by T. Lucas

Created on: October 27, 2009   Last Updated: October 28, 2009

Fantasy fiction creates an outlet in a way that no other genre does. It takes you to far off places, imaginary peoples, and impossible scenarios. It leaves us wishing that these things were real. Fantasy fiction stretches the imagination, and broadens a reader's ideas and view of the world. It gives us an opportunity to explore worlds we can never visit anywhere but on the page.

The objective of most fantasy fiction is to present truth, or right versus wrong, in a way that is non-conflicting because it is not real. Take for example the extreme battle between good and evil in the Harry Potter series. Everyone in those stories had to make a choice. They had to come down on either side of the lines drawn: right or wrong; Death Eater, or not; good magic, or the Dark Arts. There aren't any other options. Of course this is not realistic. In life, there are many choices, many levels of right and wrong, and gray areas.

Fantasy fiction allows us to feel that there are not so many blurred lines, that it can be as simple as following Dumbledore's Army, or Voldemort's. In fantasy fiction, there is usually an obscure protagonist who rises as the hero, and a strong, blatantly evil antagonist. Some examples are Harry Potter versus Voldemort, the Pevensy children versus the White Witch, or Peter Pan versus Captain Hook. We love hero characters that defeat the odds; we love villain characters that we loathe. Life isn't this simple. We wish it could be. However, fantasy fiction allows us to ponder good and evil in a not threatening way; in an almost silly way, even. We can find our minds wandering, wondering if Snape is really a good guy; if Bella should become a vampire or not. What would we do in that situation? It is preposterous to bemuse these problems, yet fantasy fiction allows our minds that bit of escape from real life.

If there is a down side to fantasy fiction, especially for children, it is that a fantasy provides a mean of escape into a world that is not, and cannot be, real. There are people that can take fantasy fiction too far, blending story with reality or even being fascinated with villains or violence that is not real. It is wise to guard a child given to living in fantasy or pretend from too much fantasy fiction, providing them with other genres and material to think about. It is always healthy to teach children balance in all of their forms of recreation, even reading. More importantly, a child shouldn't feel the need to truly escape their own life, so

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