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?
How is science fiction different from fantasy, according to Le Guinn?
ReplyDeleteLe Guinn describes science fiction as a branch of realism. She states that “Realism uses actuality and history, inserting invented characters in amongst real people and places.” Science fiction is concerned with what could plausibly happen, given what we know about the laws of physics and how technology and society could plausibly be different in the future. Le Guinn also mentions that “such a close correspondence of the real world and the fictional world is a defining characteristic of realism. It is not a defining characteristic of fiction.
An example of Science Fiction could be the film, Star Wars which is based on things that could never happen in our world, either now or as we have known it to be in the past. Sci-Fi also presents the consequences our actions may have in the future and that is what makes it a believable genre. Fantasy however is based on magic, mythological creatures such as dragons, elves and is often based in the past. Le Guinn explains that “fantasy is shamelessly fictive”. The Princess Bride is a prime example of a fantasy based movie.
As implied by Le Guinn, Science fiction is modern told. In comparison to Fantasy where it is more commonly based on legends and myths from centuries and years ago. Fantasy displays no limit on imagination. Le Guinn suggests that “fantasy is an exercise of what may be our most divine and certainly is our most human capacity, the imagination.”
The first sentence of paragraph 2 is confusing as it seems to contradict your first paragraph.Great final quote from Le Guinn!
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ReplyDelete1) How is science fiction different from fantasy, according to Le Guin?
ReplyDeleteAccording to Le Guin (2005), science fiction uses plausibility, trying to persuade readers into believing the story is real, that it “happened, might have happened, or might ever happen”. It often sets its time in the future because the future is a mystery. We can use our imagination and ideas roaming in our mind to create what the future might be like to us, no matter it is a near future or far future. However, science fiction has its limits. Usually, according to Le Guin, “science fiction tends to avoid the actual present time” because the reader might inevitably expect the story to meet circumstances in the real life, unless it is created deliberately to give certain messages. While science fiction writers can create a future that they think might happen or has happened, they still follow how people act in the actual life, which is one means to reach the plausibility mentioned above.
Fantasy does the same. Humans in fantasy usually meet the way people in the real world act, so that readers won’t be overwhelmed by all the impossibilities. However, as Le Guin writes, “the characters in fantasy may not be human, or may relate to nonhuman beings in unexpected ways”. For example, the lion Aslan can speak in C. S. Lewis’ The Chronicles of Narnia. In addition to nonhuman creatures, fantasy is different from science fiction because fantasy is about a complete different world that the writer created. When the time of the story is set doesn’t really matter to the reader, as long as the world created is “self-consistent”. The reader doesn’t treat fantasy as part of the history or a future that our world might reach one day. Overall, beside the differences in characters and the employment of plausibility, I think Le Guin is trying to point out that fantasy is closer to an imaginary world parallel with our actual world, whereas science fiction is a fictional world that could be, or could have been on the same string of our actual world.
References
Attebery, B. (1980). Chapter One: Locating fantasy. In The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin (pp. 2-9). Bloomington: Indiana UP.
Le Guin, U. (1993; 1968). A Wizard of Earthsea. In The Earthsea Quartet (pp. 13-167). London: Penguin.
Le Guin, U. (2005). Plausibiliy Revisited: Wha Hoppen and What Didn’t. Retrieved from http://www.ursulakleguin.com/PlausibilityRevisited.html
1. How is science fiction different from fantasy, according to Le Guinn?
ReplyDeleteAccording to Le Guinn, “Most science fiction pretends that the future is the present or the past, and then tells us what happened in it. Why? Because "the future" is a blank page, and the imagination can write anything it likes on it…science fiction tends to avoid the actual present time.” (Guinn, 2005) To put it simply, science-fiction is a vague genre that allows the reader to question its validity: ‘Did it happen? It can happen? It’s possible that this has happened? We don’t know if it’s happening right now.’ Sci-fi plays on the idea of “realism”. Fantasy, however, is more ‘direct’ in its fictionality; “deliberately violates plausibility in the sense of congruence with the world outside the story.” (Guinn, 2005) Fantasy is the realm in which our human imagination comes to form and creates ideal realities.
2.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?
The phrase ‘coming of age’ is also referred to as the term ‘Bildungsroman’ which is defined as “a type of novel concerned with the education, development, and maturing of a young protagonist.” (Dictionary.com, 2016) According to Ann Casano, the ‘coming of age’ is a journey that takes a young person from naïve to wise, from idealist to realist, and from immature to mature, through varying situations. Some examples of this could include going to war, losing a loved one, experiencing extreme injustice, or going on some great worldwide adventure (Casano, 2016). One would agree that with the changing times of literature, and the growth of female protagonists, the term ‘coming of age’ has definitely escaped from the ‘boy’s own adventure’ stories. However, with the likes of ‘The Wizard of Earthsea’ and other ‘coming of age’ novels that centre around a male lead (ie. The Catcher of the Rye, Harry Potter series, etc.), the fusion of ‘boy’s own adventure’ and ‘bildungsroman’ is still very much a predominant genre in literacy. Comparing Ged’s adventures from ‘The Wizard of Earthsea’ to ‘The Adventures of Tintin’, Ged’s story was definitely one that defined the concept of ‘coming of age’. In ‘Earthsea’, Ged’s story begins within him as a young boy learning the ways of witchcraft and sorcery, and ends with him defeating the ‘shadow’. Throughout his journey, he goes through a series of trials and tribulations that actually forces him to think about his choices and emotions before becoming the powerful wizard that many claim him to be. By the end of the novel, Ged is a lot older and wiser than what he was when he first left his village in Gont. This differs to the adventures of Tintin because Tintin is already at an age where he knows the difference between foolish and wise, and he doesn’t allow his emotions to cloud his judgement. In terms of character judgement, Tintin is created to be a lot more level-headed, whereas Ged learns to make wise decisions.
REFERENCES:
Casano, A. (2016). Coming of Age Novel: Definition & Examples. Retrieved from Study: http://study.com/academy/lesson/coming-of-age-novel-definition-examples-quiz.html
Dictionary.com. (2016). Bildungsroman. Retrieved from Dictionary: http://www.dictionary.com/browse/bildungsroman
Guinn, U. K. (2005). Plausibiliy Revisited: Wha Hoppen and What Didn’t. Retrieved from http://www.ursulakleguin.com/PlausibilityRevisited.html