Abstract:
Terry Pratchett is well known for his personal brand of comic fantasy (both in his
adult and children’s novels), which he uses to underscore more serious and pertinent
concerns. His use of the comic and fantastic are platforms from which to voice his
criticisms of society and the way it functions. In Pratchett’s own words (in accepting
the Carnegie Medal, 2001), ‘humour has its uses. Laughter can get through the keyhole
while seriousness is still hammering on the door. New ideas can ride in on the back of
a joke, old ideas can be given an added edge’ (http://www.carnegiegreenaway.org.uk/
pressdesk/press.php?release=pres_terspeach.htm). With this in mind then, the aim of this
article is to analyse Terry Pratchett’s Johnny and the Dead (1993) in terms of its didactic
purpose and its aims to educate child readers about environmental issues and social
responsibility. The paper will focus on Pratchett’s use of comic fantasy as a platform from
which to voice his criticisms of society and its attitude toward the environment. The
article also considers how Pratchett uses both comedy and fantasy to distance readers
from their ‘Primary Realities’ (the reality in which they live and function on a daily basis)
by transporting them into a Secondary Reality (that is, the world of the book) which
contains emotional truth that transcends physical reality.
