Stranger in the Strangest Lands - Classic Portal Fantasies
Unlike Harry Potter, who I believe intrinsically is a multicultural character, many of the protagonists of classic children's fantasy are children completely of our normal world. Perhaps they have a great destiny, but unlike Harry, who has a special scar and magical wizard powers, these children's skills, knowledge, education level are just average. Rather, they are ordinary characters forced into extraordinary circumstances.
So there is a context of a deeper connection between fantasy (specifically those classic children's fantasy following the hero's journey) and multicultural stories (specifically those stories that fall into the Stranger in the Strange Land story line).
These average, normal children physically cross over into a strange, wondrously magical world, where they explore the strange new world, collect magical items and defeat the magical world's greatest evil, often with the most unexpected, simplest solutions.
In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum, Dorothy is transported by a tornado from Kansas to the land of Oz, where her house kills the Wicked Witch of the East. Taking the witch's silver shoes (I'm following the book), Dorothy, with her faithful dog Toto, collects unlikely companions, follows the yellow brick road to the meet the Wizard, who sends them kill the Wicked Witch of the West. Dorothy melts the witch with a bucket of water, and when she and her companions return, the wizard is a fraud. After searching for a way out of Oz, Dorothy learns her silver shoes are the key.
Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis are destined to be the Kings and Queens of Narnia, but only after they first help Aslan save Narnia from the neverending winter of the evil White Witch. Peter battles with his magical sword and shield, Susan with her magical bow and arrows and horn, and Lucy heals with her magical potion. Edmund never received his gifts because he was with the witch. In later books, Polly and Eustace cross over, too. Personally I wish that they would keep the original order of this series.
Though A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle is technically science fiction, there are so many aspects that fit with fantasy, as Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace, with assistance from their supernatural friends, "wrinkle" their way through space in search of Meg and Charles Wallace's scientist father and must confront the monstrous IT. Though Charles Wallace is a genius, it is Meg who defeats IT through the power of love.
Published around ten years ago, Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy is already considered a classic. Though the first book is pure fantasy set in a magical world similar to ours about the adventures of a girl named Lyra, the second book is a portal fantasy. Will Parry of The Subtle Knife is a normal kid who crosses over into Lyra's world and other worlds by discovering a window that was cut with the magical knife. During his adventures, Will learns more about the history of his own father, and Will and Lyra don't confront The Authority until the third and final book.
These heroic, exploring children are never completely alone. They travel in groups without normal adults because if adults were around, the children would have no freedom to make choices (and mistakes) and shape their own destinies.
After saving the strange world, the children always complete the hero's journey and return to the world they originate because as Dorothy says, "there's no place like home."
What do you think? Do you recommend any other portal fantasies?
So there is a context of a deeper connection between fantasy (specifically those classic children's fantasy following the hero's journey) and multicultural stories (specifically those stories that fall into the Stranger in the Strange Land story line).
These average, normal children physically cross over into a strange, wondrously magical world, where they explore the strange new world, collect magical items and defeat the magical world's greatest evil, often with the most unexpected, simplest solutions.
In The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by Frank L. Baum, Dorothy is transported by a tornado from Kansas to the land of Oz, where her house kills the Wicked Witch of the East. Taking the witch's silver shoes (I'm following the book), Dorothy, with her faithful dog Toto, collects unlikely companions, follows the yellow brick road to the meet the Wizard, who sends them kill the Wicked Witch of the West. Dorothy melts the witch with a bucket of water, and when she and her companions return, the wizard is a fraud. After searching for a way out of Oz, Dorothy learns her silver shoes are the key.
Peter, Susan, Edmund, and Lucy from The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis are destined to be the Kings and Queens of Narnia, but only after they first help Aslan save Narnia from the neverending winter of the evil White Witch. Peter battles with his magical sword and shield, Susan with her magical bow and arrows and horn, and Lucy heals with her magical potion. Edmund never received his gifts because he was with the witch. In later books, Polly and Eustace cross over, too. Personally I wish that they would keep the original order of this series.
Though A Wrinkle in Time by Madeline L'Engle is technically science fiction, there are so many aspects that fit with fantasy, as Meg, Calvin, and Charles Wallace, with assistance from their supernatural friends, "wrinkle" their way through space in search of Meg and Charles Wallace's scientist father and must confront the monstrous IT. Though Charles Wallace is a genius, it is Meg who defeats IT through the power of love.
Published around ten years ago, Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy is already considered a classic. Though the first book is pure fantasy set in a magical world similar to ours about the adventures of a girl named Lyra, the second book is a portal fantasy. Will Parry of The Subtle Knife is a normal kid who crosses over into Lyra's world and other worlds by discovering a window that was cut with the magical knife. During his adventures, Will learns more about the history of his own father, and Will and Lyra don't confront The Authority until the third and final book.
These heroic, exploring children are never completely alone. They travel in groups without normal adults because if adults were around, the children would have no freedom to make choices (and mistakes) and shape their own destinies.
After saving the strange world, the children always complete the hero's journey and return to the world they originate because as Dorothy says, "there's no place like home."
What do you think? Do you recommend any other portal fantasies?
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posted by Emily Jiang at 1:40 PM
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