Prompted by Mazu's thread/post about his/her (sorry, couldn't tell which - the post wasn't very "gender specific", and there wasn't a symbol by their name) enthusiasm for the genre of Sci-Fi, I felt that it was
waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay past due to have a thread devoted to High Fantasy, and the reason why I (and so many others) get so much out of it.
Quoting Mazu in the afore mentioned thread:
I just started to get into Science Fiction, and am surprised how much I enjoy them. The format allows for the exploration of deeper issues of morality, humanity, society, and spirituality that would be harder to explore in modern fiction without it being pretentious. Even so, I find modern fiction extremely petty and vain.
I responded with:
This is exactly the same reason I read - and love - high fantasy. I don't find the same fulfillment, however, out of reading sci-fi. I prefer my sci-fi to come in doses of TV and movie (i.e. Star Trek), however, I thought that Ender's Game (Orson Scott Card is a master) was truly brilliant - having such a powerful message - and I agree with it being required reading in schools (as it is, in some schools, in the States). High Fantasy remains my genre of choice, consistently, because of the afore mentioned exploration of REAL life issues. I even wrote an article about it a few years back entitled, An Essay of The Heart - Why I Read Fantasy. In that article, I examined the worth and message of the books I am drawn to over the modern - and usually disgustingly jejune - fiction novels out there that people seem to mindlessly feed upon, and get sick on, like too much Halloween candy. I used to manage a bookstore, so I had quite a while to observe my consumers "diet" - a foolish diet, for the most part, a lot of the time, in my opinion.
It does not surprise me to hear that you find such substance in the novels you have mentioned; they are ever more than "just a good story"; while they are entertainment, they are also so much more. Keep reading...and adventuring. And, let me suggest to you, that if you are finding such enjoyment from these books you might also find such in my favourite genre as well...for the same reasons.
And, I went in search of said article - which I originally had on an old webpage of mine, and - thanks to the help of a dear friend who had kept it on their hard drive - found it. I will present it here now for consumption because I believe it to still have merit after these many years (seems like eons ago, for so much has changed since that time; however, the basic message of this piece remains and makes it's very valid points).
What
does, indeed, need to preface this now, however, is the knowledge that it was written BJ (or, Before-Jamie), prior to him rescuing me (my Knight, he is), and giving me a life and reason to breathe; my own personal story's grand (and happy) turn/change in plot is something I would be terribly amiss in not mentioning (I should also mention that is was through a series of Fantasy novels that I met this Rescuer of mine)...and, because of these life-changing events, I believe, it makes this essay all the more poignant now. However, I will leave that for you, the reader, to evaluate - and to measure the value thereof to you personally.
So now, with no more superfluous ado...
Why I Read Fantasy
An Essay From The Heart
Written By:
Autumn Dawn
I am an avid reader of fantasy novels, i.e.: The Sword of Truth series by Terry Goodkind, The Redwall and Flying Dutchman series by Brian Jacques, The Chronicles of Narnia by the great C.S. Lewis, the works of Weis and Hickman (including one of Autumn's personal required reading picks: The Death Gate Cycle), the epic and the lesser known works of the legendary J.R.R. Tolkien, the timeless, inspiring works of "The Grandfather of Fantasy" George MacDonald (who influenced such great authors as Lewis and Tolkien)...just to name a few!
What is it about the genre that attracts me, that keeps me coming back time and time again? Well, in a word, REALITY. I identify with the characters. Their struggles, challenges, moral decisions are the things that we are faced with in life everyday. Often when I read a book I see myself in the pages, I am on this very same journey. I have said with Bilbo that "I feel stretched, thin, like butter spread across too much bread". I have experienced the weariness and struggle that brings a person to the point of saying such a thing. I am so much like Alfred the Sartan in the Death Gate books that it was like looking at an emotional mirror. The fact that he finally overcomes his paralyzing fears and an entire lifetime of mistakes and missteps to go on to fulfill a destiny--a purpose--and achieves the greatness that he was born for...well, that gives me hope.
I am that person with talent, born for greatness, which has at every turn made the wrong one. I am that person, full of fear, which faints every time I am confronted with facing an obstacle. Alfred overcame and his life wasn't a waste after all...well, maybe I can overcome too...and, oh, how I hope it hasn't all been a waste.
I have shared Eowyn's acute pain and understood being rejected by the man you love...always striving for what you cannot have.
I have cried with Frodo when, in a conversation with Samwise, Sam is saying how someone will probably write their whole adventure down and kids will beg to hear it told over and over again. Frodo, knowing the dangers and imminent horrors lying ahead, responds with something to the effect: Or maybe they will cover their ears and beg who ever is reading to stop because the outcome of the story is just too heart wrenching to continue. I feel that way about my own story quite regularly, wondering how it will end, hoping it's a happy ending.
These are just a few examples.
The point is (and I always have a point, ya know....usually extremely sharp and stinging...but, once again, I digress), the point is that there are lessons in truth and in life that can be uniquely expressed and conveyed only in fantasy, told in a way that either you "get it" or you remain obtuse and just think "wow, that was a fantastic adventure--what a story". The former, the more astute, will find nuggets of truth and hope to overcome the very real struggles they face. Fantasy deals with real issues. We are not faced with deception but with truth...and we come face to face, often times, with ourselves. We are not presented with the flowery, sickeningly rose-colored, erotic "fantasy" found in romance novels...now those things are unreal! All romance novels do is provide overworked, underappreciated, somewhat dowdy housewives an opportunity to live vicariously through the seduce-or or seducee heroine of the story...but none of it is relevant to real life...it really is merely a fantasy. And (here is where I get preachy and abrasive) if all you do when you read the Lord Of The Rings is consider it a "nice story", well then, I feel sorry for you because you missed it! You might as well have been reading the jejune romance novel or an Archie comic. What we are supposed to see is the very real struggle between good and evil, the fact that we are not alone and that, also, we are not in control. We are not God! We are not the end all and be all and we better trust in the One who is if we wish to ever have a chance to fulfill a very real purpose.
Now, I refuse to get into some ignoramus argument over whether or not Christians should read Tolkien, for example. Here is where information lights the way for us, the enemy of fear and ignorance is defeated and truth triumphs. J.R.R. Tolkien was a devout Catholic and he was the one to lead C.S. Lewis, who formerly was an atheist, to faith in God. What he wrote better supports faith and Godly principles, acting in wisdom, overcoming fear, etc. than a lot of the books on the Christian self-help aisle at your local bookstore (and, I know, I used to work at a bookstore). How like the devil to attempt (and in some cases succeed...thus the reason we took this rabbit trail in the first place) to steal away the delight of God's people to enjoy and be touched by great literature that is all about good triumphing over evil....hmmmm, now, that's all I have to say about this subject...on with my point!
I have often said that I read to escape. This is true but it is also true that what I read, more accurately, takes me on a journey of discovery, of learning how to deal with what I am desperately endeavoring to escape from. Through fantasy I struggle to come to terms with the truth and every time I see myself in a character--and that character overcomes--I am that much closer to "getting it" and overcoming myself. Oh, may I never be one of the ones who simply says, "Oh, what a nice, little bit of entertainment that was". How sad, if all I ever got out of it was just an adventuresome distraction. Not to say that entertainment is bad. The books are entertaining and sometimes we definitely need a diversion. Moreover, in fact, often times, in a form of entertainment we can receive the message better...it's a spoon full of sugar to make the medicine go down... (singing now) in the most delightful way.
This is why I read fantasy. This is why I recommend reading the books I recommend. This is why I am passionate about said books; because they are not merely entertaining...they are potentially life changing!
Yes, I unashamedly (without fear of a paddy wagon), confess that the characters are my friends. I share laughs with them, I weep with them, I hope with them. They encourage me and sometimes advise me.
Do I always listen? Alas, no....much to my own chagrin. If I heeded Gandalf and Zedd every time I "heard" them do you think I would get into half the trouble that I do? Of course NOT (answering my own rhetorical question just for the fun of it here)!
Well, here I shall end this "essay" before it becomes a short book. Hopefully I have provoked thought and provoked you to go to your bookshelf. If I have...well then...I have succeeded. That is why I felt I had to write this and send it out... because, if Autumn rants in the forest, and no one is around to hear her, has she really said anything? I pray this symbolism isn't lost on anyone who might come to read this...but...just in case and just to be safe, what I am saying here is that I don't want to die unheard--without making my impression. So, here are my rants for all to see. Will they be published? Will I gain deserved recognition? Probably not.
The point is that I expressed what I believe and hopefully it will reach those who need it--it will provoke thought, encourage reading, and, most importantly, make a difference. Hey, I have to take the chance...and, in just doing that, I have gained a victory!
**Feel free to share this with people....after all, it is PEOPLE that are in need of it![/font]
Anyway...now let those of us who do find so much of life in these
fantastic pages celebrate and extol it. Please share your thoughts and feelings about Fantasy, the books that have touched you, and things you have learned from them. Go on, your turn.
P.S. You don't have to be as longwinded, dramatic, and flowery as me, LOL. But, if ya want to....go right on ahead. 'Tis your right to do so.
