Week 3 & 4

How is science fiction different from fantasy, according to Le Guinn?


There are no limits when writing a fantasy story, where as science fiction there is.
The difference between the two is that one is built around a fictional world and the other in a non-fictional one. For a science fiction story there has to be explainations to why all the incidents take place and how, explained in a science related way to make it seem real even though it is not. A fantasy based story doe's not have to do this, as they can make a fantasy story fake and unbelievable as much as they want, and people would still enjoy it because it is a fantasy. Le Guinn metions that, “fantasy is far more direct in its fictionality than either realism or science fiction. Its contact with the reader is a different one.” I think this means that with a fantasy genre people can take it in how they want to take it in, you can approach the genre form any angle and still it makes sense, because it's fantasy!


What are some archetypes (e.g. common character types)of fantasy fiction?


Frodo in Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings is a very good archetype, as he sacrifices his own well being in his journey to destroy the ring to save middle earth. His journey is guided by Gandolf the wizard who plays the role of Frodo's mentor. Also Harry Potter is a similar case with Frodo, as Harry sacrifices his own well being in his journey to find and destroy the Hocruxes in order to destroy Voldemort ( the villain). For Harry his mentor is the great Albus Dumbledore (headmaster of Hogwarts) who helps Harry to find the Hocruxes.


Reference

Le Guinn, U. (2005). Plausibility revisited what happened and what didn't. Retrieved from http://www.ursulakleguin.com/PlausibilityRevisited.html