The Value of Fantasy.

I wrote this my first semester of college in my Humanities class and found it quite interesting to do research on. I'm a big fantasy lover myself and I would like you Mibbians to see what you think of my writing. Here it goes, haha.
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Merriam Webster coins the term ‘fantasy’ as “the power or process of creating especially unrealistic or improbable mental images in response to psychological need”. The value of fantasy and the ability to create it from an emotional, mental and physical standpoint is ultimately truthful. In “Why Are Americans Afraid of Dragons”, Ursula K. Le Guin states, “For fantasy is true, of course. It isn’t factual, but it is true. Children know that. Adults know it too, and that is precisely why many of them are afraid of fantasy. They know that its truth challenges, even threatens, all that is false, all that is phony, unnecessary and trivial in the life they have let themselves be forced into living.” She only further states that most adults in America find fantasy and the art of fiction untrue and in essence, childish. In my opinion, fantasy becomes an alternate perspective stemming from the realms of reality.

Peoples’ points of view are the fact that the power of imagination and fear come from two different parts of a human being. The power of imagination and the art of making something come to life derive from the child within. The imagination can fully bloom because children have no inhibitions. The common misconceptions of imagination are from the adult—this facet of the human that blocks off what is not constantly factual and true. I agree with Le Guin’s argument. Take Lord of the Rings, for example. A hobbit traveling through all of Middle Earth to throw a cursed ring into Mount Doom definitely calls for a lot of questioning. The fact that Tolkien is able to create such a true and tangible life through his mind is what fantasy is all about. Adults are constantly trying not to reveal the fantasy and fiction in all of us by justifying facts.

The art of making fantasy truly valuable comes from the individuals’ emotional blueprint. When Tolkien writes how all men, elves, hobbits and dwarves are tempted by the ring’s power, it shows how in life, individuals are attracted to something of higher worth. Although this may be in a world with fantastical creatures, its human design makes the story seem that more within one’s grasp. When Aragorn laments the death of Boromir in The Fellowship of the Ring, it showcases exactly how any human would, regardless of the fantasy aspect. Just because the death was caused by mythical orc, does not mean that supporting characters will have no sense of sadness and loss. Tolkien’s greatest trilogy is by no means being compared to actual life, merely taken into different perspective. When Tolkien was in the process of creating this trilogy, he certainly did not question whether or not its fantastical plot and realism were different. However, by including emotional aspects of the human mind into something that may have “super powered creatures”, it becomes that much more appealing to read. Without point A, point B becomes non-existent. Without intertwining human emotions, there would be no such thing as the simple art of fantasy. Fantasy may not have factuality but it does have authenticity.

Individuals argue that fantasy is simply childish and that adults would never consider reading such context of fantastical creatures and mythical worlds. Le Guin’s response to childish fantasy is the following, “So I arrive at my personal defense of the uses of the imagination, especially in fiction and most especially in fairy tale, legend, fantasy, science fiction and the rest of the lunatic fringe. I believe that maturity is not an outgrowing, but a growing up…if these faculties are encouraged in youth they will act well and wisely in the adult, but if they are repressed and denied in the child, they will stunt and cripple the adult personality. And finally, I believe that one of the most deeply human, and humane, of these faculties is the power of imagination: so that it is our pleasant duty as librarians, or teachers, or parents, or writers, or simply as grownups, to encourage that faculty of imagination in our children to encourage it to grow freely, to flourish like the green bay tree, by giving it the best, absolutely the best and purest, nourishment that it can absorb.” Ursula K. Le Guin really captures the essence of what fantasy entails, in respects to the child within. Imagination is not a term to be used lightly. Its origin is taken from some form of actuality and internal experience. Le Guin dissects and explains the human mind and without fantasy, all is lost within the child and adult. Fantasy is a powerful tool to open up the life of reality.

Fantasy and the ability to create it are very powerful and definitely underrated. Mythical creatures, worlds and people all derive from the child and truth in every individual. Though fantasy may not contain actual facts, its ability to appeal to people is purely ‘fantastical’. The true value of fantasy is the practice of creating it. Dr. Seuss was right when he said, “I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living; it is a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life's realities.”