Characteristics Of 20th Century Fantasy Fiction

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

Fairy tale characters, along with other fictional beings, have entertained and inspired many children for centuries. Various little girls, all over the world have dreamed of one day finding their Prince Charming and meeting their godmother, while little boys were on the look out for dragons and dragon slayers. At some point however, the magic in many of the little children eyes slowly drifted away, and their belief in this fictional reality wavered. Americans in the 21st century seem to have lost their connection with imagination. In “Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons?,” Ursula LeGuin claims that Americans fail to read fictional novels because they have lost faith in an alternate reality, and find books useless, due to the lack of personal gain. Yet, LeGuin overlooks the many maturely developed Americans who have never touched any fictional print, and exaggerates their self-indulging nature.

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.

In literature, there are genres. Two main genres are fiction and nonfiction. Fiction is a work of art that is not real or based on the facts. “‘Fiction’ refers to literature created from the imagination” (“What is the difference…?”). It can explain a story in a different point of view, maybe in a way that is out of the norm. Fiction is basically just nonfiction in an exaggerated way. Though fiction may not be based on the facts, it can still resemblance a sense of real life events. “Fiction may base on stories on actual historical events. Although fictitious characters are presented in a fictitious setting in stories and novels, yet they may have some resemblance with real life events and characters” (“Fiction”). Literature is meant to

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.”

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.

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.

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,

Fantasy is a genre that uses supernatural situations as a main plot setting. Fantasy is a measure by which responders can be introduced to important notions in texts. C.S. Lewis’ novel, The Magician’s Nephew explores the creation of Narnia. Lewis explores friendship through the characters of Polly and Digory. The notion of Good vs. Evil and magic are also used throughout the novel and helps us understand the need for fantasy in our own lives.

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

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

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.

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,

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

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