Gargantua and Pantagruel << gahr GAN chu uh and pan TAG ru ehl, >> by François Rabelais, is a comic narrative on French society of the 1500’s. The work was published in a series of books beginning in 1532. In the early volumes, Gargantua and his son Pantagruel are giants with enormous appetites. They take part in fantastic adventures, through which Rabelais pokes fun at the customs of the day. But through the humor, Rabelais expresses serious ideas about such subjects as education, politics, and religion.
