How does Attebery (1980) define Fantasy? Find at least five
definitions.
As we know the fantasy genres in story telling commonly defines
reality by making use of magic, mythical creatures and supernatural phenomenon
that acts as the primary plot element, theme, and setting. According to
Attebery, he interprets this concept from various angles and envisage for
future “subclassification and evaluation” (Attebery, 1980). So what is Fantasy?
The definition of fantasy is described as simply one’s own definition of what
fantasy is. Using his bookshelf collection, he cites examples such listings
like C.S Lewis and J.R.R Tolkien. This especially true as fantasy is such a
broad term, that the same word may carry on different meaning towards an
individual. Attebery
also suggests that “any narrative which includes as a
significant part of its make-up some violation of what the author clearly
believes to be natural law-that is fantasy” (Attebery, 1980). In a way, fantasy
greatly differs from science fiction, the fantasy genre which works to persuade
the reader that things which seem impossible are actually scientifically
possible. The stories created through fantasy have their own internal laws which
cannot be destroyed. Furthermore, Attebery also mention that “fantasy, then,
presuppose a view of exterior reality which it goes on to contradict.” This
suggests that readers unconsciously immerse themselves in the world of fantasy
which contradicts reality. While Attebery understood that it is imperative to
insist towards consistency of the construct in fantasy, he points out that the
consistency of the illusion should be maintained by the author and reader. He
describe this engagement as “a game of sorts”. This implies that if the readers
were to immerse enthusiastically while engaging in this game according to the
terms of it, they would get the unforeseen pleasure from the scene of “wonder”
(Attebery, 1980). Overall, although Attebery did not provide an exact
definition of fantasy, he presented at least five aspects and it’s important
features so that we may gain insight to this notion. For example, Harry Potter
is great fantasy, the Harry Potter is based on the mystery novel and it m.akes readers unconsciously immerse themselves in the world of fantasy (Urban archives, n.d.). Furthermore, there is a hero in Harry potter. Nowadays, fantasy can be defined in many
different ways. We may assume that fantasy and science fiction share a correlation.
However, I choose to believe that fantasy enables us to tap into our creative
imagination and to the possibility of ‘what if” moments. It is also possible
that for some, fantasy is a way to escape the harsh reality we face every day,
and the thought of fantasy would bring us closure, just like Alice when she
followed the rabbit into the hole.
References:
Attebery, B (1980). The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature:
From Irving to Le Guin. In
Urban archives. (n.d.). Genre
in Harry Potter. Retrieved August 25, 2014, from
http://cityfantasy.wordpress.com/category/authors/rowling-j-k/genre-in-harry-potter/
Good. Thanks for the post. You have engaged well with the secondary text (Attebery, 1980) to start developing an informed opinion. You have also touched on the differences between Harry Potter and the perceived sub-genre of "high fantasy" where Earthsea is usually located. I would like to have seen at least one direct example from the primary text (Wizard of Earthsea) - for example, an example of what Attebery terms a 'violation of what the author clearly believes to be natural law'. Overall, this is clearer than your last answer. Good. But keep working on the clarity of your language (eg. I wasn't quite sure what you meant by 'he interprets this concept from various angles and envisage for future'.) Thanks.
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