High Fantasy

High fantasy

1. The Chronicles of Narnia by by C.S. Lewis Harry Potter Series by J.K. Rowling Twilight Series by Stephanie Myers The Inheritance Cycle by Christopher Paolini The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare The Graceling series Kristin Cashore Percy Jackson and the Olympians series by Rick Riordan The Golden Compass series by Philip Pullman The Wolves of Mercy Falls by Maggie Stiefaver Immortals Series by Tamora Pierce Ms. Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children series by Ransom Riggs High Fantasy

2. Alternative History Alternative Reality Classic Fantasy Classic Science Fiction Comedy Fantasy Comedy Science Fiction Contemporary Fantasy Dark Fantasy Dystopian Heroic Fantasy Horror Fantasy Literary Fantasy Military Science Fiction Science Fiction Space Fantasy Steampunk Sword and Sorcery Fantasy Time Travel Urban Fantasy Weird Romance Fantasy Zombies High Fantasy Types

3. Refer to the lavender handout and explain how Am I Blue ? (825-829) contains elements of good fantasy (methods of suspending disbelief) and low fantasy. All fantasy contains characteristics of good fantasy and some elements of low fantasy.

4. a secondary world a seriousness of tone and importance of theme tests of identity, endurance and character tasks undertaken and imposed quests escapes from death journeys to other worlds tales of maturation incorporates themes, characters and archetypes from myth "internal crises or conflicts or processes of the characters {that} are dramatized as if they were external individuals or events" (Crosscurrents: 426) High Fantasy Characteristics

5. Exercise: In Am I Blue? find all of the characteristics that make it high fantasy as well. Am I Blue?

6. Lois Lowry wrote her first book, A Summer to Die , in 1977 at the age of forty. Since then she’s written more than thirty books for children and teens, often tackling serious topics such as debilitating illnesses, the Holocaust, and repressive governments. The winner of two Newbery Medals and other accolades, Lowry continues to write the types of stories she feels represents her views about humanity. Lowry explains, “My books have varied in content and style. Yet it seems that all of them deal, essentially, with the same general theme: the importance of human connections” (Source: Lois Lowry's website ). Born in Hawaii, Lowry, the second of three children, moved all over the world with her Army dentist father. She raised her own family of four children in Maine, but currently lives in Cambridge Massachusetts where she continues to write. Author Lois Lowry

7. The Giver won the Newbery Medal in 1994, the Heartland Award for Excellence in 1997, and the Buckeye Children's Book Award, also in 1997. Imagine living in a society of sameness where you find no color, no family connections, and no memory; a society where life is governed by rigid rules that resist change and resent questioning. Welcome to the world of Lois Lowry ’s 1994 Newbery award-winning book The Giver , a powerful and controversial book about a utopian community and young boy’s dawning realizations about oppression, choices, and human connections. The Giver by Lois Lowry

8. For Chapters 1-7, please find all of the traits that put the beginning of T he Giver into the category of good fantasy and low fantasy. The Giver: Chapters 1-7

9. Joseph John Campbell (March 26, 1904 – October 30, 1987) was an American mythologist, writer and lecturer, best known for his work in comparative mythology and comparative religion. His work is vast, covering many aspects of the human experience . Campbell's concept of monomyth (one myth) refers to the theory that sees all mythic narratives as variations of a single great story. The theory is based on the observation that a common pattern exists beneath the narrative elements of most great myths, regardless of their origin or time of creation. Joseph Campbell

10. The Hero’s Journey is a pattern of narrative identified by the American scholar Joseph Campbell that appears in drama, storytelling, myth, religious ritual, and psychological development.  It describes the typical adventure of the archetype known as The Hero, the person who goes out and achieves great deeds on behalf of the group, tribe, or civilization. Joseph Campbell’s Hero’s Journey

11. 1.     THE ORDINARY WORLD.  The hero, uneasy, uncomfortable or unaware, is introduced sympathetically so the audience can identify with the situation or dilemma.  The hero is shown against a background of environment, heredity, and personal history.  Some kind of polarity in the hero’s life is pulling in different directions and causing stress. 2.    THE CALL TO ADVENTURE.  Something shakes up the situation, either from external pressures or from something rising up from deep within, so the hero must face the beginnings of change.  3.    REFUSAL OF THE CALL.  The hero feels the fear of the unknown and tries to turn away from the adventure, however briefly.  Alternately, another character may express the uncertainty and danger ahead. 4.    MEETING WITH THE MENTOR.  The hero comes across a seasoned traveler of the worlds who gives him or her training, equipment, or advice that will help on the journey.  Or the hero reaches within to a source of courage and wisdom. 5.    CROSSING THE THRESHOLD.  At the end of Act One, the hero commits to leaving the Ordinary World and entering a new region or condition with unfamiliar rules and values.  Phases of the Hero’s Journey

12. 6. TESTS , ALLIES AND ENEMIES.  The hero is tested and sorts out allegiances in the Special World. 7.    APPROACH.  The hero and newfound allies prepare for the major challenge in the Special world. 8.    THE ORDEAL.  Near the middle of the story, the hero enters a central space in the Special World and confronts death or faces his or her greatest fear.  Out of the moment of death comes a new life.  9.    THE REWARD.  The hero takes possession of the treasure won by facing death.  There may be celebration, but there is also danger of losing the treasure again. 10.  THE ROAD BACK.  About three-fourths of the way through the story, the hero is driven to complete the adventure, leaving the Special World to be sure the treasure is brought home.  Often a chase scene signals the urgency and danger of the mission. 11. THE RESURRECTION.  At the climax, the hero is severely tested once more on the threshold of home.  He or she is purified by a last sacrifice, another moment of death and rebirth, but on a higher and more complete level.  By the hero’s action, the polarities that were in conflict at the beginning are finally resolved. 12. RETURN WITH THE ELIXIR.  The hero returns home or continues the journey, bearing some element of the treasure that has the power to transform the world as the hero has been transformed.

13. Identify and explain the significance of the elements of Jonas’s hero’s journey in The Giver ( Chapters 1- 19 ). Exercise

14. A dystopia is a fictional society, usually portrayed as existing in a future time, when the conditions of life are extremely bad due to deprivation, oppression, or terror. Science fiction, particularly post-apocalyptic science fiction, often features dystopias. Social critics also use the term dystopian to condemn trends in post-industrial society they see as negative. In most dystopian fiction, a corrupt government creates or sustains the poor quality of life, often conditioning the masses to believe the society is proper and just, even perfect. Most dystopian fiction takes place in the future but often purposely incorporates contemporary social trends taken to extremes. Dystopias are frequently written as warnings, or as satires, showing current trends extrapolated to a nightmarish conclusion. To have an effect on the reader, dystopian fiction typically has one important trait: familiarity. It is not enough to show people living in a society that seems unpleasant. The society must have echoes of today, of the reader's own experience. If the reader can identify the patterns or trends that would lead to the dystopia, it becomes a more involving and effective experience. Dystopia

15. Hunger Games series by Suzanne Collins Divergent series by Veronica Roth The Maze Runner series by James Dashner The Moon Dwellers Series by David Estes Feed by M.T. Anderson Matched series by Allie Condie The Legend series by Marie G. Lu The Shatter Me series by Tahera Mafi The Giver by Lois Lowry The Uglies series by Scott Westerfeld The Razorland series by Ann Aguirre The Dustlands series by Moira Young Ender’s Game series by Orson Scott Card Dystopian fiction for adolescents and young adults

16. a hierarchical society state propaganda programs and educational systems that coerce most citizens into unquestioningly accepting the state and its government, in an attempt to convince them into thinking that life under the regime is good and just strict conformity among citizens and the general assumption that dissent and individuality are bad a common view of traditional life as primitive and nonsensical a penal system that lacks due process laws and often employs psychological or physical torture constant surveillance by state police agencies the banishment of the natural world from daily life a back story of a natural disaster, war, revolution, uprising, spike in overpopulation or some other climactic event which resulted in dramatic changes to society a standard of living among the lower and middle class that is generally poorer than in contemporary society a protagonist who questions the society, often feeling intrinsically that something is terribly wrong Common Traits of Dystopian Fiction

17. 1. What are the dystopian elements of The Giver ? Find quotes and phrases to support your findings. 2. Reviewing all of your notes on good fantasy, high fantasy and the hero’s journey, as well as the dystopian elements you have just found, the book and the handouts, write a sample thesis for your essay on T he Giver . Remember, your thesis does not have to be just one sentence, nor should it follow a formula of a three part thesis. The Giver: In the end