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Fantasy And Reality In Harlyn's Fairy

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Harlyn’s Fairy – Katya Hvostova Fantasy and reality are drawn on a fine line. In “Harlyn’s Fairy” the significance of fantasy within reality is not to embellish in ignorance or expectation to believe in the fantastical element of the narrative, rather to distinguish significance from allegorical themes and translate the messages into reality. Through Yolen’s short story, the characterization of the protagonist, Harlyn, her mother and Aunt Marilyn, display conflicting opinions on fantasy. The characters contrast each other’s point of view to further the significance in the influence of fantasy and imagination has on the mind. Aunt Marilyn defines the fantastical as empty make-believe. Harlyn’s mother uses fantasy as a crutch in replacement with reality, ignorant and distant to …show more content…

Through narrative explosion she is defined as embellished in the fantastical, distant from reality and delusional. Harlyn expresses her view on her mother by stating, “her mother’s delusions were about people trying to kill her and UFO aliens kidnapping her” (Yolen 29). Her mother does not have the capacity to divide fantasy and reality and manifests fear through her delusions. She represents the dangers of fantasy as a tool to inhibit ignorance and extreme escapism from reality. Aunt Marilyn presents the counter-opinion. She is represented as a realist who views the fantastical as a hindrance that is dangerous to society and the mind. While, Harlyn is reading The Hobbit, her opinion on fantasy is known through stating that, “she thought that fantasy stories were trashy, even dangerous, and so said often, ‘Empty make-believe’ was one of her favourite phrases” (Yolen 29). The term empty make-believe defines her opinion on fantastical stories. The genre of fantasy is dry and devoid of merit comprised of falsehoods that disturb reality to bend the mind into converting reality into

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