Talk:Golems (Discworld)

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[edit] Menshugah

Would make more sense without the N, since that would mean "crazy".

Most likely, you're correct. I think it's in Feet of Clay. I'll try to confirm it, when I'm near my copy. 131.155.229.224 14:31, October 26, 2005 (UTC)
I looked it up. It is indeed Meshugah, according to my UK paperback (page 283). I'll correct the article now. 131.155.229.224 03:56, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] The Golem Trust

they can only get this freedom by buying each other. (A previous attempt to get freedom by creating a king proved dangerously unsuccessful). Recently the Golem Trust has been established to facilitate this. Technically a charity, it refuses to accept donations from any other than the freed golems, because the golems are clear they must free themselves by their own work. The charity is able to raise funds by hiring the golems out in the same way as an agency might hire out butlers to the wealthy.

A golem bought by another golem or the Trust is still not free. The Trust buys the golems so that the newly acquired golem may earn a wage with which to buy itself. I propose to change it to:

they can only get this freedom by buying themselves. (A previous attempt to get freedom by creating a king proved dangerously unsuccessful). Recently the Golem Trust has been established to facilitate this. Technically a charity, it refuses to accept donations from any other than the freed golems, because the golems are clear they must free themselves by their own work. The charity buys golems with money earned by the free golems and hires the acquired golems out in the same way as an agency might hire out butlers to the wealthy. The money earned in this way allows a Trust golem to eventually buy itself from the Trust and become free.

131.155.229.224 14:53, October 26, 2005 (UTC)

I've added a note about Dorfls plans in Feet of Clay regarding freeing other golems and replaced the paragraph mentioned above, with the new version. 131.155.229.224 04:34, 7 November 2005 (UTC)

[edit] more sources required

I put on the 'sources required for verification' tag and was asked to elaborate. Currently, the only sources are 3 novels by Pratchett himself. While novels are adequate as primary sources about the novels and characters in them, an encyclopedia should rely on them rarely and also include real-world analysis based on reliable sources. So statements like:

  • The golem therefore goes insane, in allusion to the film RoboCop 2.
  • Pratchett's golems emphasise the similarity between golems and robots, especially Asimovian robots.
  • this seems to also be the answer to the question posed by Granny Weatherwax in Maskerade (What would you take out of a burning building?) and suggests that Granny and the golems think in much the same way.
  • their script is a corrupted version of the Hebrew alphabet altered to appear as Roman letters, which is possibly a reference to golems' origins in Jewish mythology.

Now all the above are probably correct analyses, but what is the source for these speculations? Reviews? Discworld guides? The article Golem in popular culture was recently deleted due to lack of verification so it is a legitimate concern. Canuckle 19:55, 7 August 2007 (UTC)

While I see your point in general, at least three the four statements you cite are, to those who are familiar with both Pratchett and the original material, self-evident allusions. The article should indicate these allusions, as many readers might NOT be familiar with the original -- for example, if you've never seen Robocop, you don't get the reference. But once you do see Robocop, that the reference is intended is unquestionable.

I mean, look at Asimov's first law of robotics, then look at the quoted text for what's written on the Golem's chem. It is hardly "original research" to connect the two. As I've commented before, the sky is indeed blue without reference to the literature.

That said, I will remove the statement about Granny and the golems. The article seems to draw an unsupported and not obvious conclusion here. Moishe Rosenbaum 02:18, 24 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Thou Shalt Not Die

Where did this come from? It isn't mentioned anywhere else, except where the golems are pleading with the king mentally. It isn't on the papers listed in the book when its head gets busted. I'm going to get rid of it, barring some actual evidence. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.24.166.114 (talk) 02:54, 2 February 2008 (UTC)