Weeks 3-4; Fantasy, 'Earth Sea'

How does  Attebery (1980) define Fantasy? Find at least five definitions.

 

Attebery proposes the question; what is fantasy? He says there are numerous ways to define the genre, however, most importantly, we have to decide what the essential characteristics are, the defining ones. (Attebery, 1980). Throughout this post, I will mention the definitions I found whilst reading Attebery's work, the ones I agree with and think define fantasy exceptionally well.

W.R Irwin, (as cited in Attebury, 1980), states that

"whatever the material, extravagant or seemingly commonplace, a narrative is a fantasy if it presents the persuasive establishment and development of an impossibility, an arbitrary construct of the mind with all under the control of logic and rhetoric" (p.9). 

I completely agree with this definition, especially the 'development of an impossibility'. Fantasy is all about making the unreal, seem real and come alive, to the reader/viewer.

Attebery goes on to say that a narrative is a part of the fantasy genre, when a significant part or all of it involves some sort of violation of what it's author believes to be 'natural law'.

Furthermore, he states that there are many ways a story can prove itself to be apart of the fantasy catagory. It can involve mystical creatures, such as flying horses, dragons, or shape shifters. Or it can revolve around magical, brought to life objects that would usually be inanimate, like talking hats, or moving picture frames..take Harry Potter for example. It could also 'proceed through events', Attebery gives the example of a tree reaching out to grab a person, to me, I think of the Wizard of Oz. 

Attebery believes that fantasy distinguishes between itself and other similar genres, by the way it demands a 'straightforward treatment' of characters, objects, or events, we would generally consider impossible.

Fantasy makes these impossibilities happen "without hesitation, without doubt", says Attebery (1980). It makes us believe that such things could under any circumstances, come true.

Reference

Attebery, B. (1980). The Fantasy of Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

 

Definitions of Fantasy

How does Atterbery (1980) define Fantasy? Find at least five definitions. 

When I was reading the article I found five definitions of fantasy. These are the five definitions I found.

Definition 1: The single condition, that a story treat an impossibility as if it were true (Attebery, 1980)

 Definition 2: an overt violation of what is generally accepted as possibility... Whatever the material, extravagant or seemingly commonplace, a narrative is a fantasy if it presents the persuasive establishment and development of an impossibility, an arbitrary construct of the mind with all under the control of logic and rhetoric. (Irwin as cited by Attebery, 1980)

Definition 3: founded upon the hard recognition that things are so in the world as it appears under the sun; on recognition of fact but not slavery to it. (Tolkien as cited by Attebery, 1980)

Definition 4: Any narrative which includes as a significant part of its make-up some violation of what the author clearly believes to be natural law. (Attebery, 1980)

Definition 5: The fantastic... That hesitation experienced by a person who knows the laws of nature, confronting an apparently supernatural event” (Todorov as cited by Attebery, 1980)

I think from reading them that Atterberys own definition are either the

The single condition, that a story treat an impossibility as if it were true (Attebery, 1980)

Or

Any narrative which includes as a significant part of its make-up some violation of what the author clearly believes to be natural law. (Attebery, 1980)

References

Attebery, B. (1980). The Fantasy of Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Some interesting posts here, but not much feedback, not much in way of discussion threads...keep on blogging, guys.

What are some archetypes (e.g. common character types)of fantasy fiction?

A number of more common archetypes exist these days in fantasy and Science fiction/fantasy stories.  These include but are not limited to...

The hero/heroine: All storys have one or more of these, this is your main focus of the story, the character who is intended for the reader/audience to identify with, to support through their journey.  This character will traditionally face many trials and hardships, not always coming out successfully, but the story woven in such a way that they will ultimately come out stronger from the ordeal.  Examples can include characters like Frodo from Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Tintin, Luke Skywalker, King Arthur and many more.

The antagonist:  This is the main opponent that the hero/heroine is destined to face (and possibly defeat) in the final climax of the story, this character can vary quite dramatically though, they can be dark and brooding,  a skilled trickster that may make the hero think of them as a friend just for them to end up double-crossing the hero, or something as simple as an insane genius who wants nothing more than to destroy the world.  Examples of this archetype are Darth Vader, Voldemort, and Sauron

The guide/scholar:  This is your traditional mentor that provides info of essential use to the protagonist in early stages of the story, but more often than not dies during one of the climaxes during Act 2 of a story.  Examples include Gandalf in Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Obi-wan from Star Wars Episode IV and Dumbledore from the Harry Potter series of books, just to name a few

The maiden: This female archetype is typically one of beauty, innocence and purity, often playing the part of a love interest to the protagonist (when the role is held by a male character), and often 'exists' for the purpose of being rescued by the hero, though this has changed substantially in recent years.  Examples include Princess Leia from Star Wars and Arwen from Lord of the Rings.

The Mercenary: This character is often out to line their own pockets, sometimes accompanying the protagionists party as a means to an end, or possibly due to guilt or other obligations that have forced them into the situation. 

The "not-too-bright" swordsman: This is your typical bumbling warrior, extremely skilled in the ways of the sword, but not the brightest bulb when it comes to matters that require a more-than-average amount of thinking

The sorcerer: This is your weaver of everything mystic and arcane, able to conjure spells and incantations from something as simple as a ball of light no brighter than a light bulb, to a spell of mass destruction that could easily rival a nuclear warhead.  Sorcerer archetypes are usually (but not always) portrayed to be eccentric bookworms, often living in large towers and being rather reclusive, but not entirely unfriendly.

Archetypes

What are some archetypes (e.g. common character types) of fantasy fiction?

I am not really a fan of fantasy fictions but I really enjoyed reading Harry Potter series and Lord of the Rings. Tax(2002) stated that great fantasies, myths and tales are indeed like dreams: they speak from the unconscious to the unconscious, in the language of the unconscious-symbol and archetype. Many famous fantasy novels include some archetypes and they naturally arise in the story, instead of just coming out into it. So without being aware of them, archetypes are deeply involved with the story.

Two important archetypes are Father and Wise old man. For example, in Lord of the Rings, Gandalf appear as a wise old man and as a guide of Frodo. On the other hand, Elrond is a father figure who takes care of Frodo.

In the Harry Potter, the headmaster of the Hogwarts, Professor Albus Dumbledore is a wise old man who guides Harry. The film Star wars, Yoda acts as an old wise man.

Another important archetype is Hero. Hero usually represents the good side of human that fights against bad guy. The examples of archetype heroes are Beowulf, Harry Potter and Ged from (A wizard of Earthsea). Whereas the shadow represents the dark, bad side of human, and sometimes they arise in animal figure. In the Harry Potter series, Voldemort sometimes shows up as snake and Snakes speak a language called Parseltongue. Only a select few wizards can speak this language, most of whom were Dark wizards. (Harry Potter Wiki, 2012)

References

Harry Potter Wiki. (2012). Snake. Retrieved from http://harrypotter.wikia.com/wiki/Snake

Tax, M. (Jan 28, 2002). In the Year of Harry Potter, Enter the Dragon. In The Nation.

Week 4, Earthsea

 Question,

How is science fiction different from fantasy, according to Le Guinn?

 To answer this question, it is necessary to define what fiction is. In the article “Plausibility Revisited”, Le Guinn (2005) defined that fiction is an imaginary story, it is not what happened. There are many branches of it. Science fiction and Fantasy is one of those. Basically, these two fictions can be divided by plausibility. Fantasy is the story of magic and other supernatural phenomena whereas Science fiction is imaginary but more or less plausible element such as future settings (Le Guinn, 2005). For example, Le Guinn’s famous fiction “The Earthsea Quartet” is a fantasy. As we can see a picture left side of a text, the Earthsea is a high fantasy, setting with fully realised other world. Science fiction, on the other hand, is more realistic. Our coming reading task, Dick’s Man in the High Castle is a Science fiction that a story based on the Second World War. In the lecture, Professor Jonhnson refer to Fantasy that the suspension of disbelief, and reaction to modern technology. From this idea, it might be said that Science fiction is our desire of future life.

Reference :

Le Guinn, U. K. (2005) Plausibility Revisited. Retrieved August 10, 2012, from http://www.ursulakleguin.com/PlausibilityRevisited.html

Week 4 * Earth Sea

Science fiction and heroic fantasy were mostly for men, however, Le Guinn’s style of fantasy includes pure creation of the imagination and this fantasy appeals to both women and men. According to Tax (2002), the genre viewed in America included contemporary realism with monsters, ghosts. Living writers with their work not grounded in realistic, contemporary premise were disqualified by genre from the libraries being shelved with “literature”. Following on Tax (2002), Ursula Le Guinn has written forty books and none of them is predictable and don’t know whether to classify the Earthsea books as children’s literature of adult. Le Guinn explains that people turn to the realms of fantasy for stability because of our rapid moral and mental transformations which can be unsettling for people. Fantasy becomes a commodity for the readers and Le Guinn’s science fiction is about political and social life with imaginary societies and deals with revolution. Le Guinn quotes “The great fantasies, myths, and tales are indeed like dreams...” . According to Armitt (2005), ‘fantasy’ is a word commonly criticized by literary and non-literary. Where fantasising is ‘airy-fairy,’ then, realism is ‘grounded’. Fantasy enjoys along with the unconscious with a greater freedom from our daily lives and avoiding the real life stories. According to Attebery (1980), fantasy invokes wonder by making the impossible seem familiar and the familiar seem new and strange. When we read fantasy we explore the unknown and characters adventure in the mysterious land. There is always a connection between Christianity and fantasy where Christians don’t allow people to watch fantasy movies, for example, Harry Potter, Lord of the rings. However, I believe it’s about the type of movies that can influence people these days that Christians are aware of. In the last chapter in the bible (revelation) has the whole fantasy background where many of the directors get their ideas from. I myself as a Christian believe that it is not about what movies people should watch or not watch, but a lot of fantasy and action movies are highly influential.

Armitt, L. (2005). Fantasy fiction: An introduction. New York: The continuum international publishing group.

Attebery, B. (1980). The fantasy tradition in American literature: From irving to Le Guinn. Bloomington: Indiana U P.

Le Guinn, U. (1993; 1968). The earthsea quartet. London: Penguin.

Tax, M. (2002). Year of Harry Potter, enter the dragon. In The nation.