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High Fantasy is extremely popular, with publication and sales of High Fantasy titles outnumbering Science Fiction for thirty years, yet Fantasy is less respected by reviewers of the Speculative Fiction genre. One reason for this is that High Fantasy often fails to adequately address culturally or politically significant issues. Respected Science Fiction writers, such as Octavia Butler, on the other hand, use the issues such as discrimination and persecution on the basis of race and gender. In my exegesis I explore the ways in which High Fantasy has explored the problems of discrimination and persecution. In my novel, The T'En Exiles, I create a world populated by differently abled races. The ' ordinary ' people resent and fear the gifted people, who are less numerous and marginalised. Among the gifted there are those who are aware of mystical powers and those who can manipulate them; because of this a strict hierarchy has evolved. There is also a divide between the genders because the power of the females is expressed differently to that of the males. In The T'En Exiles I use the device of cognitive estrangement, a technique common in both Fantasy and Science Fiction, to examine discrimination and persecution. In particular in terms of how it affects individuals. In the exegesis I examine the ways in which issues of discrimination and persecution are dealt with in contemporary High Fantasy and Science Fiction, and the ways in which a more comprehensive and sensitive treatment of these issues in High Fantasy can address some concerns about the marginalisation of the sub-genre.

The author of this thesis Representation of the hero and the antihero in the British fantasy literature deals with the typology of characters within the genre. She focuses on the distinction between a hero and an antihero and discribes the characteristic features of their representation in the pieces written by British authors, including particularly the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, C. S. Lewis, J. K. Rowling, P. Pullman, N. Gaiman and T. Pratchett. The theoretical background is provided by the publication The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell and a book titled The Archetypes and the Collective Unconscious. Gained pieces of information are confronted with the texts named above.

Submitted by STÉFANO STAINLE null (stefano@stainle.com.br) on 2016-07-08T22:06:35Z No. of bitstreams: 1 DISSERTACAO_-_VERSAO_-_CAPA_-_DURA_-_STEFANO.pdf: 1429025 bytes, checksum: edd0f4b4e3b4ea54c0cd16da71d665d1 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Ana Paula Grisoto (grisotoana@reitoria.unesp.br) on 2016-07-11T19:07:02Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 stainle_e_me_arafcl.pdf: 1429025 bytes, checksum: edd0f4b4e3b4ea54c0cd16da71d665d1 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-07-11T19:07:02Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 stainle_e_me_arafcl.pdf: 1429025 bytes, checksum: edd0f4b4e3b4ea54c0cd16da71d665d1 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2016-05-25 / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Com essa pesquisa pretende-se, a partir de uma abordagem teórico-crítica de O Senhor dos Anéis, obra máxima de J. R. R. Tolkien, analisar o modo de atuação da personagem Gandalf, de forma a esclarecer e melhor compreender como essa personagem atua na narrativa e, com essa atuação, possibilita a existência da narrativa em si mesma, equilibrando ou desequilibrando o compasso do enredo. A forma como ela se movimenta e se manifesta no enredo é que permite concluir que cabe a Gandalf a responsabilidade de ser o urdidor dos elementos narrativos. Ele possilita que os elementos distintos da obra se conectem e dessa forma impulsionem a narrativa. Para tal análise há a mobilização de teorias que se referem à atuação da personagem e ao contexto literário em questão. Tais teorias são relacionadas aos gêneros romance, épica, contos de fadas, novelas de cavalaria e mito, bem como a psicanálise, religião, personagem e herói. Partindo do estudo da referida personagem, intenciona-se contribuir, em última instância, para uma melhor compreensão do universo ficcional criado pelo autor e um melhor entendimento dos recursos utilizados na composição da atuação da referida personagem na narrativa, aspecto que até o momento não foi adequadamente abordado e analisado pela crítica especializada na obra do autor. / With this research it is intended to analyse the way of acting of the character Gandalf departing from a theoretical-critical approach of The Lord of the Rings, J. R. R. Tolkien’s masterpiece, and by this, searching the enlightment and better understanding of how this character acts on the paths of the narrative and how this acting makes possible the existence of narrative itself, by balancing or even unbalancing the plot’s compass. The way he moves and acts in the plot allows us to conclude that Gandalf is the responsible for manipulating the narrative elements. He makes possible the connection among different elements of the plot, boosting the narrative. There is a mobilization of theories concerning the character's performance and the literary context to do such analysis. The theories are related to the genres novel, epic, fairy tale, romance and myth, as well as to the psychoanalysis, the religion, the character and the hero. Departing from the study of the referred character, it is intended to contribute, in the last resort, to a better understanding of the fictional universe created by the author and a better comprehension of the resources used in the composition of the reported character’s performance in the narrative, an aspect that was not properly approached and analysed by the critics on the work of the author.

Made available in DSpace on 2014-06-11T19:29:49Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 0 Previous issue date: 2011-06-27Bitstream added on 2014-06-13T20:20:10Z : No. of bitstreams: 1 pereira_alrm_me_arafcl.pdf: 611867 bytes, checksum: 441ea8ec6438d6b91c6e4dde1fbde7d1 (MD5) / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) / Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP) / J. R. R. Tolkien afirmou que o tema central de sua principal obra, O Senhor dos Anéis, é a tensão provocada entre a morte inevitável e a busca pela imortalidade. Diante disso, procurase nesse trabalho verificar de que maneira essa temática influencia a forma do romance e desenvolve uma crítica acerca do papel da arte e da técnica enquanto artigo de valor e fonte memória para seres cuja existência é finita ou seres ligados a um universo em constante transformação. Por um lado, há seres como os elfos que estão ligados diretamente à natureza de Arda e são fadados a não deixá-la até que chegue o seu fim. Esses seres, aparentemente imortais, sofrem com as constantes mudanças no planeta e tentam, através da técnica, agir diretamente sobre o mundo, tentando conservá-lo tal como ele é. Por outro lado, há os homens mortais, que, diante de sua própria mortalidade, buscam ter seus feitos eternizados em obras de arte, como esculturas, tapeçarias ou textos literários. / J. R. R. Tolkien declared that the central issue of his major work, The Lord of the Rings, is the tension emerging between the unavoidable death and the search for immortality. Therefore, this study is a research about how that aspect affects the structure of the novel and how it discusses the role of art and technique as a piece of value and a resource of memory available for finite or immortals beings, whose existence is linked to a continuously changing world. On the one hand, there are in novel beings such as elves that are directly connected to the nature of Arda and are doomed to remain there until its end. These apparently immortal beings can’t bear such constant changes on the planet and employ technical means in order to have an affect on the world and keep it as it is. On the other hand, mortal men, faced with their own mortality, seek out art as a way to have their deeds registered and so kept alive forever in works such as sculptures, tapestry or literary texts.

Chama a atenção o fato de uma obra como O Senhor dos Anéis, de J. R. R. Tolkien, envolver não apenas um herói, mas muitos personagens com um objetivo comum: a destruição do Anel do Poder. Eles criam laços e revelam sentimentos que nós encontramos no dia a dia, na jornada de nossa vida: se tornam amigos. Este projeto busca analisar como a amizade na obra tolkieniana colabora para o desenvolvimento de seus personagens, bem como contribui para o sucesso de seu objetivo final. Para tanto, tomaremos como base teórica o livro Ética a Nicômaco de Aristóteles, obra que se propõe essencialmente a estudar a felicidade, ou seja, o bem último do homem (eudaimonía). Ao aniquilarem o Anel, os heróis da saga tolkieniana realizam seu grande desejo, e ocorre então o que Tolkien chama de eucatástrofe, o final feliz, essencial nas histórias de fada. Ainda no pensamento aristotélico, a amizade seria tanto um sintoma da felicidade do ser humano quanto uma necessidade para que ele alcance essa realização plena. Por conta de Tolkien ter o seu entendimento de imaginário baseado, entre outras questões, no pensamento religioso, buscaremos também apoio na teologia, especialmente na Suma Teológica de São Tomás de Aquino, enxergando, na amizade, uma relação direta com a caridade cristã. Por entendermos que, na contemporaneidade, a centralidade do livro dá espaço para outras produções artísticas, nos apoiaremos também nas adaptações fílmicas de O Senhor dos Anéis, dirigidas pelo neozelandês Peter Jackson. Tal análise comparativa visa trazer mais elementos para o estudo sobre a amizade na narrativa de Tolkien, visto que o homem contemporâneo, especialmente o jovem, se mostra, cada vez mais, apoiado no universo do audiovisual, muitas vezes partindo dele para o da literatura. Acreditamos que nosso projeto chega em boa hora, visto que tanto o livro quanto o filme em questão envolvem e fascinam seu público leitor e espectador, contribuindo para a formação de seu pensamento ético e de seu caráter, servindo de referência a muitas obras do gênero fantasia, em diversas plataformas. / It draws our attention the fact that a work like The Lord of The Rings, by J. R. R. Tolkien, involves not only a single hero, but many characters with a common goal: the destruction of the Ring of Power. They connect with each other and reveal feelings we find day by day in our lives journey: they become friends. This project aims, therefore, to analyze how friendship in the Tolkienian work collaborates for the characters development, as well as it contributes for the success of their final goal. To achieve this, we will take as theoretical basis the book Nicomachean Ethics, by Aristotle, a work that essentially proposes to study happiness, in other words, the ultimate purpose of man (eudaimonia). By annihilating the Ring, the Tolkienian saga heroes achieve their great desire, and what happens then is what Tolkien calls the happy ending, which is essential to fairy stories. Still within the Aristotelian line of thought, friendship would be both a symptom of a human beings happiness and a requirement to reach this full achievement. Since Tolkiens imaginary understanding is based on, among other issues, the religious mindset, we will take theology as support, especially Summa Theologica, by Thomas Aquinas, by seeing, in friendship, a direct association with the Christian charity. Since we understand that, in our present days, the centrality of the book allows other artistic productions, we will also base this study on The Lord of The Rings movie adaptations, directed by the New Zealander filmmaker Peter Jackson. Such comparative analysis aims to bring more elements to the study of friendship in Tolkiens narrative, since the contemporary man, especially the young one, shows an increasing interest in the audiovisual universe, often starting with it and then moving on to literature. We believe that this is a timely project, since both the book and the movies in question involve and fascinate their readers and spectators, contributing to the development of their ethical thinking and character, acting as a reference to many fantasy gender works, in many platforms.

In this essay, Ralph C. Wood's religious-philosophical interpretation of LotR has been analyzed, with emphasis upon his conclusions about evil and sin in LotR. Some of Wood's claims about evil and sin in LotR have been applied upon the character Boromir, in order to show how sin is manifested as truth-transgression, pride, avarice, and misdirected love. A theoretical section is presented in order to define the concepts of sin, mimetic desire, and evil. The literary analysis focuses upon the character Boromir; the relevant works of literary scholas Ralph C. Wood and René Girard have been chosen as points of reference in this analysis. Attention is also given to an article by the historian Stephen Morillo, in the analysis of Norse pagan and Christian interpretations. It has been argued that a Christian reading of LotR, contrary to Morillo's standpoint, is possible.

This study was motivated by a crisis in Biblical hermeneutics within postmodernity. Within postmodernity the Bible is no longer read for various reasons and therefore it has become inaccessible for many people although they own a Bible. The Biblical world is too ‘strange’ and therefore for many people it has lost its relevance to today’s challenges and daily struggles. The problem of interpretation and understanding becomes even more complicated with a book like the Revelation of John where the message is hidden behind culturally and historically conditioned symbols and metaphors. There are numerous interpretations and commentaries available to help explain these books, but through these explanations and interpretations much of the narrative and literary affect of these writings is lost. There are however books, such as J R R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, which have a tremendous impact on millions of readers throughout the world. Tolkien’s book together with the Revelation of John, have deeply inspired me as books of comfort and strength in times of trial. The questions arose whether these two books can be compared, and secondly, whether a well-loved book like The Lord of the Rings, can be used to help readers to enter the world of a wonderful biblical book like Revelation? These two questions could not be answered with a simple comparative study, but needed to be asked within a theological hermeneutical framework which led to the hypotheses of this study: It is hermeneutically and theologically justifiable to make use of secondary, non-biblical literature which is comparable in its intent, genre, theological perspective, characters and plot, as a hermeneutical tool with which to elucidate and gain access to primary biblical literature. It was in the search for an appropriate hermeneutic which is theologically justifiable that I discovered the narrative-critical approach. The search for a hermeneutical approach which would create the necessary space for a non-biblical literary work to be used to interpret and elucidate a biblical work raised numerous theological questions, such as questions with regards to scriptural authority and the question of the relationship between revelation and scripture. I reflected on this approach theologically with regards to revelation and the authority of Scripture and discovered that this hermeneutical approach is very appropriate within a postmodern context as it aptly responds to the challenges of postmodernity. The two narratives were described within the narrative-critical approach and then compared with each other using the principle of analogy. It was discovered that these two narratives have enough important similarities with regards to intent, genre, theological perspective, characters and plot, so that the one can be used to illuminate the other. It is the conclusion of this study that the narrative critical approach is a wonderful hermeneutical tool not only to elucidate biblical books, but also to interpret and understand contexts and identity-forming stories and to bring these stories into dialogue with Scripture with the help of secular and contemporary literature where needed. / Thesis (DD (New Testament Studies))--University of Pretoria, 2007. / New Testament Studies / unrestricted

This essay examines J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings through the application of a theoretical framework of postcolonial ecocriticism, endeavoring to discern the author’s concerns and the environmental and colonial underpinnings interwoven in the novel through a thematic analysis focusing on the concepts of pastoral, nature, wilderness and development. The results show that Tolkien undoubtedly projected his profound sentiments for environmental disruption as a product of a rapidly changing world during his lifetime. Although Tolkien’s trilogy is a work of high fantasy written in a different context, this essay argues that it is valid for scrutiny in relation to contemporary society. Furthermore, this study investigates the implementation of the text in the Swedish EFLclassroom with the purpose of raising students’ awareness for, and investment in the environment, whilst improving their all-round communicative skills, ultimately educating for a sustainable future.

When Peter Jackson sought to adapt J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings to film, many fans worried about the changes that could be made to such a beloved story. Though the response to the films was generally positive, all three movies did have their detractors. Many of the complaints centered on his badly adapting the source material, specifically the characters. When Jackson released The Two Towers, fans were outraged further by how Jackson had handled Faramir. However, these interpretations of The Lord of the Rings and Faramir are a narrow evaluation of the larger problem facing fan and scholarly communities, that being, the devaluation of Escapism and what Tolkien calls, “escapist texts,” in today’s society. Tolkien claims that the main purpose of escapist texts is that they allow audiences to recover previous experiences that gave them feelings of happiness or joy. Despite criticism of Escapism, escapists texts don’t urge people to abandon their lives and seek something else. Rather, escapist texts encourage audiences to identify with and empathize with the characters represented in these texts, in order to return to their lives and accept responsibility for and connection with other people. When audiences see The Lord of the Rings and Faramir (whether in book form or in film form), they identify and connect with these stories and characters and seek responsibility in their own lives, which brings them, and those around them, hope.