The Journey in Children’s Fantasy Fiction - 1334 Words

There Back Again: Analysing The Journey in Children’s Fantasy Fiction in regards to the Escapism Debate So many children’s fantasy fiction stories began as larks, extempore creations for their delight, and were written down and published by chance – Lewis Carroll invented Alice In Wonderland (1865) simply to amuse Alice Liddell while boating one ‘golden afternoon’, while Neil Gaiman originally started writing Coraline (2002) for his daughter Holly because she liked scary stories. So much so, that a dominant trope of this genre is its seeming literary insignificance. Indeed, by resting chiefly on the assumption that children’s fantasy fiction is set in unrealistic secondary worlds which encourage young readers to avoid confronting real-life tensions and problems, the genre is often construed as having no higher purpose than being primarily and pejoratively escapist. It has therefore been continuously marginalized, if not wholly condemned for its lack of literary value by academics and public opinion. And even though the efforts of theorists, such as Mar ia Nikolajeva and Brian Atteberys, have validated the literary significance of the genre to an extent, the defence of fantasy fiction for children remains an ongoing, long-standing effort. In 1947 for instance, J.R.R. Tolkien in his classic essay ‘On Fairy Stories’ argued that fantasy, rather than merely offering a distraction from reality, created a space that allowed the reader to â€Å"produce a keener perception of theShow MoreRelatedThe Dark Crystal Film Analysis1233 Words   |  5 Pagescreated and directed by puppeteers Jim Henson and Frank Oz, was a fantasy film that involved intricate puppeteers and animatronics. Aside from The Muppets and Sesame Street, which involves more comedic skits to relay their message to its viewers, The Dark Crystal was a different kind of muppet movie because it used fantasy, fiction and action to tell its story. With this change in Jim Henson’s usual way of story telling, the fantasy aspect of the movie becomes associate d with the narrative patternsRead MoreFantasy Is Reality Essay1149 Words   |  5 PagesHobbit deserves no further explanation. Yet the use of fantasy in it is remarkable and prominent, which contributes to its popularity over the years since it has been published in the 1930s. According to Steven Jones, the use of fantasy in fairy tales is quot;the most salient...stylistic feature.quot; In most other stories which fall into the genre of fairy tales or fantasy literature, one can never overemphasize the importance of fantasy in them. However, the fantastical elements there is usuallyRead MoreChildrens Literature Midterm Essay785 Words   |  4 Pagestraditional literature is also considered poetry? Ballads 5. Which book was the FIRST significant fantasy novel ever published? Black Beauty 6. Tall tales originated in the U.S. 7. Type IV animal fantasy (told though animals’ viewpoint) will always have: real world setting 8. The Caldecott medal is awarded annually to: illustrator///United States 9. Which story is a classic example of an enchanted journey fantasy book? Alice’s adventures in wonderland 10. A story setting includes both where and whenRead MoreDifferences Between The Stories Bat And The Color Of Earth 874 Words   |  4 Pagesas they are maturing from young children to young adults. On the surface there are a lot of similarities between the stories Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Weetzie Bat and The Color of Earth. The main characters Alice, Weetzie and Ehwa have a journey or an adventure they are going through that will help their character development at the end of the story. In Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland Alice is the female protagonist that encounters many strange scenarios that she has to overcome. The actionRead MoreEssay about The Works of E. B. White1540 Words   |  7 PagesLife In The Woods and it was the only book that White cared about owning (Bill Delaney). According to Delaney, Thoreau’s subtle humor and individualistic philosophy has influenced White and it can be seen through his writing, including his short fiction. Delaney also said that White never lost his sense of humor even when dealing with depressing subjects. Most characteristic of White’s short stories is their strange mixture of humor and emotional distress. In this way he resembles his friend JamesRead MoreLife Of Pi By Yann Martel1450 Words   |  6 Pagesthe wide variety of lessons to discover within fiction. From children’s books to hit novels, each story has a theme to announce to the reader. The adventure novel, Life of Pi written by Yann Martel, uses hints of magical realism to express these themes. Pi, the main character of the novel, is thrown into multiple imaginative challenges throughout his 227 day journey, including being stranded in the Pacific Ocean with a Bengal tiger. Martel uses fantasy and magical realism to showcase major themes throughoutRead MoreEssay on C. S. Lewis Works970 Words   |  4 Pageswrote a trilogy of science-fiction books (the Space Trilogy, consisting of Out of the Silent Planet, 1938; Perelandra, 1943; and That Hideous Strength: A Modern Fairy Tale for Grownups, 1945) with underlying Christian themes. He was still unmarried in the early 1950’s, living with his brother and an elderly widow and her daughter. It is perhaps surprising, then, that Lewis is best known by those other than academics as a children’s writer. The seven novels in his fantasy series the Chronicles ofRead MoreAnalysis Of On The Road By Langston Hughes1570 Words   |  7 PagesLangston Hughes whose major themes are of race, religion, and subjective nature of fiction. An influential African-American writer, Hughes was born in 1902 and primarily raised by his maternal grandmother (Meyer 1032). Over the course of his illustrious career he would go on to write poems, novels, short stories, essays, plays, opera librettos, histories, documentaries, anthologies, autobiographies, biographies, children’s books, translations, and even radio and television scripts (Meyer 1034). â€Å"OnRead MoreThe Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe704 Words   |  3 Pages The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is a fascinating, adventurous journey about 4 siblings t raveling through a magical wardrobe to a land called Narnia. As they explore the land, they learn of its destiny and free it from the evil white witch, with the help of a majestic lion. According to Time Magazine, â€Å"There’s no fire, no passion and not much fun.† I have to disagree with this statement because I thought that movie was fun-filled and intriguing. As the movieRead MoreThe Life of Coraline Neil Gaiman1484 Words   |  6 PagesCoraline – Neil Gaiman Neil Richard MacKinnon Gaiman born 10 November 1960 is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, graphic novels, audio theatre and films. His other notable works include the comic book series The Sandman and novels Stardust, American Gods, and The Graveyard Book. He has won numerous awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker awards, as well as the Newbery and Carnegie medals. Neil Gaiman is an author who focusses his attention on the dark and creepy