist]]: Mau claims not to believe in the gods, but he also hates them. For not existing.

* [[Near Misses]]: Justified and then subverted: Cox has guns which he uses in his duel against Mau. Mau is just smart enough to dive into the water, [[Soft Water|where bullets don't have as much effect]]. He does get his ear shot off, though.

* [[Plucky Girl]]: Daphne, Blibi.

* [[Royals Who Actually Do Something]]: Daphne's father, who works all night in his role as a Foreign Office minister, shows every signs of becoming one of these.

** The chiefs of the island civilizations are implied to have a large role in all of the island's battles.

* [[Sibling Seniority Squabble]]:

'Huh, yes, ''six minutes'',' said the boy. }}

* [[Spirited Young Lady]]: Daphne.

* [[Soft Water]]: Averted, just in real life water can {{spoiler|stop bullets.}}

* [[Translation Convention]]: Mau's language is rendered as English. So, obviously, is Daphne's English. This makes it a bit odd when they both appear to speak the same language but can't understand one another.

* [[Unexpected Successor]]: Daphne, to the throne of England.

* [[The Voiceless]]: The Unknown Woman and some of the other survivors. They have good reason.

* [[Walking Shirtless Scene]]: Mau and everyone on the island except Daphne, even the women. Some pull it off better than others.

* [[Wars of the Roses]]: One of Daphne's ancestors fought in them -- wearing a ''pink'' rose, and lived because everyone thought it was bad luck to kill a madman. With the exception of [[Only Sane Man|Daphne and her father Henry]] the Fanshaws are... ''[[It Runs in The Family|interesting]]''.

* [[Witch Doctor]]: Mrs. Gurgle

** Of course, there is still a god of death, and there are ghosts, so it could be debated.

*** Since these are treated as subjective experiences by traumatized characters, and don't seem to possess any ability to influence the physical world, the leaning is still towards science.

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Alternate History Literature]]

[[Category:Young Adult Literature]]

[[Category:Carnegie Medal]]

[[Category:Literature]]