Sunday, October 21, 2012

Week 3/4 'A Wizard of Earthsea' 100% pure fantasy


A Wizard of Earthsea’, tell us the story of Ged, one of the legendary wizards in the fantasy word of Earthsea, In this world, Magic exist and coincidentally Ged is very good at it. After a few adventures Ged end up at the magic school, well it looks like another “Harry Potter”, but no, in my opinion this story is a little deeper.  Narrated in an uncomplicated style, it distances us from the story, narrating it as something remote that happened in another time, in another place, in an imaginary world.

The definition of fantasy according to Attebery (1980) is; “Any narrative which includes as a significant part of its make-up some violation of what the author clearly believes to be natural law—that is fantasy.”(p. 3).  Le Guin seems to convey that this is just a story, its fantasy. She seems to focus on the moral of her story, with no apparent interest in make it believable. This is a story of overcoming obstacles and of facing fears, what I think is the most important element of the book not the possibility that it could ever be true.

In Earthsea everything has its “true name” and it isn't the same as the one we give it in real life, it is the name that the creator of Earthsea has given it.  I liked this story because it is 100% fantasy, without compromise. Other stories seem to strive for some reality, in showing a believable world and even a touch of magic historical background.  Here Le Guin presents fantasy from the first page to the last.  

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