I like the unknown and I remember talking with friends in a caravan when I was about 7. We scared each other with tales of ghosts and goblins and being so young we were quite naive. At that age we had a real sense of wonder about the unknown and of course just about everything was unknown. Fantasy recaptures that feeling. unfortunately our world is too well known in many respects so escaping to another - feeds our imagination. I love that.
I also like the excitement of a well told tale. The page-turning fever that accompanies a good story. Wanting to reach the conclusion, gripped by epic battles and cliff-hanger moments. Again, great stuff.
So in conclusion - the unknown and excitement attracted me to fantasy. Strangely I don't quite get that from Sci Fi. Anyone else? I do like historical fiction but that is very similar to fantasy in many respects. Sometimes even magic is involved (Merlin tales, and some Saxon/Viking tales).
For me, living in Hawai'i, in the family I grew up in, fantasy was a natural fit. {Smile}
ReplyDeleteThe literature of childhood in Hawai'i - the stories grandmas and grandpas tell, and the picture books librarians and teachers read at story-time - is mostly retellings of fairytales, legends, folktales, and myths. They come from every culture that's settled here, so it's a mixture of Hawaiian, Chinese, British, Greek, Roman, Norse, Japanese, Filipino, and those vaguely Western European tales so popular in the rest of America. They have very little in common... just that they're mostly fantasy. A few are realistic historical, but not many. Most have talking animals, or shape-changers, or magic items, or demons, or creatures who change size, or are unnaturally short or tall, or who cast spells... or something, because that's just how the tales go.
To go against fantasy, I'd either need to be a real rebel, or have help. Well, I can be rebellious enough, but I wasn't over that. As for help... Mom and Dad are both fantasy fans. I was introduced to Narnia, Pern, and the like with books off their own shelves. Dad made a particular effort to encourage my imagination, being careful to ask what happened next when a tale turned fantastic, rather than accuse me of lying. My Grandmothers weren't as committed to this, but they thought it was cute, so let me go. By the time I got into school, my teachers were too impressed with my imagination to discourage it. {wink, Smile}
Anne Elizabeth Baldwin
I too love legends/folklore and it's interesting to hear about those from Hawaii. I admit I have a soft spot for Norse mythology which Tolkien used so well in Lord of the Rings. Epic. I used to like telling ghost stories as a child. we were easily frightened which was fun.
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