20th Century Fantasy Fiction
What!
Fantasy is what dreams are made of. Fiction is what form these dreams take. Fantasy fiction meanwhile is a genre which has its roots in legends, myths, magic, supernatural and the impossible. It combines the ___of fantasy and the make-belief nature of fiction to create an out of the world (literally!) work of art. Fantasy fiction may not necessarily be only literature, it can be plays, movies, shows or even video games. It is everything that is missing in the real world. Also the thing about fantasy fiction is that we can never be sure that it doesn’t exist because of the sheer detailing and the fact that the magic world is hidden even in the story.
Why!
Children are often read to fairy tales. The stories about how the princess gets saved from the evil queen, or how animals are our friends, or how monsters are evil and should be avoided. It’s not without reason that they are told these fantasy world stories. Since children’s minds are a powerful and imaginative thing, these stories help them to think creatively and can even define the direction which they want to go early on. They also help develop critical thinking, teach right from wrong, boost their imagination and also are a great source of fun. So it really comes as no surprise that young adults and fully grown adults need a dose of fantasy fiction too.
When!
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The term fantasy fiction found its way in the early 20th century although works on them were there from two centuries ago. But it became popular with the publishing of J. R. R. Tolkien’s three volume novel The Lord of the Rings. This along with Ursula K. Le Guin’s ‘A Wizard of Earthsea’ and other late 20th century best-sellers like the JK Rowling’s ‘Harry Potter Series’ and George RR Martin’s ‘Game of Thrones Series’ made this genre the one of the most sought-after
After reading the Harry Potter series, U spent weeks anticipating a letter from a magical school that would reveal that I was in fact a wizard and was invited to attend their classes to learn magic. People tend to enjoy reading fiction so they can live vicariously through the characters in the story. Fiction, despite being “made-up”, often have close similarities to the real world. By taking a closer look at “The Veldt” by Ray Bradbury and “The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe, one can infer that fiction reveal a significant amount of truths about human nature.
Virginia Stem Owens, in “Telling the Truth in Lies,” reveals that reasoning, by fictional stories, provides an effective way of knowledge for children. In this short essay, Virginia Stem Owens explains that children learn about the world through the lens of fiction. They make sense of the world, by using these stories to make connections with the world around them. The author reveals this when she gives her experience with fictional stories. She describes it as the place where she realized that “understanding and hope nourished.”
Fantasy and science fiction are two wonderful genres of literature that can be enjoyed by all ages. They allow us to escape into other worlds filled with magic, mythical creatures, and futuristic societies. While all ages enjoy these stories, they are particularly important for children as they can help them to grow and understand the real world around them. Although these books have fictional settings and characters, they contain experiences, emotions, and messages that children experience in the real world. Two of the works of fantasy/science fiction that I read this week are Clever Jack Takes the Cake by Candace Fleming and Leo a Ghost Story by Mac Barnett. Both of these stories create worlds of fantasy that children can relate to and learn from.
Genre Theory is used in the categorization of films. Genres are dependent on various factors such as story line, whom the director is, and what are the audience expectations In using genre theory we create a short cut in how we describe films. Genres are categorized into and then sub categorized depending on the story and plot. Fantasy is a genre described as, “Any film with obviously unreal, magical, or impossible situations, characters, or settings, often overlapping with various other genres, especially science fiction, but sometimes historical dramas.” (Goodykoontz, 2014) Fantasy is a genre that typically includes a crossover genre, sci-fi,
It surprised me at first that Contemporary Realistic Fiction is the most popular genre in children’s books. But after reading this it made more sense why contemporary realistic fiction is the most popular genre. It approaches the reality of children’s own lives. They can also connect to it so much easier than other genres.
The early decades of the last century saw the loss of credibility of fantasy literature among the academic elite who ruled it a popular genre with little to no scholarly merit. Little that had had the misfortune of being dubbed fantasy had escaped the blacklist cast upon the field. Many critics had also labeled the fantasy genre as largely cliché, full of shallow characters, and as having no value beyond being purely escapist entertainment. These generic labels, applied wholesale to fantastic literature, had pushed it off the
Children’s literature can take many forms, from far-fetching science fiction to spell binding who-done-it mysteries. One of the most popular ideas presented in these various forms is that of escapism. The characters in these stories explore quite complex social issues in ways that are less confrontational then realism. One might consider why escape is such a central theme; as a child there are numerous benefits to fantasy, it allows readers to experiment with different views of the world and takes hypothetical situations and invites them to make connections between this fictive scenario and their own reality. John Stephens an English professor at Macquarie University has said “ Fantasy writing operates through metaphor- so that the unfamiliar is used to stand in for, or comment upon, the familiar.”
Fantasy allows children to stimulate their imagination, develop abilities, clarify emotions, and understand the difficulties in life, while at the same time suggesting solutions to problems. However, it is impossible for “realistic” stories to do the same. These lifelike stories are often uninteresting, complicated, meaningless, and do not provide their readers with psychological contentment. As a result, authors like Bruno Bettelheim deeply express the importance of fairy tales for children and kids alike. Therefore, in my estimation, a child might be comforted and experience growth and awareness through the viewing of fantasy stories like The Wizard of Oz due to the
In an age where the printed novel has been somewhat on the decline, and the necessity of readable fiction has almost faded into obscurity. I believe that literature still harbours a crucial part within our society; from the very foundations of most theatrical adaptations, to preserving the culture and encapsulating the feelings of generations past. In this case literature cements itself as one of the most decisive elements of our civilisation, and combining it with history makes it become a testament to who we are as people, as well as the conservation of both our progression and degradation. I have always enjoyed reading literature, from reading J.R.R Tolkien’s classic ‘Lord of the Rings’ trilogy within my childhood, to perhaps more sophisticated,
Before the books were brought to the big screen, they had already permanently influenced the culture. The consequences of launching Lord of The Rings turned out to be ubiquitous and far-reaching. The books were released over sixty years ago but they are still universal and extremely popular. Even though, Tolkien did not invent fantasy, he defined the genre. Many other books which belong to the category of young adult, can owe their success to him.
Both J. R. R. Tolkien‘s The Hobbit and C.S. Lewis’s The Lion The Which and the Wardrobe are classic novels that are recognized as some of the best works of the 20th century. Tolkien was a famous writer from Bloemfontein, South Africa, born on January 3, 1892, while Lewis was born only a few years later in Belfast, Ireland on November 29, 1898 (Biography.com Editors). They have both had so many great affects on literature, and in particular the fantasy genre, because both The Hobbit, and The Lion The Which and the Wardrobe are of the fantasy genre, but surpass the typical fantasy stories that have become prevalent. Tolkien, a profound author, published The Hobbit on September 21, 1937 as a prequel to one of the most popular book series
There are also the authors that actually mix the fantasy and the reality to a point that it is really hard to see the difference between them, Gabriel Garcia Marquez is said to be the father of this gender called “Magic Realism”, he said that the reason that he sees the world in that particular way of his, is because of the persons
Tolkien’s work are masterpieces in fantasy writing, but have sparked great controversy in the writer’s world of fiction. “The Lord of the Rings” explains that Tolkien’s perspective of modernism is not just considered a free form of writing , but a way of thinking. Also Tolkien’s popularity has come from his reference to an older, more traditional world where man has an obvious relationship with both the spiritual and natural world around him (128). “The Hobbit” says, “Tolkien believed mythology and fairy tales helped bridge the gap between generations” (104). Tolkien thought that his books had no age limits for who “should” be allowed to read them and brought imagination and wonder to whoever would read his books. Tolkien’s books have been told to represent “good” as a fuller, more imaginative reality than evil and has received many praises. “The Hobbit” explains, The Hobbit is a grand adventure of good defeating evil. The story is an important work in its own right and has made a foundation of the use of elements from myths in their work which modern fantasy, horror, and science-fiction writers build off of (104). “The Lord of the Rings” says, “Through innovations in both content and form, Tolkien created a saga that satisfied modern hunger in many new myths-Those heroic tales perpetuated in every culture that speak the power of
The word “genre” is defined as a category of artistic composition, whether that art be painting, music, or literature. Genres are always defined by an origin point, the first and most essential example of its kind. In the case of literature, these are known as classical books. Novels and stories that are responsible for developing or popularizing a certain style, or theme. An easy example of a classical book responsible for creating genres could be The Hobbit. A fantasy novel written by J.R.R. Tolkien to entertain his children and keep track of the bedtime stories he continuously told them. Tolkien’s wonderous stories bore a new era of creation, seeing the continuation of the story in Lord of the Rings, and becoming the basis for modern fantasy
Although many view children's fiction as suitable only to children, and an embarrassingly immature pursuit for a serious person, children' stories mold the way we think. They allows us to look at very complex and difficult issues in a safe and playful way, and they give us the freedom to imagine the unimaginable.