Ludzkie i nie-ludzkie w cyklu "Świat Dysku" Terry'ego Pratchetta

Abstract

The goal of this article is to describe the varied functions of fantastic beings who enter into relations with the human characters of Terry Pratchett’s Discworld novels. The confrontation of the human and the non-human becomes a source of a deeper anthropological reflection. Even though Pratchett uses comical devices to present the tension building up on the axis of difference – identity – norm – stereotype, he nonetheless treats the issue of the recognition of one’s own identity through the lens of the experience of radical otherness with a large dose of seriousness. The diversity of problems evoked by the stories of individual representatives of the different “races” or entire communities inhabiting the Discworld, reveals Pratchett as an astute observer of both absurdities and crucial problems of today, his sensitivity attuned to the lability of the thresholds between the normative and the non-normative.