I must admit that I didn't much care for UA when I first read it--because I thought then, and to some extent still believe, that Terry tried to put too much in the book. But after reading and re-reading the book, I've come to several (possibly heretical) conclusions.
First, this IS NOT A BOOK ABOUT FOOTBALL (either in the Disc or this world)! Terry is dealing with a society that has become vicious although it teeters on the edge of being moribund. Thus, everything is about "showing your colors" and not with any understanding of what this has led to. What was presumably a reasonable sport at some earlier time (even prior to Likely Senior's death), and teams tried to play the game and win, but not by seeing which team could deliberately injure or kill the other teams players. And this is one of the reasons Vetinari wants something done about it--the mob violence of the game has spilled into the streets, and is disrupting the smooth running of AM--something Vetinari will not tolerate.
To some degree it is a book about class (or neighborhood) assumptions which have little or no basis in reality. The UU team would have been hopeless had they stayed under the supervision of Ponder Stibbons (who takes the credit for the team, even though he never understands it and can't coach). The rout would have been all the worse because as it becomes clear (especially after the introduction of the new ball) plus the fact that combined team playing against UU is composed of the most vicious players on all the other teams with a few exceptions. Andy and his mates represent the kind of mindless and savage bullying that Vetinari wants to get rid of.
But the central and most important character in Unseen Academicals, I think, is Mr. Nutt--who transforms himself and those around him. He serves to open the eyes of a number of the characters (notably Glenda, Trev, Jools, and perhaps Lady Margolotta, to the wrongness of their long-held assumptions about themselves and others.
Nutt, when we first meet him, is working as a candle dribbler at the University and dealing with those who (like Andy) are bullies by nature and habit. But Nutt hasn't come to recognize his own worth at this point and lets himself be bullied and used by almost everyone. But he begins to show his innate worth when he takes over the "coaching" of the team and uses all sorts of radical new ideas which would probably have worked even better against a normal team. One of the striking points he teaches them is that the team must work together, that the point of the game is for the team to score the most goals--not to see who on the team can kick the ball the most times. What becomes quite clear is that neither Ridcully nor Stibbons understand the game or what Vetinari is trying to accomplish.
And amusing as his pedantic learning is (Terry is so fond of parodying German scholarship), Nutt is able to psychoanalyze Trev and get him to deal with his father's death and his own sense of inferiority. Without Nutt, furthermore, there would never have been the union of Trev and Jools. Nutt knows perfectly well that Glenda will have to "translate" the poem he wrote as Trev to Jools. As he tells Glenda later, he actually wrote it for her (with a tip of the hat to Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress"). And in trying to help Nutt, Glenda comes to know (with help from contact with those who have brought dwarf high fashion to AM) that she is indeed "in the crab bucket". Both she and Nutt can climb out of their old assumptions if they want enough to do so.
Finally, through Glenda & Vetinari, Lady Margolotta is forced to acknowledge that orcs were created and used by men--they are therefore not responsible for what they were forced to do. Nor are they innately evil. This is driven home (and leaves Lady M speechless) when Nutt says he will go "civilize the remaining orcs", but who is she going to send to civilize the humans.
I know I'm given to long posts, so I'll stop now and let anyone who wants comment on this. I started this as a new thread because the old one deals with two books, is (in my opinion) full of utter nonsense which prevented any sensible discussion of UA. So, if you agree with me (or don't)--here's a chance to comment.
First, this IS NOT A BOOK ABOUT FOOTBALL (either in the Disc or this world)! Terry is dealing with a society that has become vicious although it teeters on the edge of being moribund. Thus, everything is about "showing your colors" and not with any understanding of what this has led to. What was presumably a reasonable sport at some earlier time (even prior to Likely Senior's death), and teams tried to play the game and win, but not by seeing which team could deliberately injure or kill the other teams players. And this is one of the reasons Vetinari wants something done about it--the mob violence of the game has spilled into the streets, and is disrupting the smooth running of AM--something Vetinari will not tolerate.
To some degree it is a book about class (or neighborhood) assumptions which have little or no basis in reality. The UU team would have been hopeless had they stayed under the supervision of Ponder Stibbons (who takes the credit for the team, even though he never understands it and can't coach). The rout would have been all the worse because as it becomes clear (especially after the introduction of the new ball) plus the fact that combined team playing against UU is composed of the most vicious players on all the other teams with a few exceptions. Andy and his mates represent the kind of mindless and savage bullying that Vetinari wants to get rid of.
But the central and most important character in Unseen Academicals, I think, is Mr. Nutt--who transforms himself and those around him. He serves to open the eyes of a number of the characters (notably Glenda, Trev, Jools, and perhaps Lady Margolotta, to the wrongness of their long-held assumptions about themselves and others.
Nutt, when we first meet him, is working as a candle dribbler at the University and dealing with those who (like Andy) are bullies by nature and habit. But Nutt hasn't come to recognize his own worth at this point and lets himself be bullied and used by almost everyone. But he begins to show his innate worth when he takes over the "coaching" of the team and uses all sorts of radical new ideas which would probably have worked even better against a normal team. One of the striking points he teaches them is that the team must work together, that the point of the game is for the team to score the most goals--not to see who on the team can kick the ball the most times. What becomes quite clear is that neither Ridcully nor Stibbons understand the game or what Vetinari is trying to accomplish.
And amusing as his pedantic learning is (Terry is so fond of parodying German scholarship), Nutt is able to psychoanalyze Trev and get him to deal with his father's death and his own sense of inferiority. Without Nutt, furthermore, there would never have been the union of Trev and Jools. Nutt knows perfectly well that Glenda will have to "translate" the poem he wrote as Trev to Jools. As he tells Glenda later, he actually wrote it for her (with a tip of the hat to Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress"). And in trying to help Nutt, Glenda comes to know (with help from contact with those who have brought dwarf high fashion to AM) that she is indeed "in the crab bucket". Both she and Nutt can climb out of their old assumptions if they want enough to do so.
Finally, through Glenda & Vetinari, Lady Margolotta is forced to acknowledge that orcs were created and used by men--they are therefore not responsible for what they were forced to do. Nor are they innately evil. This is driven home (and leaves Lady M speechless) when Nutt says he will go "civilize the remaining orcs", but who is she going to send to civilize the humans.
I know I'm given to long posts, so I'll stop now and let anyone who wants comment on this. I started this as a new thread because the old one deals with two books, is (in my opinion) full of utter nonsense which prevented any sensible discussion of UA. So, if you agree with me (or don't)--here's a chance to comment.
