Some
of the solutions to real world problems might be found in Fantasy Books? Kira
Schiavone explains how...Some
of the solutions to real world problems might be found in Fantasy Books? Kira
Schiavone explains how...There are so many things happening in the world today. Wars, terrorists, political races, ever more spectacularly designed fedoras, me possibly actually writing regular columns… However, with all that going on in the world, it’s harder than ever to find the truth. Everyone is so afraid of not offending everyone else, and the media today is out for selling the most viewers, not looking for the truth. We’re in a sensationalized world where the bottom line is all that matters, and the media seeks out to build hysteria because that’s what’s important to them.
So where should you turn, in this avalanche of misinformation? I advocate turning to fantasy books. There is a surprising amount of real-world wisdom in these fantastic tales of other worlds, and the authors need not be afraid to write them because, after all, they are not writing about the real world. They only wrote a fantasy tale, not something that needs to be taken seriously. But you can learn from these, and apply the lessons to real life. I will relate the general plotlines of two tales from DragonLance and my interpretations of them as parables, and may continue this series if more come up as I continue to read the DragonLance epic. (It contains at least a few hundred books in total and more are being written still, so I have no doubt there will be more- and there are some in other fantasy works as well.)
The first is very short and is from somewhere in the original DragonLance trilogy. Kender are a very short race, and are looked on as a nuisance, as things tend to fall into their pouches without them being aware of it, and they get into all places despite strenuous attempts to keep them out. A kender ends up in a group of heroes, in a great war, and then he and an old and confused mage become separated from their companions and find themselves hidden in the same room as the evil leaders, where a prisoner is being kept. The kender admits his fear to the mage and says he once asked his father why kender are so small, and his father told him that it’s because kender are meant to do small things, but it is on small things that the world hinges. The kender then tells the old mage that they are going to do a small thing: they are going to rescue the prisoner. The consequences of this rescue later save the entire group. From such a tale, one can take the lesson that doing things, even small things, can have big consequences. So if you take every little opportunity to make even a little difference, it might make a big difference, and it is on those little differences that the world turns.
The second is from “Dragons of Summer Flame”, and is the story as progressed through the first few chapters. An orphaned human girl was taken in as an infant by a race of studious isolationists known as the Irda. The Irda are the most beautiful and magically powerful of races, but they devote their lives to quiet contemplation and study, the mere concept of social interaction is foreign to them. They shun drastic action, and so their leader is chosen for his or her averageness. The human woman grew up among them, was raised to near adulthood, and they loved her. One day, some Dark Knights landed on the island where the Irda dwelt. The Irda used their powerful magic to make their homes appear no more than a primitive, stone-age settlement. The Dark Knights decided that the people dwelling on the island were “no threat”, and left. The leader of the Irda decided this meant they would be back one day to enslave what they thought was a primitive settlement- after all, humans know no better than to enslave all they come across. Many among the Irda had doubts of this, but they loved peace and harmony and did not speak against him. The leader said that they should break open a magical artifact they possessed and use its power to protect themselves. The human woman spoke out at their meeting and asked how they knew they could control it, if it was so powerful, and how they knew it wasn’t controlling them. Many thought her words had merit, but because they disliked confrontation, they again didn’t speak out. The leader, fearing she would stop him (for the woman had guessed correctly- he was controlled by the artifact, though he didn’t know it), sent her away from the island, the only home she had ever known, to a world she knew little about. The Irda were very sorry to see her go, as they loved her despite her humanity, but still they did not speak out. They worked the magic to break open the artifact, and not only was their entire race destroyed by the power, but they loosed the demon contained within the artifact upon the world.
What is the moral that you can take from that one? Don’t remain silent. No matter what the injustice is or how much you value your peaceful existence, speak out against it. Take steps to end such things wherever you may find them. And if a lone voice gives voice to the same fears you have, gather behind that lone voice. It takes much more bravery for that lone voice to speak alone than it does for you to join what it has spoken. If the Irda had not remained silent, their race would still live and the very large war that resulted from the demon they loosed would never have happened. If you do not remain silent, others may hear you and join in, and that same small group of thoughtful, committed citizens I’ve quoted about before will change the world.
And
so now you’ve seen some of the parables of fantasy stories. I might bring
you some more. If you can’t wait for me to write more up, or even if you
can, go to the fantasy section of your local bookstore. Look for DragonLance,
Pendragon, the Myst books, the Valdemar novels, Tamora Pierce’s books, and
so many others I have yet to name. Even Robin Hobb, who writes endings that
I despise, has life lessons in her fantasy novels.
