Blog Fantasy
Post 22 – Final Post
I was going to save this topic for the last post, but it seems that the last post will be earlier than expected.
Why is one drawn to Fantasy Worlds? What properties or qualities do these worlds posses that make them so captivating to one?
Looking back at previous Posts, Fantasy Worlds have so many qualities that make them so grand. These properties or qualities include much more than the topics discussed in this Blog: Good and Evil - Defined, The Impossible Made Possible, Continuity and Frequency of Adventures, Mankind: Reduced to Little or Nothing, A Sense of Defying Common Sense, Dreams Fulfilled, Something Worth Fighting For, Dreams Broken, Destiny, A Quest for the Final Destruction of Evil, The Weak Made Strong, Unique Yet Familiar, Lies and Deceit, Truth. All of these topics represent only a portion of the captivating properties of Fantasy Worlds.
What separates a Fantasy World from the real world?
A Fantasy World is nothing like the real world. It possesses a grand variety of things of which the real world does not. Among the most obvious is an abundance of authentic magic. The real world is bound by the laws of Physics and Chemistry as well as all the other Sciences that make it impossible to create anything other than magic ‘tricks’. Something less obvious is that Fantasy Worlds provide a greater amount of freedom to all of its inhabitants when compared to the real world. None of the inhabitants of Middle Earth (JRR Tolkien’s books) work; the inhabitants either have magnificent, elaborate feasts or go on death-defying adventures. Laura, from Phillip Pulman’s The Compass, lives a free life with infinite monetary resources. No beings in Fantasy Worlds seem to have any financial worries. On the other hand, in the real world, people work to earn a living; there is little time for unplanned adventures, often because money is limiting factor. Therefore, a Fantasy World is beyond a doubt different from the real world.
Similarities and Differences of Fantasy Worlds:
There are many similarities in the Fantasy World created by Pullman and the Middle Earth created by Tolkien. For example:
“In the book titled, The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, the protagonist, Laura, lives in a world that is full of lies and deceit. Similarly, the world that is portrayed in The Lord of the Rings (Middle Earth) is full of lies and deceit. This was the topic covered in the last post. Another factor that these two Fantasy Worlds have in common are: Truth. The world of The Golden Compass is similar to Middle Earth in regards to truth because their protagonists look for it. In The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien, Bilbo heads towards the cave of Smaug in search of the truthful answer to the question: what happen to Thorin’s great treasures? Correspondingly, in The Fellowship of the Ring, also by JRR Tolkien, the protagonist, Frodo Baggins, searches for the truth of the nature of his ring of power. He later finds out that his ring has evil origins. In the same way, in The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, the protagonist, Laura, is in search of a truth that will cause political outrage and religious conflict. In all books, the protagonists are in search of Truth.” (From Post: Truth)
Also, “In the book titled, The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, the protagonist, Laura, lives in a world that is full of strange things. This is similar to the world that is portrayed in The Lord of the Rings (Middle Earth). The world of The Golden Compass embodies many characteristics of Middle Earth such as: magic, mystery, and shear vastness. Also, Frodo, the protagonist in, The Fellowship of the Ring, by JRR Tolkien, is similar to Laura in many senses. First, both Frodo and Laura are considered young in their society. Second, both Frodo and Laura start off with the average, everyday life style. Finally both protagonists enter into a journey that will not only change the fate of the world, but will forever change their own lives. Both worlds are very Unique in their own ways.” (From Post: Unique Yet Familiar)
Thus with all of these similarities, the two worlds differ very little: they take place in entirely different worlds; their characters/races are all different. Otherwise, the two Fantasy Worlds could be considered identical.
So, as one can see, Fantasy Worlds are extremely incredible yet, unfortunately, the only portals to these worlds are books, movies, and dreams; Fantasy Worlds have no place in our world - the real world.
Final Comparison Between Everything
Truth
Blog Fantasy
Post 21 - The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Comparison of The Golden Compass to the first two books of the Lord of the Rings:
In the book titled, The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, the protagonist, Laura, lives in a world that is full of lies and deceit. Similarly, the world that is portrayed in The Lord of the Rings (Middle Earth) is full of lies and deceit. This was the topic covered in the last post. Another factor that these two Fantasy Worlds have in common are: Truth. The world of The Golden Compass is similar to Middle Earth in regards to truth because their protagonists look for it. In The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien, Bilbo heads towards the cave of Smaug in search of the truthful answer to the question: what happen to Thorin’s great treasures? Correspondingly, in The Fellowship of the Ring, also by JRR Tolkien, the protagonist, Frodo Baggins, searches for the truth of the nature of his ring of power. He later finds out that his ring has evil origins. In the same way, in The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, the protagonist, Laura, is in search of a truth that will cause political outrage and religious conflict. In all books, the protagonists are in search of Truth.
Why is one drawn to Fantasy Worlds? What properties or qualities do these worlds posses that make them so captivating to one?
Perhaps, one of the properties that Fantasy Worlds posses that make them so appealing is the idea that Fantasy Worlds contain: Truth. In the book titled, The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, the protagonist, Laura, is destined to be a great explorer. As an explorer, Laura is prophesized to find many things: new things, strange things, and inconveniently true things. These inconvenient true things are declared as “heresy” (28) by the theocratic universities and scholars. This Truth and quest to find it inspires Laura to go on looking for them, despite great opposition. This Truth is an interesting and captivation characteristic of the Fantasy World in The Golden Compass because it keeps the reader in suspense, like an indefinite length of time in suspended animation. This factor is necessary for Fantasy Worlds because it intrigues the reader and adds value as well as drama to the world.
A Fantasy World that has Truth, therefore, is a truthfully captivating world.
Lies and Deceit
Blog Fantasy
Post 20 - The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Outside Source:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=XxHP9-fEuRk
Analyisis:
In the book titled, The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, the protagonist, Laura, lives in a world that is full of strange things; one of which are Lies and Deceit. First, Laura is considered very young in her society; she is often very naïve when faced with harsh truths. Second, Laura started off with the average, everyday life style, but as she grows up, she finds out that there is more to people than meets the eye. Finally, she enters into a journey that will not only change the fate of the world, but will forever change her own life; she is forced to make decisions that will forever alter her personality and lay waste to her dreams of going back to the average, everyday life style. This Outside Source is full of examples of how the World can be full of Lies and Deceit. It is a music video for “Lies” by Evanescence and has scenes from The Passion of the Christ. According to the Bible, Jesus was crucified to save the world. What is ironic is that the people Jesus saved were the ones who crucified. This reflects the darkness and coldness of the theme of this post.
Why is one drawn to Fantasy Worlds? What properties or qualities do these worlds posses that make them so captivating to one?
Perhaps, one of the properties that Fantasy Worlds posses that make them so appealing is the idea that Fantasy Worlds contain quite a few Lies. In the book titled, The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, the protagonist, Laura, comes to realize that the world she lives in that is full of lies and deceit. She witnesses a first hand account of the assassination attempt of her Uncle, who is a very important ‘politician’/explorer). This factor is necessary for Fantasy Worlds because it intrigues the reader and adds suspense as well as drama to the world.
A Fantasy World that has Lies and Deceit, therefore, is a distinctly (and perhaps ironically) captivating world.
Unique Yet Familiar
Blog Fantasy
Post 19 - The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Comparison of The Golden Compass to the First to Books of the Lord of the Rings:
In the book titled, The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, the protagonist, Laura, lives in a world that is full of strange things. This is similar to the world that is portrayed in The Lord of the Rings (Middle Earth). The world of The Golden Compass embodies many characteristics of Middle Earth such as: magic, mystery, and shear vastness. Also, Frodo, the protagonist in, The Fellowship of the Ring, by JRR Tolkien, is similar to Laura in many senses. First, both Frodo and Laura are considered young in their society. Second, both Frodo and Laura start off with the average, everyday life style. Finally both protagonists enter into a journey that will not only change the fate of the world, but will forever change their own lives. Both worlds are very Unique in their own ways.
Why is one drawn to Fantasy Worlds? What properties or qualities do these worlds posses that make them so captivating to one?'
Perhaps, one of the properties that Fantasy Worlds posses that make them so appealing is the idea that Fantasy Worlds are Unique Yet Familiar. The Golden Compass, by Philip Pullman, seems to take place at around the early to mid 1800s. Although this information is not explicitly stated, one can infer this conclusion from the lack of technology (lamp light projector), speech patterns (somewhat old English), and clothing worn (old fashioned dresses and suites) described throughout the book. This sense of familiarization is captivating because it allows the reader to able to understand and comprehend the story even further.
A Fantasy World that has Unique Yet Familiar components, therefore, is an unmistakably captivating world.
New Book: The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
Blog Fantasy
Post 18 - The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
The Golden Compass (originally titled “The Northern Lights”) was written by Philip Pullman, a British novelist, was originally published in 1995. This is the first book of the His Dark Materials trilogy.
Some information that I found about The Golden Compass and Philip Pullman can be seen at: (contains biography as well)
http://www.philip-pullman.com/
I have not watched the movie titled The Golden Compass (directed by Chris Weitz). After reading the book, I would like to watch the movie and compare it to the book. Also, I will be comparing the Fantasy World qualities of The Golden Compass to that of The Fellowship of the Ring and The Hobbit (both of these books have been previously analyzed in the Blog). Through out all these future Posts, I will be trying to find new answers to the Focus Questions. The Fellowship of the Ring provides an excellent environment for one to conduct further exploration on Fantasy Worlds.
Therefore, I will read and study the ideas presented in The Golden Compass by Philip Pullman
