Fantasy

I first stumbled upon the Persona series when I was 16. Persona 4 was on sale at GameStop and I had to get my mom to buy it because I was not old enough. During this point in my life, I was struggling with a multitude of issues including existential crises, fitting in with the world, and most importantly, my sexual identity. After reading the back label for information on the game, I thought it was perfect. A bizarre murder mystery is just what I needed to escape reality. Or so I thought. The…

Neil Gaiman, known for his surreal tales that bend ideas of space and time, transformed the comic book world with his first episode of Preludes and Nocturnes from The Sandman series. Throughout his career, his stories explore the interrelationship between rationality and irrationality, especially in conjunction with dreams. In his 1999 essay “Reflections on Myth,” Gaiman meditates on the nature of mythology and its connection to dreaming, stating that the new mythologies of magic and science and…

Elfin’ Around A world without fairy tales and folklore is a world drained of imagination. They started as a way for the Greeks to explain the unknown and teach others right from wrong. It continued in different parts of the world and evolved differently but overall introduced more imagination. Some mythology was added into religion and beliefs while some were stories that encaptured more “unrealistic beings.” As time went on, societies were established and more stories were shared and…

Figurative Language, Symbolism, and Stereotypes in Fairy Tales A fairy tale is defined as “a traditional story, usually written for children, which often involves imaginary creatures and magic” (dictionary.cambridge.org). Fairy tales are usually filled with a range of literary elements, but for this essay I will discuss three different types of literary devices, figurative language, stereotype, and symbolism, and give examples of each from the stories “Little Red-Cap” and “The Juniper Tree” by…

The Architectural Fantasy by Hubert Robert was painted during a period of time in France that was very pivotal. Painted within 20 years of the fall of the French monarchy during the rise of Napoleon, Architectural Fantasy reflects the former works of Hubert Robert while also depicting a slight change in subject matter. Although the painting is of a building, it evokes qualities of a landscape painting with its broad views. Romantic paintings from this era were defined by their use of light and…

this insight has often been provided in the form of fantasy. The disconnect between fantasy and reality has the potential to explore our society in ways otherwise unavailable. In China Mieville’s editorial introduction to the symposium on “Marxism and Fantasy”, he describes how “fantasy is a mode that, in constructing an internally coherent but actually impossible totality … mimics the ‘absurdity’ of capitalist modernity (Mieville 4). Works of fantasy can be designed with the express purpose of…

Literature is an important aspect in a child’s development. Fantasy helps a child’s imagination blossom, letting them diminish fear in their minds. In the article “Why the British Tell Better Children’s Stories,” author Colleen Gillard explores the psychological and physical aspects as to why the British tell better children’s stories than Americans do. Gillard believes children’s stories can help shape the hope kids need to face their beliefs of adulthood. The British do have better children’s…

has been successful, particularly the use of fantasy and the limited point of view. The use of fantasy in the…

I recently read a book titled Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, and I think it is an exceptional example of a fantasy book. The book is about a young boy named Jacob Portman who is fascinated by stories that his grandfather (Abe Portman) would tell him at such a young age. Later on, when he grows older, Jacob assumes that all the stories that his grandfather told him must be fiction. But later when a horrific tragedy occurs and Abe Portman dies, Jacob questions what…

but two of my friends are St. Louis fans. I was more interested in the football game. The Denver Broncos were playing the Kansas City Chiefs. This game was important for me because the Denver Broncos wide receiver is on my fantasy football team. What is fantasy football? Fantasy football is a game where…