Essay on Quest Fiction Genre is published for informational purposes only. The free papers are not written by our writers, they are contributed by users, so we are not responsible for the content of this free sample paper. If you want to buy a quality Essay on Essay on Quest Fiction Genre at affordable prices please use our essay writing services offered by EssayEmpire.

Ancient literature and mythology frequently based the action of a story on a quest. In place of the quest, modern literature has often provided an adventure. The distinction lies at the heart of fantasy. If the fantasy hero must act, he or she must often seek long and desperately for a basis for action. The question that this hero pursues is different from an adventure in several significant ways. In the first place, an adventure may lead anywhere. Jack Kerouac's On the Road is an adventure; the road takes the rider out, but the rider has no precise goal. The quest is always toward something, although that something often becomes clear only with the seeking of it. Second, the adventure may be undertaken for any number of reasons-boredom with one's present situation, wanderlust, dissatisfaction with things as they are.

The quest, however, is always a spiritual or religious undertaking. The quest hero is appointed or ordained to his or her mission, and its end has spiritual significance. Third, the adventure may be merely a whimsical frolic. In contrast, the quest is always a grave, serious undertaking. It is often life-threatening, marked by a sense of struggle, of imminent or immediate danger in which the character must call upon all of his or her will and power to push on.

Fantasy provides not a hiding place but a point from which the reader can begin anew. The author invites the reader to probe an inner nature, to grow in experience, to resolve oneself to new directions. The quest provides a basis for such exploration.

Quests are pursued only when grave events threaten the well-being of a society. In ancient literature as well as modern fantasy, no quest is pursued for the sheer fun of it. The qualification is important, since an adventure is often undertaken simply because the status quo has become torpid in its uneven fullness, and the adventurer is motivated by little more than accentuated ennui. In the quest, the threat to the status quo often makes the hero long for the routine, and frequently the quest is pursued in order to recover that state.

It seems, finally, that fantasy literature possesses one additional quality that cannot be neatly categorized. Again, although exceptions exist, much of the appeal in modern fantasy resides in its optimism for humankind. The human spirit may be maligned, but it will endure. It may be tested, but it will be found worthy. In an age acutely pessimistic about the human race, fantasy remains adamant in its belief that all life is worthy. There may be bad people around us-fantasy never denies that-but somehow even the feeblest of creatures can individually confront them. Fantasy believes the confrontation with evil in any of its multifaceted variations is worth the risk, the sorrow, the pain, for the struggle will come to an end, and at that end lays joy: 'They both laughed. Laughed-the Mountains rang with it!' (J. R. R. Tolkien, 'Leaf by Niggle').

References:

1.         Shippey, T. A., ed. McGill's Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy Literature, 4 vols. Pasadena, Calif.: Salem Press, 1996.

2.         Timmerman, John H. Other Worlds: The Fantasy Genre. Bowling Green, Ohio: Bowling Green University Popular Press, 1983.

3.         Tolkien, J. R. R. 'Leaf by Niggle.' In The Tolkien Reader. New York: Ballantine, 1966.

4.         Tolkien, J. R. R. 'On Fairy Stories.' In The Tolkien Reader. New York: Ballantine, 1966.

Free essays are not written to satisfy your specific instructions. You can order a term paper, research paper or custom TOPIC at our site which offers professional essay writing services. Get your high quality custom paper at relatively cheap prices. EssayEmpire is the best solution for those who seek help in essay writing related to TOPIC and other relevant topics.