In order to understand the title I have given this literary analysis we must first revisit what J.R.R. Tolkien considers a Faerie story. He viewed most fantasy stories or even worse “fairy” stories written as stories that attempted to trick the audience into this other world, a world filled with illusions, created by a magician who manipulates the primary world that we live in. In his essay “On Fairy Stories,” he attempts to distinguish and defend the genre of fairy stories from what most understand as fantasy writing or quite literally a story about fairies. He structures his essay in a manner that distinguishes itself from other genres such as “traveller’s tales,” science fiction (i.e. Star Wars – more on that later), beast tales and dream stories. …show more content…
Beast Tales are closest. Fairy stories can have dream sequences. Tolkien believes that in order to be considered a Faerie story it must satisfy two key characteristics, it must (i) survey the depths of time and space and (ii) hold communion with other living beings. Therefore a fairy story is not merely a tale you would hear from the Brothers Grimm or one of Aesop’s Fable but a story that occurs in the land of Faerie. One of the more beautiful qualities of Faerie stories is that it must present itself authentically, it must be created through enchantment, and therefore it must be pure and credible. It cannot be created through manipulation, magic, or science, techniques that are impure and mechanical, “used to grasp and dominate the primary world.” And at last we reach the heart of Faerie, which is the concept of sub-creation, that in order to achieve immersion in the story the creator of this secondary world must capture you with the beauty and reality that occurs in this world so that you don’t have to suspend disbelief because you yourself become a member of “Faerie.” This world of fantasy, and Tolkien used the word fantasy as an amalgamation of fancy and imagination which when combined allowed the author or creator to develop and convey this secondary world, is established through rules that are consistent and rational like those that occur in the real world. Now before we go any further into the rabbit hole that is Tolkien’s Faerie stories, we must revisit the topic at hand, Star Wars and its place in fairy stories. Star Wars especially the original trilogy consisting of “A New Hope,” “The Empire Strikes Back,” and “Return of the Jedi,” follow many of the characteristics that Tolkien set out to describe in his essay “On Fairy Stories.” And while the movie is technically an anthology comprising of six films, it is split into two separate parts both of which contain a story. Therefore the original trilogy should not be seen as three separate parts but as a one story. J.R.R. Tolkien creates a backstory, a myth of creation, for the world we live in today-Arda- a world that still holds enchantment for those who want to peel behind the veil that is the primary world and reignite the bond that was once shared between man and nature. George Lucas, an amazing storyteller and visionary in his time, followed the path of Tolkien, but instead of writing a creation myth for our world, created multiple worlds with hundreds of different inhabitants, all which happens “a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away.” The story begins with our protagonist and unlikely hero, Luke Skywalker, a moisture farmer living in the planet of Tatooine and his adventure into the realm of enchantment, or rather in this world, his adventure with the Force, a mystical power as old as time that has been passed down by an ancient race of wise and spiritual men known as the Jedi’s in order to keep peace and balance in the universe.
It is soon filled with creatures of all creeds and colors, creature from different planets all of which have distinguishing features and backstories, and of course consist the archetypal characters that can be found in fairy tales, such as the warrior wizard (Obi-Wan Kenobi and Yoda), the brave and beautiful princess (Princess Leia Organa), and the monstrous villains cloaked in black (Darth Vader and The Emperor). Where Tolkien creates a creation myth with The Simalrillion, Lucas develops a hero myth that follows in light of Joseph Campbell’s thesis The Hero with a Thousand Faces. Lucas fuses all sorts of mediums and genres to in order to create this galaxy’s landscapes and characters. He draws from Westerns, Science Fiction, and Samurai films as well as television and comic books when developing his version of
Faerie. It is at this point that we must tackle the question that has been gnawing at the back of the mind of those that idolize the Faerie stories written by J.R.R. Tolkien, and that is that Tolkien in “On Fairy Stories,” said that he did not consider tales of science fiction to be fairy stories. Star Wars is in its purest form is a tale of science fiction, set in a far off land and Tolkien states, “The enchantment of distance, especially of distant time, is weakened only by the preposterous and incredible Time Machine itself.” Therefore Star Wars falls into the realm of fantasy writing and seen as an impure tale from Faerie. However, we must see if Star Wars satisfies the two primordial human desires that can be seen in all fairy stories, which is the desire to survey the depths of space and time and hold communion with other living things. Therefore the argument can be made that even though Tolkien did not believe that science fiction could technically be considered a fairy story, “a story may [thus] deal with the satisfaction of these desires, with or without the operation of either machine or magic, and in proportion as it succeeds it will approach the quality and have the flavor of fairy-story.”
In the introduction to the The Classic Fairy Tales, Maria Tartar notes that there is no “single, univocal, uncontested meaning” for any particular fairy tale (xiv). This is primarily due to the “kaleidoscopic variations” of fairy tales that have been “reconfigured” to meet the needs of different, distinct audiences (Tartar ix). As Tartar notes, “local color” shape each the telling of each tale (ix). However, the local color shapes more than just the telling, or variation, of a tale. When coupled with the personal experiences and expectations of the listener/reader of a tale, the local color also affects the meaning of a tale. As a result, a singular fairy tale or tale variation can have numerous meanings, each one dependent upon the individual. This is can be clearly seen by looking at several possible interpretations of “Wolfland” by Tanith Lee.
...n” is a great example of an old myth or tale reconstructed and adapted for a modern audience in a new medium. It is a progression on one hand in its use of modern language, setting, and style but it is also the product of the old myths in that it is essentially the same on the thematic level. In addition, the level of self-awareness on the part of the narrator and, by extension, the author marks it out as an illustration of the very notion of evolutionary changes of myths and fairy tales. Adaptation is the solution to the fairy tale, and fairy tales have been endlessly changing themselves throughout history and, by some strange transforming or enchanting power endlessly staying the same.”
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Vintage, 2010. Print.
A fairytale is a fictional fantasy fable that passes through generations of children as source of interest to them. Though used for the intent of entertainment, fairytales often indirectly advocate a moral or message to readers (whom are usually children), in hopes that they will grow up to apply these ethics and lead a righteous life. This criteria, however, often originates from the occurrence of a magical transformation; it is this paranormality that introduces the characters of the story to a side of life far from what they have grown to know and learn to adapt to the dramatic amend in their life. This is evident in the characters in world-renowned tales such as The Little Mermaid, Aladdin and Beauty and the Beast.
Warner, Marina. From the Beast to the Blond on Fairy Tales and Their Tellers. New York: Chatto & Windus, 1994. Print.
The simplicity of fairy tales and non-specific details renders them ideal for manipulation allowing writers to add their own comments often reflecting social convention and ideology. Theref...
The Authors of the Literary Fairy Tale When asked to name authors of fairy tales, most people now (if they
Rollin, Lucy. “Fear of Faerie: Disney and the Elitist Critics.” Children’s Literature Association Quarterly Volume 12. Number 2. 1987. Retrieved 18 Dec. 2013 from < http://muse.jhu .edu/journals/chq/summary/v012/12.2.rollin.html>.
Throughout history people have always been telling stories, whether it is how some ones day went or something strange they saw. One place that has a particularly strong connection with storytelling is Ireland. Telling stories in Ireland was usually for entertainment told at a bar or by the fire in a friend’s home to hear what someone else saw or experienced leaving one with new knowledge. Fairy- legends were stories that were told quite often in conversational type settings telling people something they had heard of experienced about the fairies. The people of Ireland used to strongly believe in the fairies during the nineteenth century. Fairies are not human but look somewhat similar to us except that are usually a lot paler. They live their
J.R.R. Tolkien Research Paper As many have grown up during this generation, they have been dazzled by the work of J.R.R. Tolkien as well as the artistic interpretation of this trilogy by Peter Jackson. This movement started when Tolkien created The Hobbit and then later the Lord of the Rings trilogy in the 1930’s, 1940’s and 1950’s. However, there are those who have criticized both the books and the cinema for being sexist and/or racist. Tolkien is not sexist because he develops his female characters by revealing their individualism and dynamic features, and is also not a racist because much of the criticism comes from Peter Jackson’s interpretations and because racism is harshly looked upon more in this generation than it was back in the 1940’s.
Kathleen, the length is only one of the reasons I “declassified” The Hobbit as a fairy tale not the only reason. Fairy tales are often always short stories and The Hobbit is not. I am familiar with myths and their lengths, and many myths are usually considered epic poems. Paradise Lost, Iliad, and Odyssey are all epic poems, but are Greek myths. Therefore, making them shorter than The Hobbit but longer than a fairy tale. Let me be clear length is a small aspect on why I no longer consider it a fairy tale. Star Wars as in George Lucas? Star Wars has elements of mythology just like The Hobbit has elements of a fairy tale the characters, a moral lesson, and the happy ending to be exact. One of the most important elements of myths is the hero's
..., Maria. “An Introduction to Fairy Tales.” Writing and Reading Across the Curriculum. Ed. Laurence Behrens, Leonard J. Rosen. Toronto: Longman, 2013. 230-235. Print.
Bettelheim, Bruno. The Uses of Enchantment: the Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. London: Thames and Hudson, 1976. Print.
Bettelheim, Bruno. "The Struggle for Meaning." The Uses of Enchantment: The Meaning and Importance of Fairy Tales. New York: Knopf, 1976. Print.
Zipes, Jack. Why Fairy Tales Stick: The Evolution and Relevance of a Genre. New York: Routledge, 2006. Print.