I've Been Looking For People Like You All My Life, Prince Caspian, C.S. Lewis and childhood 'fairytales' |
 Nov 6 2008, 11:42 AM
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Visual Aids of Swoonworthiness Person  Posts: 3,067 Joined: 8:49pm December 9, 2006 Location: Lost in a Good Book somewhere in Minneapolis   |
Prince Caspian says “I want to stay with you – if you’ll let me” when he finally meets the Old Narnians for the first time. He goes on, “I’ve been looking for people like you all my life.”
Many scholars have theorized that Caspian was the character most like C.S. Lewis in his longing for the reality of childhood fairytales and a willingness to be enchanted. (They also both lost their mothers and had a strong affection for their tutors.) Do you possess this same ‘willingness to be enchanted’? Is this an essential characteristic in order to enjoy books like The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter? What childhood stories/books/fairytales do you wish were real? How would you react if you came face to face with characters out of a story? 
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Nov 9 2008, 04:02 PM
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One Half of the DDD  Posts: 8,953 Joined: 5:31pm August 30, 2006 Location: Siriusly Dreaming Somewhere |
I have to say that I love to be enchanted, its one of the numerous pleasures of reading. Being enchanted, for me, has nothing to do with magic or fantasy it means becoming totally immersed in another world, to be whisked away into a place that I would not normally be with people I would not normally meet, doing things I would not normally do. There can't be many people who watched the Mary Poppins film as a child and didn't then go to their room and try to put away their toys by clicking their fingers
 . I would dearly love the magical world to be real, yes there would still be problems but what fun and novel ways to resolve them. I think you do need to enjoy being enchanted and taken into another world to really enjoy the books, I would love to be a part of the Potterverse and take a stroll down Diagon Alley and when I read the books that happens for me. As a child I loved the Enid Blyton books like The Children of the Faraway Tree and the Wishing Chair, how I wanted to find a tree that had other worlds at the top. I used to love the King Arthur and Robin Hood stories, how I longed to meet them lol --------------------  March's Book Nook: The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge/Skellig by David Almond "THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" |
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Nov 10 2008, 09:52 PM
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Waiting for Wednesdays  Posts: 9,229 Joined: 7:57am January 28, 2005 Location: Hiding from Hurricanes  |
QUOTE(MysteryloverAnne @ Nov 6 2008, 10:42 AM)  Prince Caspian says “I want to stay with you – if you’ll let me” when he finally meets the Old Narnians for the first time. He goes on, “I’ve been looking for people like you all my life.” Many scholars have theorized that Caspian was the character most like C.S. Lewis in his longing for the reality of childhood fairytales and a willingness to be enchanted. (They also both lost their mothers and had a strong affection for their tutors.) Do you possess this same ‘willingness to be enchanted’? Is this an essential characteristic in order to enjoy books like The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter? What childhood stories/books/fairytales do you wish were real? How would you react if you came face to face with characters out of a story? I love the enchantment found in most fantasy novels. That wonderful feeling that magic is around you and anything is possible helps us escape the boredom of things like bills and laundry. ( Can you tell what I'm supposed to be doing right now!  )If I had to come in contact with a character, well it would depend on the character. When I taught fairy tales as a genre I used "The Real Story of Jack and the Beanstalk." I'd like to meet the modern day Jack! --------------------  My Avon Breast Cancer Walk Page and Blog! I'm In It to End It! |
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Nov 11 2008, 11:33 PM
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Exclusive distributor of The Dungbomb Protection Kit  Posts: 2,642 Joined: 10:52pm March 5, 2007 |
Do you possess this same ‘willingness to be enchanted’? Yes, I get positively depressed at the end of books that I love. Is this an essential characteristic in order to enjoy books like The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter? That is an interesting question to consider, and I would have to say 'yes'. I think there has to be a certain willingness to allow yourself to believe the world you are reading about, to become emotionally invested in it. Many people that I know think reading fantasy literature is a waste of time because it's not 'real'. They just don't understand that, sometimes, that is entirely the point. |
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Nov 13 2008, 08:09 PM
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One Half of the DDD Posts: 8,953 Joined: 5:31pm August 30, 2006 Location: Siriusly Dreaming Somewhere |
QUOTE(Pyxis @ Nov 12 2008, 04:33 AM) Many people that I know think reading fantasy literature is a waste of time because it's not 'real'. They just don't understand that, sometimes, that is entirely the point. I agree, how could you befriend dragons, wizards, fairies and fawns, travel in time, visit parallel worlds or become invisible unless you read about worlds that aren't real? If a book is good that world becomes real in your head for the duration of your read and as a well-known and well-loved wizard once said, "of course it is happening inside your head, Harry, but why on earth should that mean that it is not real?"-------------------- March's Book Nook: The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge/Skellig by David Almond "THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" |
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Nov 19 2008, 08:51 PM
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Eeylops Owl Cage Cleaner Posts: 214 Joined: 3:24am June 3, 2008 Location: Enjoying the latest HP book club |
QUOTE(Pyxis @ Nov 12 2008, 12:33 AM) Is this an essential characteristic in order to enjoy books like The Chronicles of Narnia, the Lord of the Rings or Harry Potter? That is an interesting question to consider, and I would have to say 'yes'. I think there has to be a certain willingness to allow yourself to believe the world you are reading about, to become emotionally invested in it. Many people that I know think reading fantasy literature is a waste of time because it's not 'real'. They just don't understand that, sometimes, that is entirely the point. I think you need to feel the enchantment in a good story. A good production of the story on film also makes it special. I only felt this in the Lord of the Rings movies in particular, and in the first Narnia Film, not so much in the second. All fiction is fantasy literature in a way, so I don't understand people who say that fantasy literature is a waste of time because it isn't real. If fantasy fiction isn't real, neither is romantic novels, westerns or anything else. Even an exciting history textbook can be unreal, since it is only the author's interpretation of what someone else has written down from their perspective, and there isn't always any means of telling exactly what happened. |
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Nov 22 2008, 01:03 PM
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Leaky's Official Donut Maker and Mosquito Man Posts: 11,507 Joined: 10:51am August 25, 2005 Location: Playing kal-toh with Professor Snape |
QUOTE(Pyxis @ Nov 12 2008, 03:33 AM) Many people that I know think reading fantasy literature is a waste of time because it's not 'real'. They just don't understand that, sometimes, that is entirely the point. I know people like that, too. They consider *fantasy fiction* to be childish or just plain stupid because it's not real so, what's the point in reading it. But, the same could be said of any fictional literature because even well-researched novels rely on improbable situations, things happening at just the right time, the behavior of a combined group of people ... Kathy Reichs puts a whole lot of research into her novels and while they are based on events similar to reality and use real-life scenes and settings, they still rely on that willingness to believe. QUOTE Do you possess this same ‘willingness to be enchanted’? Totally, I read LOTR & Narnia as a kid & then HP came along (I hastily point out that LOTR & Narnia were published long before I was born lol, I just happened to read them as a kid) and of course I believe them because it's totally real HP in particular has been a haven, it is real but I'd like to find the secret access to Diagon Alley and receive my Hogwarts letter. I also like The Pilot in The Little Prince because he's able & willing to accept the child. He's not a Peter Pan character, The Pilot grows old but that doesnt mean he has to grow up ergo become sensible and not draw an elephant being eaten by a snake. Another story I love is the Polar Express because again the importance is put upon belief. When the others grow up and can no longer hear the bell, he can still hear it even though he's grown old. There's a difference between growing old and growing up and, it is still possible to believe the same way you did as a kid even when you're older. --------------------   I'm 1 of the 99.99% W.L.Y.J.  When I sleep I dream, and when I dream I can rise above the walls Remember Cameron Duncan Thanks Jeff! |
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Nov 22 2008, 03:37 PM
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One Half of the DDD Posts: 8,953 Joined: 5:31pm August 30, 2006 Location: Siriusly Dreaming Somewhere |
QUOTE(Moose_Starr @ Nov 22 2008, 06:03 PM) There's a difference between growing old and growing up and, it is still possible to believe the same way you did as a kid even when you're older. I think you're right and I must be a perfect target for fiction writers. I read the story and very often just see the story and nothing else until someone points out symbolism or some alternative meaning. When I first read Narnia I was an adult (although there are those who would argue that lol) and just read it as an enjoyable adventure story where the characters travelled to other worlds. I didn't see the Christian symbolism (siriusly lol) until a non-Christian friend commented that he had wondered whether to let his children read it, I was just immersed in the story and had never noticed the symbolism. In the same way I read about Quidditch in HP and never saw any symbolism there until Pyxis pointed it out to me in her essay. Once I know there is a deeper meaning I enjoy going back and winkling it out but on first reading I so often just believe the story as its written and get lost in it.ETA: QUOTE(Moose_Starr @ Nov 22 2008, 11:35 PM) I can understand CS Lewis saying that Narnia wasnt written as a fictional place in which to play out a Christian-theme parable, it's more metaphorical. But, to me anyhows it's like very obvious, & I was genuinely mouth-opened surprized at Dreamteam's post, not in any critical way but just like, how could you miss the symbolism when it's so obvious (or, to me it's obvious) Yeah that's been said to me before, more than once by Christians and non-Christians. I think I just get so involved in what's happening in the particular story I'm reading that I just don't think beyond it to other similar stories, just as I also don't see the influence of Dickens or Austen on other works. For instance a recent comparision of Snape with Darcy would not have occurred to me as I read either HP or Pride and Prejudice. Once someone starts to compare with another work I begin to see the connections and they then start to grow and I can appreciate them and enjoy the discussion but I tend to often not get that initial spark, lol. I'm not a particularly religious person but I don't really think that explains why I never spotted the symbolism in Narnia because I never spot the symbolism in anything until its pointed out lol. This post has been edited by Dreamteam: Nov 23 2008, 08:10 AM -------------------- March's Book Nook: The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge/Skellig by David Almond "THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" roared Black. "DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!" |
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