Study Guide

The Color of Magic Awe and Amazement

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Awe and Amazement

What good is reading a novel if you aren't awed and amazed at the story being told? Not much good if you ask us. In the same spirit, what good is living in a reality where you aren't awed and amazed in the world around you? Same answer. Twoflower lives his life by those principles in The Color of Magic. He found the stories he read as a boy awe-inspiring, and he takes that same awe with him on his travels around the Discworld. As for Rincewind, well, maybe he'll learn to find the amazement in the world, one day. But we wouldn't count of it.

Questions About Awe and Amazement

  1. Rincewind and Twoflower are both amazed at the Discworld but in totally different ways. How are they different, and what does this mean for the novel's use of this theme?
  2. Does any character utterly lack amazement in anything? If so, who and why do you think this is? If not, why not?
  3. Did you find anything in the novel particularly awe-inspiring? Does this suggest anything to you about the fantasy genre as a whole?

Chew on This

Using fantastical-scientific explanations for its supernatural elements is The Color of Magic's attempt to create a sense of awe in our actual, real, and totally cool science.

Awe is in no short supply on Discworld. Even characters like Death and Fate are awed by the events of the story, though they also tend to get upset when these turn of events don't go their way.

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