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Fantasy Elements In Fantasy Fiction

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Magic has been widely used since hundreds of years ago. It is believed to have powerful effects that can change one’s condition (Middleton, Jolly, & Gilbert, n.d.). According to Bailey (2006) magic means the use of extraordinary power to make possible something impossible. This means that it can magically do things beyond human reason, for example altering human beings or at a more extreme level, reviving the dead. Nowadays, science has rapidly developed and dominated the life of modern society, yet the practices of magic can still be found in some part of society. For examples, Haitians who still believe in magical power of Voodoo or the gypsies who believe horses are magical creatures because the skull of a horse will keep ghosts out of their …show more content…

The magic itself can be in the form of magical abilities, such as immunity to fire, magical creatures, for instance ghost and unicorn, or magical phenomena, like crystal rain (Talmor, 2003). According to Cristea (2014), magic is the one that permeate fantasy genre. An excellent concept of magic can build a good tension and give interest to the story. Therefore, magic becomes an important element in fantasy fiction in order to create an attractive story. An example of fantasy fiction that reaps a great success is Harry Potter. Harry Potter novels have been sold over 325 million copies around the world. The numbers show how people in modern society still find magic as something interesting. Moreover, the novels are turned into films and gain similar success as the printed …show more content…

For example, a study conducted by Watts (2006) entitled “The Secret World of Harry Potter” applies Nikolajeva’s Magic Law as its framework to discuss the role of magic in Harry Potter novel. This study finds that magic is used to construct the whole story by making limitations on how magic allowed to be used. Another study to mention is titled “Harry Potter and the Fundamentals of Fantasy” conducted by Martin (2007). This study discloses that the component that built the story of Harry Potter is the limited power of magic, similar to Watts’s finding. “Magic Laws and The Functions of Fantasy in A Fantasy Novel” is a study conducted by Amelis (2013). She uses Riordan’s Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief as her subject and combines Nikolajeva’s Magic Law and Tolkien’s Function of Fantasy as her framework of analysis. This study reveals that magic law is used to construct the story to be more interesting, believable, and related to human

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