v anglickém jazyce: This thesis mainly analyzes the five-part novel Gargantua and Pantagruel written by the French author Francois Rabelais. Emphasis is based particularly on an inclusion of Rabelais's work in historical and literary context of the period of transformation between medieval and Renaissance society. More specifically, it deals with the author's humanist opinion and his critique of contemporary society, which is the main line of the work itself. The aim of our thesis is especially an attempt to outline the various possible meanings of the terms « road or path » and « stranger » in Rabelais's work and explain the role of these thematic concepts in the author's concept of criticism of society.