1) How is science fiction different from fantasy, according to Le Guinn?
2) How does Attebery (1980) define Fantasy? Find at least five definitions?
3) In what ways does Tax (2002) suggest Earthsea may still be relevant today?
4) What are some archetypes that often recur in fantasy fiction? Give examples from Earthsea and other fantasy works you might know.
5) In what way is The Wizard of Earthsea a ‘coming of age’ novel? Does it escape from the ‘boy’s own adventure’ story? How are Ged’s adventures different from Tintin’s?
ReplyDelete1) How is science fiction different from fantasy, according to Le Guinn?
One of the most significant differences between science fiction and fantasy, as pointed out by Le Guin (2005), is the standards of plausibility, in which Valsesia, Diehl, and Nunes (2017) define perceived plausibility as “whether the events in a story could occur, independent of whether or not they actually did occur” (p. 105).
Le Guin (2005) conveys that science fiction employs plausibility to win the reader’s consent to the fiction, while fantasy appeals to readers in how it deliberately violates plausibility. Science fiction tends to meet conventional expectations of how people generally act, and tend to avoid events that strike the reader as improbable (Le Guin, 2005). Conversely, fantasy expands on human’s vivid imagination; readers are invited and enticed into imaginative world the writer creates –a world that cannot possibly exist in reality.
References:
Le Guin, U. (2005). Plausibility Revisited: Wha Hoppen and What Didn’t. Retrieved August 9, 2017, from http://www.ursulakleguin.com/PlausibilityRevisited.html
Valsesia, F., Diehl, K., & Nunes, J. C. (2017). Based on a true story: Making people believe the unbelievable. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 71, 105-110.
Hi Melisa, my research also revealed similar understandings to yours. That is, sci-fi differentiates from fantast as it creates a journey of discovery for the reasons for the impossible occurrences (Attebery, 1980). Whereas fantasy characters and audiences embrace implausible events which breach their understandings of the natural world.
DeleteSimilarly, Havirova (2007) suggests this active acceptance and embrace on the readers’ part occurs through the ways the author creates the impossible worlds in fantasy. It’s suggested by Havirova (2007) that ultimately fantasy use traditional materials from individual motifs to entire folk narratives, allowing their readers to recognise in unconscious and passive ways the connections between the reality of traditional folklore and impossible worlds. Hence, these connections – although unknown amongst the growing audience of the popular genre – facilitate the acceptance of impossible in fantasy without critique of the concept.
References:
Attebery, B. (1980). Tne Fantasy Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin. . Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Havirova, T. (2007). Fantasy as a Popular Genre in the Works of J. R. R. Tolkien and J.K. Rowling. Brno: Masaryk University - English Language and Literature.
good work Mellisa.
DeleteYour answer could be improved with unpacking the definition of plausibility a little more. How does Leguin define it? Can we use an example from Earthsea?
good work, Neda.
DeleteAs with Melissa your answer could do with more unpacking, particularly with defining implausibility. Specific examples from Earthsea is what i would like to see most.
What is implausible about Jed's world?
Hi Mike,
DeleteThank you for the advice.
Le Guin defines plausibility as the extent of accuracy – of observable details – in relation and relevance to reality. It invites readers into imagining the fictitious setting as a realistic account.
Le Guin’s Wizard of Earthsea defies plausibility in a myriad of ways. It is a form of high fantasy that has no connection with our present world –requiring readers to imagine a world that cannot exist. Wizard of Earthsea is about a boy on a quest to becoming a dexterous sorcerer, and his struggle with the “shadow” that was ultimately revealed to be himself. Elements in Wizard of Earthsea including wizards, witches, and magic spells can only remain as part of our vivid imagination, as they oppose scientific understanding and laws of nature. “Noth hierth malk man, hiolk han merth han!” (Le Guin, 2012, p. 14) –magical words that commanded the obedience of goats; a fog-weaving, binding-spell that gathers the mists together in one place; and the School for Wizards where sorcerers practice magic –are some examples of fantastic features. Magic makes sense in Wizard Earthsea, but not in reality.
Reference:
Le Guin, U. K. (2012). A wizard of Earthsea. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
2) How does Attebery (1980) define Fantasy? Find at least five definitions?
ReplyDeleteWith reference to Attebery (1980), fantasy can be defined as any narrative that includes some form of violation of what the author clearly believes to be natural or logical, which forms a significant part of its make-up.
According to Attebery (1980), the fantastic nature of this genre can be attributable to the existence of imaginative features known to be impossible, such as dragons or shape-shifting characters. Attebery (1980) adds that a fantasy can involve magical objects such as rings and hats that possess wills, voices, mobility, and other features that that non-living things, in our understanding, do not possess (Attebery, 1980). Correspondingly, Manlove (1978) describes a fantasy as “a fiction evoking wonder and containing a substantial and irreducible element of supernatural or impossible worlds, beings, or objects with which the mortal characters in the story or the readers become on at least partly familiar terms” (p. 1).
Attebery (1980) conveys that fantasy contradicts key assumptions about matter and life, which can include the presence of human’s magical abilities, or phenomenal qualities exhibited by nature. Attebery (1980) highlights that these impossible features were not written to persuade readers into believing it might come true in reality. Instead, it demands readers to participate whole-heartedly in the imaginative world and accept the rules and turns of the game (Attebery, 1980). Consequently, fantasy exhibits consistency, where commitment is required, from both writer and reader, to maintain the illusion of the imagined world for the entire course of the fiction (Attebery, 1980).
Attebery (1980) expresses that “fantasy invokes wonder by making the impossible seem familiar and the familiar seem new and strange”, in which Manlove (1978) defines wonder as “anything from crude astonishment at the marvellous, to a sense of ‘meaning-in-the-mysterious’ or even of the numinous” (p. 7). Manlove (1978) adds that wonder, generated by fantasy, is derived from the presence of the supernatural or impossible, and from the element of ambiguity and lack of rationale (Manlove, 1978).
References:
Attebery, B. (1980). The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Manlove, C. N. (1978). Modern Fantasy. CUP Archive.
good work again Melisa showing a good grip on the secondary text and clearly broken into paragraphs.
Deletespecific examples from Earthsea would really lift this. I like to see that people have engaged in the primary text.
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ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteyour answer could do with more unpacking, specific examples from Earthsea, and more than one valid reference.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete2. How does Attebery (1980) define Fantasy? Find at least 5 definitions.
ReplyDeleteThe fantasy genre of that being a narrative that includes some violation of what the author and reader believe to be natural law and occurrence. Attebery (1980) discusses the use of capabilities of beings, impossible events and potentials of inanimate objects which occur in fantasy enabling the creators to disrupt and breach the reader’s presumption of their world and existence.
For example beings, such dragons or shape-shifting men violate the world as we know it and therefore contribute to the defining the literature and fantasy. Literature can also claim the genre by integrated magical elements such as castles, rings, mobility, possessing wills or voices which we deny validity in our world and experiences, therefore, defining it as fantasy. Fantasy can proceed with events we deem impossible such as two characters exchanging heads with no pain or the tree with limb-like branches enabling it to grab people walking past.
These elements act as significant contributions to deeming works as fantasy by violating the fundamental assumptions about matter and life which society and readers agree and live upon that. Fantasy authors do not explicitly address these impossible occurrences in relation to the readers’ intellectual understandings of the world and rules we abide by. Similalry, Torto (2012) states the acceptance of an alternative world is a powerful tool for social change. For example, can place women in a liberating alternative world whereby the issues of male dominance and gender equality are presented to the contemporary audience in a cooperative manner.
Attebery (1980) critiques previous definitions of ‘fantasy’ stating they fail to address the levels of complexity involved within the genre and limited it as a sub-genre. Similarly, Attebery (1980) refers to Eric Rabkin’s definition suggesting that to claim a narrative as fantasy, it should disrupt or contradict the accepted world model within the narrative itself as opposed to contradicting the reader’s accepted version of the world.
However, labelling Wizard of Earthsea as exclusive fantasy discriminates and limits its ability to be appreciated as additional forms of commentary on other genres or issues. Le Quin expresses the need to maintain some level of neutrality when discriminating between genres. This is due to the issues which arise due to the stigmas involved in particular genres amongst readers, that is if ‘politte literature’ is labelled as good and pure and fantasy and ‘bad and vulgar’ there remains no neutrality toward the literature and therefore limits the audience’s ability to fully appreciate the work (Hiroshi, 2012) .
References:
Attebery, B. (1980). Tne Fantasy Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin. . Bloomington: Indiana University Press.
Hiroshi, A (2012). The Impossible Equilibrium: A Study of Le Guin’s Earthsea Cycle (masters thesis). The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Torto, R. (2012). Communication in the World of Fantasy: A Case of Inez Haynes Gillmore's Angel Island . Language in India , 12 (2), 687-690.
good work well done
ReplyDelete
ReplyDelete1) How is science fiction different from fantasy, according to Le Guinn?
Fantasy novels or stories are extremely popular and can be recognised as stories that involve some aspect of ‘make believe’ fantasy stories often involve some sort of fictional character. For example, vampires, ghost’s witches, wizards, magic, goblins…Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings and Buffy the Vampire are all examples of fantasy novels or shows. Fantasy fiction can often be confused with science fiction, Le Guinn states that the difference between the two is that, science fiction must be plausible in the sense that it could possibly happen to make the audience believe in the story and that it could happen. On the other hand, fantasy allows the reader to explore the wilder more make-believe parts of their imagination, and invest in a story that there is no chance of happening. (Le Guinn, 2005)
Le Guinn has worked hard for many years trying to destroy the image that fantasy is not worth the same time and respect as other genres and that “the silliest realist was better than Tolkien” (DenofGeek, 2015). Le Guinn believes that science fiction leans more toward realism and that it focuses perhaps on stories that have the possibility of being true and are not completely unbelievable. The science fiction stories could possible happen in the future, in fact many science fiction stories are in fact based on theories of futuristic worlds. Whereas fantasy focuses on a story that in this world could not possibly be true or holds any realistic essence of being plausible in any way. “With fantasy, we simply agree to lift the ban on the imagination and follow the story, no matter how implausible it may be." (Le Guinn, 1996)
Le Guin, U. (2005). Plausibility Revisited: Wha Hoppen and What Didn’t. Retrieved August 9, 2017, from http://www.ursulakleguin.com/PlausibilityRevisited.html
https://www.cliffsnotes.com/cliffsnotes/subjects/literature/what-is-fantasy-fiction
Den of Geek, (2015) Interview. http://www.denofgeek.com/books-comics/ursula-le-guin/34829/ursula-le-guin-interview-sci-fi-and-fantasy-snobbery-adaptations-trouble-making
Talking on the Water; Conversations About Nature and Creativity, copyright (c) 1994 by Jonathan White.
3) In what ways does Tax (2002) suggest Earthsea may still be relevant today?
ReplyDeleteTax (2002) suggests that the Earthsea series, may still in fact be relevant in today’s society. For novels and short stories, with some written in the 1960s to still be relevant today, there must be quite a powerful message present for it to transmit into society, almost 60 years later. Le Guinn’s work was described by Tax (2002), as “going through a period of intense, uncomfortable social change. The old ways no longer work and the new ones are not yet clear." This can be viewed similar to today’s society as well as possible future societies, due to the fact that society is ever-changing, adapting and evolving world which will most likely never remain the same. The Earthsea series encourages people to constantly challenge their ‘reality’ and many social norms, which is once again a useful if not necessary mind-set to engage with every now and again in society. Tax reminds the reader that it is important to have one’s own thoughts and to disengage with society every now and again.
An important element of Le Guinn’s Earthsea stories focus on is equality between females and males, Le Guinn does this through undermining the idea of a typical overused male hero (Tax, 2002). Tax writes that Le Guinn’s story “Dragonfly” is incredibly important in regard to challenging social norms with the male hero figure. Le Guinn’s stories have an important role in noting gender roles and challenging this idea that females are beneath males in all aspects of life. As Tax has written, this is still an extremely important and relevant issue as still years later males and females are still not equal in society. Yes, most of us can vote, drive, get married when we chose and work, there is an enormous list of ways that females are still not viewed as equals in society. Which is one of the most important reasons that these stories are still relevant in society, (Tax, 2002).
Tax, M. (2002). In the Year of Harry Potter, Enter the Dragon. In the Nation.