by Keith Michael

Created on: October 27, 2007   Last Updated: June 21, 2010

"I must slay the dragon!" Replied the bumbling old wizard. He set off, arcane tools in hand, to seek out the beast and deliver the land from its tyranny.

Fantasy literature, a sub-genre of science fiction, was popularized in the 1950's by authors such as J.R.R Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. Since then the debate has arisen as to whether or not fantasy fiction has a negative affect on its readers. To explore this debate we must look at the content of popular fantasy works and see if it could make a negative impression on the human psyche.

Fantasy literature, though it varies widely from work to work, has a few similarities that place it firmly into its own category. In order to be fantasy fiction a work has to consist of fantastic elements that are considered impossible in our real world. This includes such things as dragons, elves, powerful magics, and various potions. Fantasy worlds, though usually bearing similarities to our own, have a different set of physical laws.

There are also some things found commonly in fantasy works that don't necessarily distinguish it as fantasy. A good majority of popular fantasy fiction is adventure based, contains vivid action scenes, and descriptive violence. It's also not uncommon for political and social issues on a grand scale to play out in a fantasy novel.

It has been said that the fantastical nature of such works has the capacity to blur the lines of reality for an individual, thus causing a person to behave in such a way that is dangerous to society. Is it possible that a man, steeped in fantasy literature, could come to believe he is part of a different world than we are in? Possibly leading him to attempt feats such as flying or bringing him to harm a neighbor that he believes to be 'evil'?

A developed, and healthy, human mind has the ability to distinguish between what is fact and what is obviously fiction. When reading a work of fiction, a functioning individual is able to keep separate what is happening within his chosen form of entertainment and what is happening around him. The only danger would be to an individual who is already prone to delusional ideas, and anyone fitting that mark would more than likely end up living in a delusional fantasy with or without the help of fanciful stories.

Having a developed sense of right and wrong, the normal human being would also be able to keep descriptive violence separate from ones desires, being a viewer only and not a participant. It is only when we once again look at an unhealthy

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