Line #101 Literature/Nation


1	[[quoteright:316:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Terry_Pratchett_Nation.jpg]]
2
3	->''When much is taken, something is returned.''
4
5	On an island in the Great Southern Pelagic Ocean, Mau has just finished the rite of passage to go from a boy to a man when a volcano creates a tidal wave that crashes down on the island, killing everyone and leaving him the sole survivor of his people, the Nation. At the same time, the ship ''Sweet Judy'' has crashed, with Ermintrude "Daphne" Fanshaw as the only one alive. Her father is 138 places from being king and her grandmother has raised her to be a "Proper Young Lady Who Has Been Taught To Maintain Standards." Scared and alone, she witnesses Mau sending the dead off into the sea.
6
7	Soon, other survivors begin to arrive and more things are stirring. There will be trials, terrors, and secrets revealed, and always the forever danger of Locaha, the God of Death.
8
9	A non-''Literature/{{Discworld}}'' book by Creator/TerryPratchett, ''Nation'' is about survival, the power of truth, lies, science, and faith.
10
11	A stage version, adapted by Mark Ravenhill, debuted in 2009. According to Creator/RhiannaPratchett, it was one of [[CreatorsFavourite her father's favourite books]].
12	----
13	!!The Tropes That Happen:
14	* ActionSurvivor: Everyone to some extent.
15	* ActionGirl: Daphne, but not in the "fighting" sense of trope, in the "she doesn't sit around waiting to be rescued" part. She's the one who insists that Mau move the big stone in front of the Cave of the Grandfathers, which ultimately saves the Nation. Oh, and she doesn't take anybody's crap. Especially considering the bit about her relative who is/was much like Cox and how she dealt with him.
16	* ActionMom: The Unknown Woman and a cannon.
17	* ActuallyIAmHim: All of the survivors of the wave treat Mau as a boy, since he doesn't have his tattoos, and it takes a while for them to realize he is the chief. He has to play this straight when Cox is the Raiders' champion.
18	* AdamAndEvePlot: Subverted. [[spoiler: More people arrive to repopulate the Nation, and Daphne returns to England with her father.]]
19	* AintNoRule: The rules of the DuelToTheDeath between Mau and Cox say that the fight begins as soon as one of them picks up their chosen weapon from off the beach. However there are no rules about what that weapon can be... Mau's real choice isn't his spear, it's [[spoiler: the beach itself. He already picked up his weapon when he put his spear down, [[AHandfulForAnEye a handful of sand that he uses to blind the unprepared Cox]].]]
20	* AllGirlsLikePonies: Averted. Daphne's mother suggested a pony as a present for her 9th birthday. Daphne asked for a telescope instead and received it.
21	--> Who'd want a pony when you could have the whole universe? It was far more interesting and you didn't have to muck it out once a week.
22	* AlternateHistory: It's hinted at in the beginning with the "Russian influenza", but by the end, you know what it is. Pratchett even calls it in an Author's Note "The great big multiple-universes get-out-of-jail free card..."
23	** Not to mention the ''two Australias'' on the map, the continent not having been circumnavigated yet, so they don't know it's one whole landmass.
24	** [[spoiler: [[DividedStatesOfAmerica Re]]]]United States of America.
25	** Or the fact the monarch killed off by the epidemic was the ''king'' -- at a time when, in our history, Victoria had been ruling for at least 22 years.
26	** French history is revealed to be different too: according to Mr Black the last thing the French government want to see is a Frenchman on any throne, anywhere, but in the real world there was indeed a Frenchman on the French throne at the time: Napoleon III on the ''imperial'' throne of France. Also Captain Samson notes that the French killed the last king they had, which is not true in our world since there were in fact three more kings after the Great French Revolution,[[note]]Louis XVIII, Charles X and Louis-Philippe I.[[/note]] none of whom were killed.[[note]]No comment on Louis XVII since technically both his actual kingship and his fate are somewhat controversial.[[/note]]
27	* AncientTradition: Less on the Grandmothers, more on the Grandfathers; the grumpy old men can't even hear someone respond, while the grannies are more sanity and helpfulness.
28	* AndImTheQueenOfSheba: Mr. Cox quotes this exactly when Daphne tries to bluff that the rest of the ''Judy's'' crew is still alive and covering them.
29	* {{Anticlimax}}: Originally, Mau and Daphne's tale ends this way [[spoiler: with Mau going fishing after he says goodbye to Daphne]]. The children listening demand more, however, and receive a BittersweetEnding.
30	* ArcWords: ''"Does Not Happen"'' is said by more people than just Mau and ''"End of the World"'' [[spoiler: is referenced: geographically (Nation/England), mythologically (the flood from the time when things were otherwise), and culturally with Daphne's new life, Mau's with the wave and Locaha's other worlds.]]
31	* ArcSymbol: [[spoiler: Mau's alaki axe]], doubling as a ChekhovsGun. When Mau [[spoiler: rams it into a tree]] during his rite of passage into manhood, he reflects that the next boy to pull it out would ''really'' be a man. But Mau never got to finish the passage before a tsunami devastated his whole world. He lost the soul of the boy he used to be and didn't get the soul of the man he was supposed to become, leaving him soulless. As more survivors begun to wash up on his island, Mau in turns lead and saved and enriched them. Out of the ruins, he started to restore the Nation. In the climax, running out of breath underwater and cornered by the bloodthirsty BigBad, Cox, who threatens to destroy his home, Mau spots a trunk... [[spoiler: the trunk with the axe in it. The boy who would pull that axe out to become a man was ''Mau'', and ''this'' was his new rite of passage; he had become a man by protecting what was his. He pulls it out, climbs up from behind and swings it at Cox, killing him and his threat to the Nation once and for all]].
32	* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: Subverted: Locaha offers to take Mau to Imo's "Perfect World". [[IChooseToStay Mau refuses, wanting to stay and making ''this'' world perfect]]. [[spoiler:Locaha reveals that everyone he ever makes the same offer to refuses as well, this being the whole point of the offer.]]
33	* {{Atlantis}}: One possible interpretation.
34	* AwesomeMomentOfCrowning: Played with: Mau is already the Chief of the Nation, it's Daphne's father who is crowned King.
35	* AxCrazy: First Mate Cox. There's a reason that if a ship already has a first mate, they'll quickly ask to be second mate if First Mate Cox comes aboard.
36	* BatmanGambit: How Daphne [[spoiler: kills Foxlip]]. She invites Foxlip and his companion to have beer and [[spoiler: demonstrates how to make the beer safe]], knowing that they wouldn't use a [[spoiler: savage]] tradition with their pride and prejudice. The fact that it's a BatmanGambit plagues Daphne with guilt.
37	* BittersweetEnding: The Nation survives and flourishes as [[spoiler: members of the royal society]]. Daphne's father is crowned king. However, Daphne [[spoiler:leaves the island and only sees Mau one more time]]. Although [[spoiler: the girl who's being told the story]] insists that [[spoiler: two dolphins were seen swimming together immediately after both Mau and Daphne died]].
38	* BizarreAlienLocomotion: The sailfin crocodile, mentioned in a footnote.
39	* BlazingInfernoHellfireSauce: Daphne is given a pepper which makes her "lie down with her head in a stream for three minutes" after eating it.
40	* BrickJoke: [[spoiler: At first glance Mrs. Ethel J. Bundy’s Birthday Island seems like the sort of SnipeHunt parents send their children on, its only relevance being that trying to find the tiny place is why Daphne studied the Mothering Sunday Islands so closely. Then Cookie later shows up and mentions his survival coffin washed ashore there.]]
41	* BrownNote:
42	** Cookie refers to a DramaticGunCock as being one of these: "the two-pound noise"
43	-->"Because when a man hears that in the dark, he loses two pounds of... [[LastSecondWordSwap weight]], quickly!"
44	** Mau realizes that [[spoiler:Grandad Nawi's trick for scaring sharks]] is one of these; [[spoiler:sharks don't like loud noises underwater, so it doesn't matter what word you yell at them as long as you scream your lungs out.]]
45	* BurialAtSea: The islanders' funeral rite involves dropping people into a particular riptide, where they're carried out to sea.
46	* CharacterWitness:
47	** Milo and Pilu serve as two for Mau when Ataba tries to destroy the fourth godstone and Mau saves the old man from drowning and sharks. Milo points out the flaws in Ataba's arguments and how Mau risked his life and is on the brink of death. Pilu's declaration that Mau "wet himself" showed that he was an ordinary man who felt fear but nevertheless faced the shark.
48	** When Daphne's father comes, Daphne serves as this on behalf of Mau, which stops her father from [[spoiler: colonizing the Nation]].
49	* ChekhovsGun:
50	** The [[TheMenInBlack Gentlemen of Last Resort]] crowning Daphne's father king.
51	** The axe, (a DoubleSubversion).
52	** [[spoiler: The recipe for making beer]] is a ChekhovsSkill, as is Grandad Nawi's [[spoiler: secret word for scaring sharks]].
53	* ChekhovsLecture:
54	** Daphne's time spent with Royal Society members was well spent, as she uses the science to [[spoiler: perfect the method of making beer and uncover the nation's importance to the world]].
55	** Mau learning about the Royal Society also helps him TakeAThirdOption for the Nation.
56	* ColourfulThemeNaming: The Gentlemen of Last Resort- Mr. Black, Mr. Brown, Mr. Amber, and Mr. Red.
57	* ComingOfAgeStory: Quite literally for Mau, as he was in-between being a child and man. In fact, he thought he lost his "child soul" and would gain a "man soul" when he got back to the Nation... but when he did, everyone was dead. So afterwards, the other survivors call him the Boy Without a Soul.
58	* CombatByChampion: The Raiders force Cox to undergo this.
59	* ContinuityPorn: Daphne explaining Nation's history to her dad at the end.
60	* CoolOldGuy: In flashbacks, Grandad Nawi, who, in spite of a crippled leg, was the best hunter and fisherman in the Nation, and knew a magic word to ''[[TheBeastmaster scare sharks away]]''. [[spoiler: Even though Mau learns that it's just a trick, it's no less awesome.]]
61	* CoolOldLady: Mrs. Gurgle (called so because Daphne can't pronounce her real name).
62	** Her name may be a call back to an earlier Pratchett character: Mrs. Gogol from ''Literature/WitchesAbroad'', another [[CoolOldLady witchy/shamanic woman.]]
63	* CrazyPrepared: Cookie, who always takes his coffin with him on sea voyages, in case he should die at sea... but has also made sure that the coffin can double as a lifeboat, and that it also includes supplies and fishing equipment. Daphne thinks that if there's any justice in the world, Cookie survived the tidal wave and managed to save himself with his coffin-lifeboat. [[spoiler: In the same chapter, it's revealed that he did.]]
64	* DeliberatelyCuteChild: Although it doesn't happen onscreen, it's hinted that Daphne is not above pulling this when she has to. There's an interesting flashback when, as a child, she corners a particularly-JerkAss cousin, tells him to stop his antics, and [[WoundedGazelleGambit promptly bursts into tears when the adults arrive]]. (The narrative also notes that her family could never have survived as long as it did without a mean streak.)
65	* DeliberateValuesDissonance: Daphne and Mau are no older than thirteen at the most -- Daphne is thirteen-- and yet the Nation's people acts as a large ShipperOnDeck for the two of them. Daphne tries not to laugh when the Nation's women suggest she would make a good wife for Mau.
66	** The sailors like Cox and Foxlip invoke IHaveYouNowMyPretty whenever they see Daphne, which makes them more disgusting since they are grown men. No wonder Daphne's father congratulates her when she confesses to [[spoiler: killing Foxlip]].
67	* {{Determinator}}: Mau. See SurvivalMantra.
68	* DidNotGetTheGirl: The two leads don't end up together, though it's suggested they reincarnate as paired dolphins after their deaths.
69	* DisappearedDad: Daphne's father went off to be the head of a colony. She was going to follow him a few months later, but then the wave happened...
70	* DisasterDominoes: [[spoiler: The destruction of the Grandfathers, in a literal domino effect]].
71	* DisneyDeath: [[spoiler: The parrot. Just before the climatic battle with Mau, [[KickTheDog Cox shoots it for annoying him]], and everyone assumes it died. However, it turns up again a few days later, missing a toe and a lot of feathers, but still as lively as ever.]]
72	* DistantFinale: The entire book takes place in 1859 or '60, except for the Epilogue which is the "Present Day".
73	* DontExplainTheJoke: Daphne's father makes the critical mistake of trying explain an IncrediblyLamePun, only to have the Gentlemen of the Last Resort tell him it wasn't funny. Of course, he's [[spoiler:king now]], so they tell it to him in a more polite manner.
74	* DontTryThisAtHome: There's an afterword discussing the truth behind some implausible-sounding things that happen in the story, like bullets moving more slowly underwater; most of them are accompanied with warnings that you should not try this at home. The last one ends, instead, with "Whether you try it at home is up to you."
75	* DuelToTheDeath: Between Mau and First Mate Cox.
76	* EarnYourHappyEnding: The heroes just go from one trial to the next before the story's resolution, ''and'' they avoid the typical fate that hit most native nations in the Pacific.
77	* EmbarrassingFirstName: Daphne, who is ''not'' Ermintrude.
78	* EvenEvilHasStandards:
79	** ''Cannibals'' don't like First Mate Cox because he kills for no reason.
80	** Vice-versa: he won't eat their diet...
81	* EverybodysDeadDave: Not only with Mau being the last survivor of the Nation, but with Daphne, too. Europe (and America, it is hinted at) is also being ravaged by the "Russian Influenza".
82	* {{Expy}}:
83	** First Mate Cox has a lot in common with [[Literature/NightWatchDiscworld Carcer Dun]], being a sadistic AxCrazy psychopath wearing the mask of a [[FauxAffablyEvil cheeky, jovial rascal]].
84	** Mrs. Gurgle resembles the old steppe-tribal necromancer from ''Literature/TheLightFantastic''.
85	* FarSideIsland: Referenced, and justified in a footnote: there's a species of palm that poisons the nearby soil to keep competitors from shading it.
86	* FelonyMisdemeanor: Part of the reason the crew of the ''Sweet Judy'' mutinied was Captain Roberts' habit of singing every hymn from ''The Antique and Contemporary Hymn Book'' while he was on watch.
87	* FlatEarthAtheist:
88	** After the wave, Mau steadfastly refuses to believe in the gods ...even as the ghosts of the Grandfathers shout in his ear. Even as he ''talks to Locaha, the God of Death''. In the end, it is said that he believes "Imo made us smart enough to realize he didn't exist." Lampshaded when priest Ataba points out that Mau ''needs'' the gods to exist [[NayTheist just enough so that he can be angry with them for not existing]].
89	** Daphne gets a few shades of this too.
90	* FootnoteFever: Relatively restrained for a Creator/TerryPratchett novel, but there are a few footnotes about (entirely fictitious) wildlife like the [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pacific_Northwest_tree_octopus tree climbing octopus]].
91	* FowlMouthedParrot: Implied to be invoked by First Mate Cox, who taught the ship's mascot to say things that would infuriate Captain Roberts.
92	* GiantWallOfWateryDoom: The Nation's fate at the beginning of the story.
93	* GoingNative:
94	** Lampshaded by Daphne in the text when she starts to wear less petticoats and make beer on the island.
95	** Inverted by Mau and the members of the Nation when they start to use more "trouser-men" tools.
96	** Missionary the Rt. Rev. Toppley, who turns down a chance to be Archbishop because "they'd make me wear shoes".
97	* GoodCannotComprehendEvil:
98	** Daphne has a hard time explaining Cox's behavior to the islanders. They can cope with cannibals, but not someone who shoots people and ''dolphins'' because they're there.
99	** Mau himself worries that if he starts to understand Cox, it'll mean he's ''becoming'' him. He eventually gets over this fear, reasoning that a hunter can understand how prey thinks without becoming an animal.
100	* TheGrimReaper: Locaha, and he's not as nice as Pratchett's other [[Literature/{{Discworld}} Grim Reaper]]. He acts cruelly uncaring, though some or even all of this might be [[StealthMentor a ploy to make Mau figure things out himself]]. He's also more eager to claim lives than Literature/{{Discworld}}'s Death. However, the JustSoStory that opens the book depicts his creation as a necessity to avoid overpopulation and shows him taking a stand against Imo when Imo wants to wipe out the already-populated world and start over.
101	* GuileHero: Daphne and Mau are this, and Mau's strength also makes him a GeniusBruiser.
102	* AHandfulForAnEye: Mau does this during his duel against Cox.
103	* HeroicBSOD:
104	** Mau goes through a pretty extreme version of this when he's sinking the bodies of his tribe in the ocean. Basically, his body's moving, but [[HappyPlace his mind isn't there any more]]. He doesn't even notice Daphne standing directly in front of him. He only wakes up just before drowning himself.
105	** Daphne gets a beneficial one via the Grandmothers to help her birth a baby.
106	* HeroicRROD: Happens to Mau after saving Ataba's life and facing down a shark.
107	* HiddenBackupPrince
108	* HumansAreBastards: Daphne's proof that no Westerners had been in the Islanders cave before her (and thus could not have planted the artifacts she found there) stems from this trope. Specifically, the fact that [[spoiler:there was a door made from eight tons of solid gold in there, and nobody had stolen it.]]
109	* IChooseToStay:
110	** Near the end of the book, the Locaha dubs Mau worthy to [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence join the Perfect World]], but Mau turns him down, believing it's more important to try to make ''this'' world perfect. [[spoiler: Which is exactly what makes him worthy in the first place, Locaha revealing with pride that everyone he's ever given the offer to has made the same choice.]]
111	** Also towards the end of the book, Daphne decides that this is what she will tell her father when he finds her, as she has built a role for herself in the Nation where she is useful and helps people - if she went back to Port Mercia with him she would go back to being a useless high society girl not allowed to do anything. [[spoiler: She realises she must accompany him back to England once it is [[UnexpectedSuccessor revealed he is the King]], as she will be the only person who knows him as himself, and not just 'the King'. And a small tropical island on the far side of the world isn't where the heir to the throne can live]].
112	* ImAHumanitarian: The cannibal Raiders. Cox joins forces with them, but claims not to have adopted the diet.
113	* IAmSpartacus: Subverted; when the Raiders come, Mau considers having Milo face one of the Raiders in hand-to-hand combat, posing as the Nation's chief. When the Raiders choose Cox, however, who will just shoot the champion, Mau (who is a twelve-year old boy) reveals himself as the chief and reveals his GuileHero skills.
114	* InSpiteOfANail: Despite the AlternateHistory aspects of the story, the present day epilogue suggests many major scientific figures still exist and work in the same fields.
115	** It's established in ''Literature/TheScienceOfDiscworld III'' that in the Pratchett Multiverse UsefulNotes/RichardDawkins is ''always'' a Darwinian biologist, whatever happens to history.
116	* IstanbulNotConstantinople: The Great Southern Pelagic Ocean is the Pacific under an assumed name.
117	* {{Jerkass}}: A few characters
118	** Ataba, a priest, who believes that since Mau doesn't have a soul he must have a demon, especially when Mau claims he doesn't believe in the gods. Slowly becomes a JerkassWoobie as the story goes on, culminating in [[spoiler: his death]].
119	** Daphne's grandmother, who [[spoiler: nearly]] becomes an EvilMatriarch. Fortunately once Daphne's father is crowned, he takes Grandmother down a peg.
120	* KickTheDog: First Mate Cox is the embodiment of this trope.
121	* KlingonPromotion: What Daphne's afraid may have happened after 137 people die, leaving her father as king.
122	--> '''Daphne:''' “Has my grandmother been doing anything… silly? With knives and guns, perhaps?”
123	* LetThemDieHappy: Mau inadvertently allows this for [[spoiler: Ataba]] after they open the Grandfathers' Cave; because [[spoiler: Ataba]] saw the stone statues of the gods, his faith is restored [[spoiler: right before Foxlip kills him]].
124	* LoopholeAbuse: [[DefiedTrope Defied]]. The Magna Carta (the ratified version) states that the heir to the throne must set foot on English soil within a year of the death of their predecessor, or forfeit the crown. Captain Samson guesses the boxes that the Gentleman of Last Resort are loading aboard his shop are filled with English soil which the heir will step on while still in the Pelagic Ocean. Unfortunately, Magna Carta specifies that the English soil must be firmly attached to England, though Mr Black complements Samson on his cleverness.
125	* MaybeMagicMaybeMundane: Locaha and the ancestors are described as speaking to other characters, but always within their own subjective experiences, and Mau's struggles with religion are a major theme.
126	* TheMenInBlack: The Gentlemen of Last Resort wear black suits and are named after colours. They mostly run things without bothering the government.
127	* MetaphoricallyTrue: When discussing the notion that the 'spirit' of the beer goes to the Grandfather's when the actual beer is drunk by the Grandfather birds, Daphne suggests this, but [[NayTheist Mau]] is having none of it.
128	-->'''Daphne''': Perhaps things can be true in special ways?\
129	'''Mau''': [[BluntNo No.]] That's what people say when they want to believe lies. And they usually do.
130	* MisplacedWildlife: In a rare justified example, several new bird species converge on Mau's island after the tsunami, presumably because their native isles were completely inundated and they had nowhere else to go. The FowlMouthedParrot, also a foreign species, was shipwrecked along with Daphne.
131	* MissingMom: We are given massive hints that Daphne's mother and little brother died (most likely through DeathByChildbirth). She was completely traumatized by the sight of the "little coffin."
132	* MoodWhiplash: Though the story is DarkerAndEdgier than most of Pratchett's fare, Daphne and Mau develop a sweet friendship in rebuilding the nation and saving each other's lives. They find the idea of marrying hilarious, since they're only kids. [[spoiler:Then they have to say goodbye for real, not only sinking the ship but also ending their friendship. Both are saddened while they understand why this has to happen. With that said Daphne makes one more visit and insists on a Nation burial when she dies]].
133	* MoralEventHorizon: In-universe examples, presented by the Nation.
134	** Foxlip shoots [[spoiler: Ataba]] for shaking a stick at him. [[spoiler: Daphne]] makes Foxlip pay with a BatmanGambit. Of course, [[spoiler: Daphne]] wonders if she has crossed the horizon and asks the Nation to judge her.
135	** In his backstory, Cox crosses it for the Nation when Daphne describes how he shot a ''dolphin''. For the Nation, dolphins are the souls of people who have yet to reincarnate, and if you kill a dolphin, you are killing a soul. Even the Raiders don't stoop that low.
136	* TheMultiverse: As explained by Locaha:
137	--->Everything ''that can happen must happen, and everything that can happen must have a world to happen ''in''.''
138	* NarrativeProfanityFilter:
139	** The parrot says a lot of words that girls Daphne's age shouldn't know, although the words she ''really'' doesn't know concern her even more.
140	** The last few chapters also contain a lot of "Cox swore" -- but then, he ''is'' the one who taught the parrot.
141	* NayTheist: Mau claims not to believe in the gods, but he also hates them. For not existing.
142	--> '''Mau''': Perhaps they do exist. I want to know why they act as if they don't - I want them to explain!
143	** A line relatively early in the book hints that Daphne's father is also this, due to what happened to his wife and son:
144	---> ''And perhaps at the other end of the world there is a place where the screaming can't be heard, and I may find it in my heart to grant God absolution!''
145	* NearDeathExperience: Both Daphne and Mau. Daphne does it on purpose to save Mau from Locaha.
146	* NearMisses: In the DuelToTheDeath between Mau & First Mate Cox, the former dives for cover in a lagoon. The bullets fired from the latter's gun are dramatically [[SoftWater slowed down upon hitting the water]], making them mostly harmless. Despite this, Mau loses an ear in the course of this scene.
147	* NiceJobFixingItVillain: Cox impulsively shooting twice at the parrot after it annoys him by announcing to the islanders that "Cox is the spawn of the devil!", and giving it a DisneyDeath alerts Daphne to the fact that his gun is a [[RevolversAreJustBetter 6-shot revolver]], allowing her to forewarn Mau of his advantage prior to their DuelToTheDeath, with Mau [[CountingBullets exploiting Cox's need to reload the gun]] to [[spoiler:surprise attack him with the axe he finds lodged in the debris washed up on the island reef they's fighting upon]]. It's {{Downplayed}} however, as Mau knowing about Cox having 6 shots still doesn't outright negate his advantage at the start of their duel, especially since it's taking place in a wide-open beach, and it's only through [[AHandfulForAnEye trickery]] on Mau's part that he can dive into the ocean to get some cover from Cox's attacks.
148	* NoodleIncident: 137 out of 138 ahead of Daphne's father in the line of succession fall victim to the Russian Influenza, but "Uncle Bernie"'s death is only known to involve something to do with lions.
149	* OnlyMostlyDead: [[spoiler: Mau in Chapter 8, causing him to briefly meet Locaha, his people's God of Death. Daphne helps him get better.]]
150	* OurSoulsAreDifferent: The island people believe that male children have a "boy soul" that they leave behind on the island where they live for a month as a coming-of-age ceremony. Once they return to the Nation, they receive a "man soul" via ritual tattooing and (implied) circumcision. As Mau left the Boy's Island but found no one left alive to perform these ceremonies, it's assumed by most that he has ''no'' soul.
151	* PluckyGirl: Daphne, Blibi.
152	* PoisonedChaliceSwitcheroo: Foxlip suspects Daphne of trying this, but it doesn't matter which bowl he takes; they both contain poison that turns into beer when you do the ritual, and she knows he won't.
153	* RapeIsASpecialKindOfEvil: First Mate Cox believes this; [[spoiler: cannibal-leading]], [[EvenEvilHasStandards dolphin-shooting, racist, psychopathic mutineer Cox]].
154	--> '''Cox''': He didn't try to mess you up, did he? I'd shoot him if he tried anything unsavoury.
155	* ReasonableAuthorityFigure: Daphne's father, more so when he becomes crowned king.
156	* RefusingParadise: [[spoiler: Locaha, the god of death, offers Mau the chance to ascend to the "Perfect World". Mau refuses, preferring to make his own world a little more perfect. Locaha notes with pride that everyone he's chosen has made the same choice.]]
157	* RiteOfPassage: The men of Mau's tribe take boys on the verge of manhood to a small island some way away from their home island, and leave them to find a way back home. [[spoiler:Because the tribe values cooperation alongside individual achievement, stashed on the island for the boys to find - and later leave behind for later generations - is a multi purpose tool than can, if the boy is skilled and diligent, be used to make a boat.]]
158	** After the wave, the rite of passage changes [[spoiler: to a night spent on the beach with a spear, guarding the Nation as Mau once did]].
159	* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Daphne's father, who works all night in his role as a Foreign Office minister, shows every signs of becoming one of these.
160	** The chiefs of the island civilizations are implied to have a large role in all of the island's battles.
161	* SavedByTheCoffin: {{Invoked}}. A ship's cook prepares for the possibility that his vessel might sink by bringing a coffin on board for himself ... and outfitting it with fresh water, fishing gear, and a small collapsible sail. In the wake of the tsunami, he's found sailing his coffin by a rescue ship.
162	* ShapedLikeItself: Pilu is telling the story of a shark encounter.
163	-->'''Pilu''': It was the biggest one I have ever seen! It was as long as a house! It had teeth like, like, like huge teeth!
164	* ShipperOnDeck: A good percentage of Nation's population are implied, offscreen, to ship Mau and Daphne. [[spoiler: Ultimately their hopes are averted.]]
165	* ShoutOut: To ''Literature/MobyDick''. The DistantFinale also mentions various modern scientists visiting the island and doing pretty much what they've done in our world; UsefulNotes/RichardFeynman playing drums, Dawkins being harassed by an intelligent tool-using animal, Creator/CarlSagan filming for ''Series/CosmosAPersonalVoyage''...
166	** Mau's first conversation with Locaha is reminiscent of [[Literature/WatershipDown El-ahrairah's's attempt to bargain with the Black Rabbit of Inle]]. Likewise, his letting the brothers address the Raider chieftains in his stead resembles how Bigwig was mistaken for the Down rabbits' leader, because who would expect a teenager or a lamed buck to be in charge?
167	* ShutUpHannibal:
168	-->"We've got four loaded pistols, missy", said [[spoiler:Polegrave]], waving one at her, "and [[BadassBoast they'll stop anything, d'you hear?]]"
169	-->"They won't stop the fifth man, Mr [[spoiler: Polegrave]]"
170	* SiblingSenioritySquabble:
171	-->'Which of you is the older?'\
172	'Me,' said the girl.\
173	'Huh, yes, ''six minutes'',' said the boy.
174	* SmallSecludedWorld: the main character's world only includes a few islands since no one in his tribe ever sailed far enough to see the continent.
175	* SmiteMeOhMightySmiter: Mau is angry not only with the gods (which he refuses to believe in), but the Grandfathers, who shout in his head.
176	* SoftWater: Averted, just like in real life, water can [[spoiler: stop bullets.]]
177	* StarCrossedLovers: As soon as people on the island learn that Daphne and Mau are working together, they assume the two will make a perfect couple. Daphne finds it amusing but keep reminding the locals that she's only thirteen, and Mau as the ''de-facto'' chief just can't marry a random girl. Mau agrees, telling people that the bigger focus is rebuilding the Nation and staving off the threat of the Raiders. [[spoiler:And ''then'' it kicks in sadly when Daphne has to leave the island as her father's heir to the crown, so she has to go back to England. She and Mau say goodbye and only see each other once more. The narrative confirms they never got together in their lifetimes, and maybe not even in death]].
178	* SurvivalMantra: When Daphne is caught by an undertow and Mau pleads with Locaha for her life, he is told that there is no pleading with Death; there is only what happens and what does not happen. When he pulls her back to the shore, he calls back with a defiant "Does not happen!" From then on, the phrase is repeated throughout the book as Mau continues to stave off death.
179	* TheUnreveal: Daphne's question is never answered, if her grandmother managed to kill 138 people to make her father king. It's unlikely, but you never know . . .
180	* ThoseTwoGuys: Foxlip and Polegrave, Cox's cronies.
181	* ThouShaltNotKill: Subverted by Daphne, who kills one the mutineers by poisoning. She did warn him, but she knew he wouldn't listen, and so she begs to be put on trial by the Nation. They find her [[spoiler: innocent]].
182	* ThreateningShark: Mau confronts a shark while trying to raise the god anchors; [[spoiler: Cox is eaten by]] several of them later on.
183	* TogetherInDeath: {{Discussed\|Trope}} by the children in the FramingDevice, who insist that the "proper" ending to the story is that two dolphins were seen swimming in the lagoon after Daphne and Mau's funerals.
184	* TooDumbToLive:
185	** The only coronation shorter than Henry's was that of Bubric the Saxon, who crowned himself with a very pointy crown on a hill during a thunderstorm and reigned for one and a half seconds.
186	** Daphne claims that Foxlip is this [[spoiler: when her BatmanGambit kills him]]. She's crying as she says this, though, so it's hard to see if she's saying that objectively.
187	* TranslationConvention: Mau's language is rendered as English. So, obviously, is Daphne's English. This makes it a bit odd when they both appear to speak the same language but can't understand one another.
188	* UnexpectedSuccessor: Daphne, to the throne of England.
189	** Her father was 139th in line for the throne. The improbability is {{Lampshaded}} when her father gets the news. We only hear his side of the conversation, but...
190	---> Henry: "Me? ... What, all of them? ... What about Uncle Bernie? I know for a fact that he is in America! ...They have lions there?"
191	* TheVoiceless: The Unknown Woman and some of the other survivors. They have good reason.
192	* WalkingShirtlessScene: Mau and everyone on the island except Daphne, even the women. Some pull it off better than others.
193	* UsefulNotes/WarsOfTheRoses: One of Daphne's ancestors fought in them -- wearing a ''pink'' rose, and lived because everyone thought it was bad luck to kill a madman. With the exception of [[OnlySaneMan Daphne and her father Henry]] the Fanshaws are... ''[[ItRunsInTheFamily interesting]]''.
194	* WhatYouAreInTheDark: Ataba found the Nameless Woman and her baby on a raft while making his way to the Nation. It was a hard enough journey for an old man alone, but there is never any indication that he even considered not bringing them with him to what he thought was safety. When he realises this, Mau becomes a lot less angry with the old man.
195	* WillTheyOrWontThey: Daphne and Mau. [[spoiler:They don't, much to the disappointment of the children listening to the story in the framing narrative.]]
196	* WitchDoctor: Mrs. Gurgle
197	* WomensMysteries: Which include the secret of beer, which is for when a woman has had "too much husband" (needs to get him out of her hair for a while). This causes problems for Mau when the Grandfathers demand their beer.
198	** On the Men's Mysteries side, there's the... thing with the knife where you must not scream, heavily implied to be a ritualized circumcision.
199	* WoundedGazelleGambit: Daphne got away with considerable mischief when she was younger, by virtue of being a 9-year-old girl with blonde curls- such as breaking the fingers of her cousin for mistreating animals, then bursting into tears when the adults came running.

Context Literature / Nation