In the eighth part of Monstrous Regiment<\/i>, Polly and the other recruits continue have their beliefs challenged. Intrigued? Then it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s time for Mark to read Discworld<\/i>.<\/p>\n
Trigger Warning: For talk of war, imperialism.<\/b><\/p>\n
THIS JUST KEEPS CHANGING, WHAT IS THIS BOOK, I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122M READING FOR NONE OF IT.<\/p>\n
Vimes<\/b><\/p>\n
There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a crucial point made here that helps understand why perspective is so damn important to stories:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Angua, I want to stop these stupid people fighting so that we can all go home, and if that means allowing the occasional pigeon to have a crap on my desk, so be it.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
First of all, this defines Vimes\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s motivation. He\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an outsider in this country, and he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an outsider to the Borogravian-Zlobenian war. Thus, his interest is in peace, but not even necessarily because peace is the moral thing to achieve. He just wants this all to end so he can go home<\/i>. You don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t really even get a sense of whether or not he or Angua find either side right or wrong. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s just all one giant mess<\/i>. At least from Angua, we get her sense of pity for the Borogravians, whose religion has so tightly controlled their lives that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re now stuck in a real-live dystopia, and they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122re desperate for anyone<\/i> to get them out of it. (Hence their attachment to the Duchess.) On top of all that, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a war<\/i>? How could anyone not<\/i> feel sorry for these people and what\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s been hoisted upon them?<\/p>\n
Then there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s Prince Heinrich. HOLY SHIT, THOSE SCENES WITH THE ZLOBENIANS MAKE A MILLION TIMES MORE SENSE BECAUSE HORENTZ IS ACTUALLY THE PRINCE<\/i>. And since they aren\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t familiar with newspapers, and they lack the context to understand why it was important that de Worde took their photo, they have no idea that THEY CAPTURED THE PRINCE OF THEIR ENEMY AND IT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S NOW A HUGE NEWS STORY. Which is so fascinating to me! For Vimes and Angua, it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s an amusing anecdote and a possible complication to the war.<\/p>\n
The Recruits<\/b><\/p>\n
Yet Pratchett paints a much different picture for Polly and the other recruits. There\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s no glory or celebration for what they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve done. No, they continue to learn just how messed up their country is, how much this war isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t a glorious thing, how the lies about it all have kept it going rather than bring it closer to an end.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
Let\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s start with Strappi. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not<\/i> responsible for all the random thefts around the group, but it certainly fits that he\u00e2\u20ac\u2122d be petty and vindictive right before he abandoned ship. It also<\/i> fits that he stole the items so he could survive his trip to the front lines. Of course, there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a possibility that they\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve got this all wrong. What if there\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s something else<\/i> going on? What if it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s related to the inns being burned behind them? I STILL FEEL LIKE THAT\u00e2\u20ac\u2122S AN IMPORTANT DETAIL. Of course, it could also<\/i> have been a hint of the absolutely horrifying discovery that they make here, too. What if someone on their side is responsible for this? A Borogravian killed those charcoal makers to survive, and it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s a thought that these recruits can barely fathom because it\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s so messed up. Truly, it speaks to the seriousness of this disaster. That<\/i> is what people are resorting to now that this war has taken such a toll on Borogravia. It\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s horrifying, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all! And this is how Jackrum reacts to the shock that spreads through the group:<\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Yes, but they have<\/i> just seen a couple of badly mutilated bodies,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Blouse and shuddered.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
\u00e2\u20ac\u0153Good practice for \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcem, sir. They\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ll see plenty more.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Well, that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s not comforting in the slightest<\/i>. But Jackrum isn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t interested in comfort. Rather, he still believes that, despite everything that has happened, Borogravia can still win the war. I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t see how that\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s possible, honestly, especially with how bad things have gotten. But I am guessing that Jackrum refuses to budge on this point, and this is only gonna get worse, y\u00e2\u20ac\u2122all.\u00c2\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n
https:\/\/youtu.be\/iCU6Mz09-Lg<\/p>\n
Mark Links Stuff<\/b><\/p>\n
– My YA contemporary debut, ANGER IS A GIFT<\/a>, is now available for pre-order!\u00c2\u00a0<\/strong>If you’d like to stay up-to-date on all announcements regarding my books, sign up for my newsletter<\/a>! DO IT.<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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