Idea: Rincewind in IT is like Om-as-Tortoise in SG! :-) *IT/SG SPOILERS*

[RathDarkblade]

WARNING: Spoilers for "Interesting Times" and "Small Gods" ahead. Please don't read if you haven't read those two.
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I just finished re-reading "Interesting Times" and "Small Gods" -- and was struck by how Rincewind (in IT) and Om-as-Tortoise (in SG) were very similar. Don't believe it? Here's why:

1a. In IT, Rincewind is (almost) powerless, and always has to run away to avoid being killed;
1b. In SG, Om-as-Tortoise is completely powerless, and has to rely on Brutha to avoid being killed.

2a. In IT, a localised thunderbolt zaps Rincewind's nose;
2b. In SG, Om-as-Tortoise conjures a localised thunderbolt to zap Brutha's nose.

3a. When Rincewind "does magic" in IT, it's because someone else (e.g. the Horde, or Lord Hong's men) did something else to help him make it look like magic.
3b. When Om-as-Tortoise performs his one and only 'miracle' in SG, (i.e. descending from the heavens to smite Vorbis), it's because an eagle helped him.

4a. In IT, Rincewind finally gets a word in, gets annoyed, and yells at the Red Army (kids).
4b. In SG, Om-as-Tortoise gets annoyed all the time and yells at Brutha.

5a. In IT, Rincewind continually compromises, negotiates -- and when all else fails, grovels.
5b. In SG, Om-as-Tortoise continually has to do the same. Even as a god, he negotiates with Brutha (unwillingly).

6a. In IT, after the battle against Lord Hong's army, everyone forgets about Rincewind -- and he is saved by Twoflower.
6b. In SG, after Om is turned into a tortoise, he is saved by Brutha from being forgotten and becoming a small god.

7a. (Uh-oh -- not 7a! ) Near the end of IT, Rincewind is teleported away.
7b. Near the end of SG, Om (with his powers back) teleports to Dunmanifestin and back.

I'm sure I've forgotten something, but oh well. What do you think?

 

[Tonyblack]

Hmmm . . . a bit of a stretch I think. I can sort of see what you mean. However, I do think that Om and Rincewind are very different characters and IT and SG are very different books.

 

[RathDarkblade]

Oh, I agree with you. I'm not saying Om and Rincewind are the same, or that IT and SG are the same. But there are certain similarities, that's all. (To make it clearer, I changed the thread title, so it reads "Rincewind in IT is like Om in SG").

I'm not comparing their philosophies, or the trials they undergo, or how they end up. Om, through his journey of self-discovery, changes for the better. Rincewind ... doesn't change much.

 

[=Tamar]

I can see a way in which Rincewind's change is like Om's. Both of them want to survive. Rincewind comes to a major realization in the Last Continent - he realizes that no matter what he does, his destiny will happen because he is who he is, so he may as well go with it; he acts on that in The Last Hero. Om also learns more about who he is, including that he must care about his worshiper or he won't have a destiny, so he also goes with it - since as a god he must care about his worshiper/s, he begins to act on that.

 

[RathDarkblade]

Hmm, that's funny. I thought Rincewind's destiny will happen anyway because he is a pawn of The Lady. Thus, he hangs a lampshade over it in "The Last Hero" ... and perhaps even meets her. I was a little surprised that, in TLH, he didn't angrily confront her for ruining his life - but that would take away from the Bard's confrontation with Nuggan. (Pity. I'd have liked to see Rincewind do something, rather than nothing).

Om is no-one's pawn, of course, but Brutha keeps him alive just as The Lady keeps Rincewind alive.

It's funny, though. At the end of SG, we don't know if Om cares about his worshippers or not. He does save Omnia by taking part in the battle against Ephebe etc (in a minor way), and also gives Omnia 100 years of peace -- but after that we never see him again.

Om's whereabouts and doings in those 100 years (and/or after Brutha's death) would be interesting.

 

[raisindot]

I think it's a bit of a stretch. Rincewind is mostly powerless and runs away from everything in just about every book. Rincewind doesn't ask people to believe in him and most of the time they don't. When Rincewind does pull some amazing feat it's usually because he stumbles into. Om wants people to believe in him and uses Brutha as his tool to restore his power. Unlike Rincewind, Om knows he has the power to move mountains--what he lacks at the beginning of SG is the battery of believe to fuel it. The things about yelling at kids or Brutha are just common narrative conventions. People yell at each other all the time in fiction.