In Regards to
Terry Pratchett's Troll Bridge
18 February 1999
As with Golden Apples of the Sun, this story also has a Jewish protagonist. To add to the unexpectancy, the protagonist is an old Jewish barbarian. To make this even more odd, Jewish folklore seldom refers to warrior heroes. Our culture is one that prizes wisdom above physical prowess and our heroes have been wise men. Mayhaps it should not suprise us so much when Cohen hardly acts the part of the barbarian warrior but is shown to be sensitive to the troll's humanity.
I loved the irony that Cohen came to rob the troll and he ends up giving the troll alms instead. Somehow that seemed very in character for a Jewish Barbarian.
It was interesting how the story kept refering to tradition. We tend to think of fantasy land as somewhere timeless. We don't think of a fantasy land that can be changed by shifts in technology, industry, etc. Both Cohen and the troll want to hold on to what is old and the way things were. They are becoming anachronisms to their own time because they refuse to progress to the present.
It was also interesting to see Cohen's resolve change as the troll was "humanized" by having a wife, family, economic troubles, etc. While this happens in real life, my first connection was not to instances of similiar action, but rather the contrast to the opposite action imposed by the Nazi movement during World War II. During the war, the Jews were dehumanized, made to seem like animals. The executioners were acting as if their victims were nothing more than cattle because they had been trained to think of their victims this way.
In American and many other world cultures, people are cultivated to see brave warriors as heroes and to seek their emulation. This is all good for the cultivation of cannon fodder, but is this true virtue? Where are people hailed for raising the quality of life rather than destroying it?