Relevance and Use of Reality and Fantastic in Literature

The relevance and use of reality and the fantastic in Literature
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The relevance and use of reality and the fantastic in Literature
Reality and fantasy are two genres commonly used in literature. This essay exhaustively discusses the relevance and usage of reality and the fantastic in literature and the way in which it impacts people’s lives including the lives of children. In this discussion, The Paper Bag Princess, a fictional text is used along with one non-fiction text, Hana’s Suitcase. The essay particularly focuses on the role of the reality and the fantastic relative to tone, setting and character literary devices.
Fantasy comments on social reality by means of indirections such as parable, allegory and metaphor hence could deal with intricate moral questions in a manner that is more exaggerated and playful. Furthermore, the fantastic prompts children to play at seeing the world in various dissimilar ways and hence teaches the young readers to construct meaning by making connections between ostensibly unconnected things or concepts. Equally important, the fantastic is not only for children. Becoming a teen, coming to terms with disappointment and betrayal, rites of passage – everything of emerging adult life also have to be encountered and dealt with. Even though counselling and psychoanalysis have their place, one of the most crucial tools that people can utilize in tackling reality is without doubt the creation of the allegorical story by using metaphor.
One children’s text that particularly employs the fantastic is The Paper Bag Princess by Munsch published in the year 1980. The main characters here include Prince Ronald, Princess Elizabeth the protagonist and the dragon which is the antagonist. The story, which is set in a forest, commences like a usual fairy tale with Prince Ronald and his beautiful Princess Elizabeth. Unluckily, “a dragon smashed Princess Elizabeth’s castle burning all her clothing with his fiery breath and carried Prince Ronald off” (Munsch 3). Princess Elizabeth does not get dejected and hopeless. Rather than waiting for somebody to come and rescue her prince Ronald, she decided to rescue her prince by herself wearing a paper bag, which was the only thing that was not burnt by the dragon’s fiery breath. The author employs ghastly details. The princess manages to follow the dragon easily since the dragon “left a trail of horses’ bones and burnt forests” (Munsch 5). In addition, children might be scared and terrified when the dragon declares that he loves “to eat princesses!” (Munsch 9). In spite of the fact that the dragon refuses to speak with Princess Elizabeth and has a fierce appearance, this princess continues banging on the dragon’s door to make the dragon listen.
The courageousness and determination of Princess Elizabeth pay off. After the dragon’s door opens, Princess Elizabeth makes use of flattery in outsmarting the dragon. Elizabeth asks, “Is it true that you are able to burn up 10 forests with using your fiery breath?” (Munsch 11). The dragon then burns 150 forests with his fiery breath until he went out of breath. On the whole, the...