Modern Fantasy

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Modern Fantasy
It is imaginationwith its capacity to both make
order out of chaos and open experience to the
mysterious and the strangethat moves us to go in
quest, to journey where we have never been.
Susan Cooper
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Key Points

• Modern fantasy is very diverse.
• a. fairy tales
• b. stories of magic
• c. talking toys
• d. quests for truth in made up lands
• e. narratives about the future
• f. suspense and supernatural stories
• g. outer space and cyberspace

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• 2. Even though they are diverse, almost all
  fantasy stories are products of earlier forms of
  literature such as folktales, myths, legends,
  etc. (traditional literature)
• EX Susan Coopers The Grey King
• derives from Arthurian legends.
• Christopher Paolinis Inheritance series
  comes from dragon tales such as St.
  George and the Dragon.

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• 3.Fantasy stories speak to our deepest needs,
  our darkest fears, and our highest hopes. (Huck
  352)
• Children (and adults like me) are drawn to
  fantasy because they bring out truths about
  ourselves that can only be discovered in
  literature, through our imaginations.

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Elements of Modern Fantasy

1. It should have a well-constructed plot,
   characters, theme, and style (It does need to be
   a good story after all.)
2. It needs to be believable.
3. The story needs to be consistent.
4. All plots should be original, but also ingenious
   and creative.

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Types of Modern Fantasy

• 1. Animal Fantasy
• a. includes stories with talking animals, who
  often express very human thoughts and feelings
• b. often times the animals are main characters,
  and they are acting as humans in disguise.

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Examples of Animal Fantasy

• Charlottes Web by E.B. White
• A Bear Called Paddington by Michael Bond
• Babe The Gallant Pig by Dick King-Smith

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• 2. Toys and Dolls
• a. Toys and dolls, like in animal fantasy come
  to life expressing human thoughts, actions,
  feelings, etc.
• b. Through toys and dolls fantasy, children are
  able to imagine that their own playthings can
  come to life too.

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Examples of Toys and Dolls Fantasy

• Winnie the Pooh by A.A. Milne
• The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
• The Indian in the Cupboard by Lynne Reid Banks
• The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop

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• 3. Eccentric Characters and Preposterous
  Situations Fantasy
• a. True imaginative, sometimes off-the-wall
  circumstances, ideas, characters, etc. that
  occur in otherwise very normal settings.
• b. It is the normal setting of this form of
  fantasy that makes the story so believable.

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Examples of Fantasy with Eccentric Characters and
Preposterous Situations

• Pipit Longstocking stories by Astrid Lindergren
• Mary Poppins stories by P.L Travers
• James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the
  Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl

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• 4. Extraordinary Worlds
• a. In fantasy stories that take place in
  extraordinary worlds, characters start in the
  world of reality, but quickly move into a world
  where the everyday becomes extraordinary, yet
  still believable.

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Examples of Fantasy with Extraordinary Worlds

• Harry Potter by J.K Rowling
• Alices Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll
  
• The City of Ember Jeanne DuPrau
• The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
• The Pendragon Series by D.J. MacHale

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• 5. Magical Powers
• a. Magical Powers does not always mean that the
  characters have magical powers themselves
  (although this is often the case) it could also
  mean that they posses a magical object, know a
  spell or magical words, or are around magical
  powers.

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Examples of Fantasy and Magical Powers

• Harry Potter by J.K Rowling
• The Pendragon Series by D.J. MacHale
• Wishes, Kisses, and Pigs by Betsy Hearne
• The Book without Words by Avi

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• 6. Suspense and the Supernatural
• a. This form of fantasy involves
• topics such as the occult, ghosts,
• horror, etc.
• b. The overall idea of
• the supernatural is very hazy between fantasy
  and real,
• which is why it is so appealing
• to readers.

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Examples of Suspence and the Supernatural

• The Chronicles of Faerie by O.R.Melling.
• Dust by Arthur Slade
• The Moorchild by Eloise McGraw

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• 7. Time-shift Fantasy
• a. explores the universal wonder of time
  traveling, or being stuck in one time forever
• b. The interest many readers have in exploring
  other time periods is not just historical
  interest, but a need to want to communicate
  with others lives.

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Examples of Time-Shift Fantasy

• Tuck Everlasting by Natalie Babbitt
• Toms Midnight Garden by Philippa Pearce
• The Court of the Stone Children by Eleanor
  Cameron

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• 8. Imaginary Realms
• a. In fantasy with imaginary realms,
  believability of the fantasy is captured by
  setting up the plot in an imaginary society
  where kings and queens rule. (again, playing off
  traditional lits once upon a time setting).
• b. This form of fantasy is often lighter in
  tone than high fantasy, but still explores
  themes found in high fantasy such as good versus
  evil, mans search for himself, and the quest
• c. Imaginary Realms fantasy is a good
  introduction into higher levels of fantasy
  because it allows the reader to start where
  he/she is comfortable. (again ties into
  traditional lit)

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Examples of Imaginary Realms

• Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine
• The Whipping Boy by Sid Fleischman
• The Sea of Trolls by Nancy Farmer

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• 9. High Fantasy (YEA!)
• a. involves more serious and demanding themes,
  plots, characters, etc, therefore involves more
  serious readers of fantasy (inserting my opinion)
• b. the stories often involve more than one or
  two types of fantasy
• c. usually the narratives are much longer,
  often having sequels the themes are universal
  (good versus evil, etc.) and the characters
  (usually the main character) has some destiny or
  quest to full-fill

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• High fantasy is also different because the
  overall tone is not as humorous as other forms of
  fantasy may be. This is because the purpose of
  the story is serious. High fantasy concerns
  itself with cosmic questions and ultimate values
  goodness, truth, courage, wisdom. (Huck 384)

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• Because high fantasy has such universal themes,
  and because it incorporates so many elements and
  types of fantasy, it reaches a wider audience,
  from little preschool kids to adults. It is
  imagination at its highest. (inserting my
  opinion again)

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Examples of High Fantasy

• The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis
• The Great Tree of Avalon series by T.A. Barron
• The Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling
• The Hobbit by J.R.R Tolkien

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• 10. And then there is Sci-Fi fantasy
• a. Sci-Fi, while considered fantasy, is in a
  class all by itself. Sci-Fi has very distinct
  features. Fantasy (specifically science fantasy)
  presents a world that never was and never could
  be. Science fiction, on the other hand,
  speculates on a world that, given what we know
  of science, might just one day be possible.

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• Science fiction is a relevant form of fantasy to
  explore, especially given todays technological
  advances. It is important to SPECULATE and
  EVALUATE how future advances could shape our
  society. Writers do this through sci-fi fantasy
  stories.
• One of the values of science fiction is its
  ability to develop childrens imagination and
  intuitionmost literature offers a view of
  society as is science fiction assumes a vastly
  different society (Huck 390)

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Types of Sci-Fi

• Through the Door
• Visitors to Earth
• Outer Space and Cyberspace
• Views of the Future

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Examples of Sci-Fi

• The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet by
  Eleanor Cameron
• The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key
• Lost in Cyberspace by Richard Peck
• The Giver by Lois Lowry
• The House of the Scorpion by Nancy (Penelope?)
  Farmer

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How to Evaluate Modern Fantasy

• What are the fantasy elements?
• How does the author make it believable?
• Is the story logical and consistent?
• Is the plot original and ingenious?
• Is there a universal truth underlying the
  metaphor of the fantasy?
• How does the story compare to others?
• --Huck p. 356

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My Favorite Fantasy Stories

• The Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling
• The Pendragon Series by D.J. MacHale
• The Twilight Series by Stephenie Meyer
• The Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum
• Stars Wars stories
• The Lord of the Rings Series by J.R.R. Tolkien

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Other good ones.

• The Castle in the Attic by Elizabeth Winthrop
• The Inheritance Series by Christopher Paolini
• The Shadow Children Series by Margaret Haddix

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Final Thoughts

• Fantasy is not about believing or not believing
  in the elements of the storyif you limit
  yourself to only that, you will never understand
  or appreciate fantasy. Instead, fantasy should be
  about exploring new worlds and new ideas and in
  doing so, expanding your imagination to a point
  where you discover new things about yourself.