Fredonia's Got Talent!

My students in Fantasy Fiction and Novels and Tales did some amazing work throughout the semester, and particularly at the end.  Unfortunately, most of them chose not to do web authoring projects, so I can't share their work here.  Fortunately, a good number did; here are links to their work:

• Alexandra Atseff, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone:  Book to Film [blog]
• Aubrey Cunningham, Fantasy Fiction [blog]
• Halie Degnan, Alternate Worlds [web site]
• Paige Jones, Fairy Tale Seamstress [blog on making of fairy tale dress for character in her fairy tale revision of Beauty and the Beast]
• Jessica Krajacic and Skylar Pratt, Fantasy Fiction and the Harry Potter Generation [blog]
• Kyle Roof, Harry Potter vs. LotR vs. GoT--Fantasy Fiction Club [live-action on youtube]
• Rhiannon Vercant, A Neapolitan Cinderella in Oz [animation on vimeo]
• Ashley Weinheimer, History of Magic School [blog]
• Kristal Zarczynski, Fantasy Blog [blog]

Please check 'em out while you're waiting for me to finish grading and get back to posting student essays that respond to the questions my students generated at the start of the semester!

[cross-posted at Mostly Harmless and Citizen of Somewhere Else]

The Oasis at the End of the Desert: Neil Gaiman at Saratoga Springs

My family and I left on a road trip to Saratoga Springs right after the girls' last day of school let out yesterday morning to meet up with my two students in a Neil Gaiman/Neal Stephenson Major Authors independent study and attend the Neil Gaiman interview/book signing sponsored by Northshire Bookstore.  It was a 5-hour drive and we only made one unscheduled stop and one wrong turn, so with our head start (Hamburg is about 40 minutes closer than Fredonia via the Thruway to the other side of the state) we managed to beat Alyssa and Elizabeth to the site of the event.  I'm writing this far too early the morning after--while my little ladies, 7 and now 9 and a half (as of yesterday), gifted with far great recuperative powers than me, go for an early morning swim in the hotel pool--so it's going to be rushed, but I thought I'd share some first impressions while they were still relatively fresh.

Gaiman's sense of humor was literally our first impression of him when he finally came onto the stage, after three (yes, three!) sets of introductions and one standing ovation (for the actual guy).  The extended metaphor he offered supplied the title for this post; for those listening on the radio in the vicinity of July 7th, they'll know he was making an in-joke, and they should be able to figure out what it was about from the context, but it was a nice way to acknowledge the 1500+ people in the auditorium and it was certainly much appreciated.

Actually, Gaiman's sense of humor was probably the major tone throughout the interview and indeed the entire event.  At some point early in the radio interview he referred to an off-color joke a 10- or 11-year-old told him when he was 8 that got him in trouble when he repeated it at school--and then, once the taping was over, told the actual joke (accent and all) after some urging from the interviewer and audience (he was worried at first about kids being in the audience, but I can attest that just as the joke went over his head at the time, it was miles over 9-year-old onechan's head, as well; she turned to me after it with an expression between quizzical and baffled and gave me a chance to refuse to explain it to her!).  But his humor was always to a serious end.  Just as the point of that joke was to illustrate how kids experience the world differently from adults (and set up nicely the three or four pages he read from The Ocean at the End of the Lane), he was able to make another point about how writing for comics was viewed in the '90s quickly and efficiently with a sally about calling a hooker a lady of the evening.  And there was more, much more.  But I'm going to take a page from Gaiman and his interviewer, who resolutely avoided spoilers of any kind, and not spoil your own experience of listening to the interview when it goes online at the Northshire Bookstore web site.  Suffice to say it was a real pleasure and definitely worth the drive--even after I found out this morning he's going to be in Toronto in early August!  (Maybe there I'll be able to pass along the invitation to do a reading at SUNY Fredonia that I was supposed to deliver for Writers Ring last night!)

But I can give you more general and personal impressions.  One thing that came to mind the second Gaiman started talking was how much more fun it must be to interview writers than golfers.  When I interview an LPGA golfer, it's usually after they've finished a round and can't wait to practice, or shower, go out to eat, or do whatever they need to do to unwind and get ready for the next round.  Pretty much any question you can think of they've heard a million times before, and many of the original ones you manage to come up with just throw them for a loop, because they don't have a preprogrammed answer to give you.  Not only that, but a good number of athletes aren't all that self-aware or great at putting into words the physical, mental, and emotional challenges they're dealt with--and those that are are often the cagiest about giving too much away to their competitors or the most cautious about letting the media into their heads!  So I end up always feeling like I'm imposing on the golfers I manage to track down and usually botch my questions as a result.  Don't get me wrong--over the years, I've managed to hold it together with Tiffany Joh, Morgan Pressel, Hannah Yun, Mika Miyazato, Paula Creamer, and Ai Miyazato, among others, and put some decent interviews and stories up at Mostly Harmless--but Neil Gaiman not only gave the impression he loved being interviewed but backed it up with a vivid reflection on what he loves about readings and interviews.

Speaking of readings, when Gaiman told us about telling stories to his kids and gave us a sneak preview of his next children's book Fortunately, the Milk, it made me wish I could afford to hire the guy as a designated dad at bedtime.  True, my younger daughter imoto was zonked out from a late night the night before (pro tip:  Japanese women living in America and married to American guys are capable of incredible feats of endurance and conversation among themselves when the wine is flowing) and pretty much was put to sleep by Gaiman's voice.  But, hey, isn't that the point of bedtime stories?  (And imoto did love the CD of The Day I Swapped My Dad for Two Goldfish that we listened to twice as we approached Saratoga Springs that she forced me to buy the paperback on sale at the event to replace the hardback edition we had somehow lost).  Onechan, on the other hand, who was treating the event as a special 9-and-a-half-year present just for her, was enthralled by the excerpt from The Ocean at the End of the Lane and seemed to enjoy the UFO/pirate/dinosaur whimsy of Fortunately, the Milk (just not as much as me).  It's clear Gaiman loves writing for kids (of all ages), but even more gratifying to me--and this is another thing that has already made the trip worth it in my book (even before we go to NYC, see my brother and his family in Connecticut, and swing back to my parents' place in Clinton on the way back home this weekend)--has been the way onechan has (finally, after many failed attempts on my part) embraced his writing!  I left The Graveyard Book in her room early during third grade, but this voracious reader (who's graduated from the likes of the Rainbow Magic and Magic Tree House series to The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and A Series of Unfortunate Events) kept passing it over.  Once she found out we were going to the reading, though, she devoured M Is for Magic ("October in the Chair" is her favorite) and finally seemed open to reading The Graveyard Book and maybe even Stardust.  Bottom line:  Gaiman made a new fan this week.

Speaking of fans, I was a little disappointed at how few of the 1500+ got decked out for the event.  No cosplay to speak of and even very few T-shirts.  Most people were dressed as boring as I was, which made the hours-long wait in the signing line a little less entertaining than I would have hoped.  After hearing Gaiman's explanation for why this is his last U.S. signing tour and experiencing it myself (with onechan and my two students, after the Full Metal Archivist wisely took imoto back to the hotel room right after the interview was done), I can say for sure that he's making the right decision.  Apparently the organizers had said kids can go first, but I missed the memo and wasn't told again until we were literally 5 minutes from Gaiman himself; more important, though, I wanted the SUNY Fredonia gang to stick together, as it was the most f2f time we were going to have during the entire independent study.  When we dispersed at 10:30ish, the line was still going out the door, so Gaiman was going to be there into today.  I just can't see why he should subject himself to that any more, when there's not even a chance to chat with his fans.  Frankly, I was so exhausted by the time we got to him that I forgot to invite him to the SUNY Fredonia campus for Writers Ring, the student group one of my favorite students in Secretary of.  (Ah, there's always Toronto!)  As tough as it was for us, we could try to entertain each other, but all Gaiman could do was sign and sign and sign and maybe exchange a word here or there.  Not just no fun, but a terrible use of his time.  Don't get me wrong:  everyone on that line obviously thought it was worth it and deeply appreciated the chance to meet him, however briefly and impersonally.  But I'd bet most of us would have voted to give it up if the interview period could have been extended an extra hour instead.

OK, the Full Metal Archivist has made it down to the pool, so it's time for me to get ready to move around this morning.  I'm 20 pages in on The Ocean at the End of the Lane and sucked in already....  We'll see how far I can get into it tonight at the hotel in Fort Lee.  More later!

What Is Fantasy Good For?

Kayleigh Witkowski answers:

Throughout my literary education I never read Fantasy until this class in college. The subject always seemed non-essential to me, since it was not important enough to be taught in the classroom. Teachers always regarded Fantasy as a genre you read for fun or your own enjoyment. This approach to Fantasy that I learned through my teachers made me think that Fantasy was worthless and held no importance in the literary world. Upon completing the novel The True Game by Sheri Tepper, I have come to disagree with my former teachers. I think fantasy, in particular Tepper's novel, offers many valuable attributes and life lessons that would be perfect for an English classroom.

Within the English education major, you read a countless number of books in hopes to integrate them within your own classroom someday. I was aware of some of the more publicized versions of fantasy for adolescents such as The Giver and Harry Potter; however, many other fantasy novels, including Tepper's, were foreign to me. The criteria that many teachers look for when selecting books is on the basis of critical thinking, multiculturalism, morals or life lessons, and literary elements. In the few fantasy fiction books that I have read, I have noticed accounts of all these criteria. So why shouldn't fantasy be used in the classroom?

Tepper's novel The True Game offers its readers a story of morals, identity, and self-discovery through the main character Peter. Peter is on a quest throughout the novel to find his talent within his world. I believe many students will be able to find Peter very relatable and be able to make their own life connections to the story. There are some similarities between Tepper's novel and Rowling's Harry Potter, since both stories revolve around a young man searching for his identity within magical worlds. However, there is a central difference between the two novels in terms of narrative point of view. Within Tepper's novel, Peter tells the story as if he is talking to someone from his own world. This narrative technique causes the reader to construct Peter's world on their own through the dialogue and small hints the characters provide.

Within Tepper's novel Peter lives in another world from ours and is preparing for when he enters "The True Game." Due to the multidimensional setting of the novel, students have room for critical analysis and deconstruction of the two worlds, and comparison to our own. The True Game is a book for the creative imagination that provides the reader with a page-turning experience to discover what Peter's talent is and how his world works. Also, many students probably have not had the exposure to fantasy fiction within school; thus, the immersion of a new genre in their individual literary understanding could be beneficial. I have no doubt that Tepper's writing style and story of Peter will keep students engaged while reading it.

Within fantasy literature the idea of the 'real' is prominent. Presenting this genre to students can help them to speculate what is 'real' in literature as well as develop their own understanding of the issue. This discussion could also sidetrack into the topic of realism within literature and open up to novels such as The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane. Fantasy Literature also opens the door to creative thinking/writing within a student, and provides them with great examples of beautiful figurative language and literary techniques. Also, in regards to assessment within a classroom, students could opt for creative or aesthetic responses, such as re-writing the ending or creating a film.

Fantasy fiction does hold many positive attributes to a classroom. Tepper's novel, as well as many others, fit the criteria of a good book to provide to students. There are many activities and learning experiences that can be gained from incorporating Fantasy in the classroom. I think one answer to the question "What is Fantasy good for (if anything)?" is that fantasy would be good for education.

Escape, Entertainment, Education

Kristian Everett explains:

Fantasy fiction is often accused of being escapist, containing characters and plot lines which whisk you away to other worlds and societies, drawing attention away from what's "real"; however, while fantasy fiction may indeed be escapist, literature which can provide an escape from the stresses of life should be valued. While academia insults and degrades fantasy fiction, the general public embraces it. We value forms of entertainment which give us ways of coping with our ever more stressful lives. This can be seen not only in fantasy fiction but also in the lucrative businesses of film and video games. We pay for escape, for entertainment, and for relaxation.

Institutions which provide entertainment with an escapist element receive billions of dollars a year. This tremendous profit margin conveys some sense of our value for entertainment. Film and video game industries produce products taking us away from our everyday lives. We go to the movies to watch characters interact in unknown worlds, overcome impossible odds, and find romance; we play video games to become these characters; we read fantasy to do both. In the United States there are a growing number of people on medication for anxiety, stress, and depression. Clearly, our daily lives are taking such a toll on our quality of life that we feel incapable of handling it on our own. Films, video games, and fiction provide an escape that's becoming necessary in order to deal with our lives.

Fantasy series such as Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and Eragon are all examples of the escapism of fantasy affecting larger and larger portions of our population. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent in the production of these films and most produce an extremely lucrative profit. While we may scoff at fantasy fiction because it doesn't deal with real life, the general public eats up these film adaptations. Film adaptations are nothing more than faster, easier forms of the books, combining our desires for escape and entertainment with the demand for quick satisfaction: why read a book when you can watch the film in a fraction of the time?

Fantasy, however, does not simple serve as an escape for audiences and readers. Tied in with the escapism of the novels are moral ideals, role models, and social conventions. What makes fantasy great is that, while fantasy often entertains through stories of other worlds, strange societies, and complex relationships, it often reflects on portions of our own world and society. These lessons and values are inherent in fantasy fiction, because the authors of fantasy novels reside in the "real" world. These authors can't help but be affected by what's happening around them. Many of the concepts and tropes found in the early fantasy novels of foundational writers like Tolkien and Lewis reflect on real world issues, such as religion and war. Children and adults who go to see The Lord of the Rings trilogy in the theatres are there to be entertained. However, while they're being entertained the characters and the actions those characters take, the decisions they make, and the real world ideas they represent are subconsciously affecting the viewers.

Fantasy fiction is escapist, but this is alright. It's alright because fantasy is not merely escapist. It's a myriad of ideals and concepts, defining and addressing moral and social issues. It gives examples of real world lessons through characters of fantastic proportions. When you read a fantasy book or watch a film adaptation you might be there for the entertainment, to not think about your "real" life, but you're absorbing more than just escapism. You're absorbing values and traditions which other genres are upheld for. What makes other genres "superior" to fantasy can be found in fantasy as well. It's just disguised and absorbed into our conscious without our realizing it. It entertains and it teaches.

World and Character Development within Fantasy Fiction

Gabrielle Fletcher considers what good fantasy fiction is:

I remember one Christmas when my younger brother and I were no older than thirteen...it was a time that some important video game was coming out. My brother had been dropping hints to my parents the whole year about it in hopes of it being somewhere under the tree that Christmas. Early Christmas morning he scanned all the colorful presents' shapes looking for one that resembled his game, and there it was wrapped in shining wrapping paper waiting for him. He patiently waited to open the gift with a huge grin of anticipation across his face, clutching the present as if it were the answer to the meaning of his life. When it was his turn he manically ripped it open and then instantly his grin froze in an awkward position. The promising package in his hand was not the game he had been hoping for but one of The Chronicles of Narnia novels. His face dropped in disappointment as he stared at the glossy paperback book. "God damn it, another fantasy book?" he muttered under his breath tossing the book in my direction. Being the bookworm of the family I quickly snatched the rejected present, stashing it with the books my parents had given me. Later that week I finished it and recommended that he read it. "It's probably just like Harry Potter and the rest of those magic books," he responded to me, "and nothing is better than Harry Potter."

The memory of that Christmas and his reaction to Fantasy has always stayed in the back of my mind. Most people I know trash Fantasy comparing it to movie versions of Fantasy books claiming they all must be the same. When reading these books in this genre it was hard not to see the same pattern of theme and storylines. Usually when one thinks of a Fantasy story it has the usual elements of supernatural, magic, romance, heroes overcoming evil, or characters discovering themselves as they are. With all these redundant plot lines, how can you determine what makes a 'good' fantasy fiction story?

It varies with each reader's preferences and what their own personal expectations are for the Fantasy book. While reading some selected works I was able to develop a kind of way to evaluate the novels by comparing the author's fictional world and character development. If the world was unclear to me or characters were weak, I wasn't as intrigued with the books. Without noticing it I was setting up my own personal expectation I usually look for in a good book. Some questions I would ask myself: "Has it been thought out well?" "Are there any connections to reality from this fictional land?" "Can I picture this world?" "Who is this character really?" and "What can I learn from these characters?"

Fictional world development is key to any good fiction story whether it's fantasy or trashy soft-core romance novels; you know the ones that you catch your mom or some older woman secretly engrossed by. A reader can't fully grasp or enjoy a Fantasy novel if the world they are trying to imagine or see isn't fully developed. An author could write about the most realistic characters, draw out epic storylines, or imagine the most brutal battles on paper--but if the world doesn't fit, how can all these elements come together?

In Sheri Tepper's novel King's Blood Four of the True Game trilogy, she successfully paints a new world to readers where characters/players battle in Lands of the True Game. Each player of True Game has a unique power such as healing, shape shifting, necromancy, or magic used for combat. The land is divided by Kings and rulers, each having their own set of special players to fight for them.

The actual landscape of the True Game is vast and spacious marked with canyons, waterways, and lush forests. Tepper uses poetic language to help describe the True Game world and settings. For example, while Peter, the protagonist of the story, finally reaches old Windlow's castle, Tepper shows her knowledge of the land's natural beauty describing just basic nature as "trees loomed like towers, vast as clouds" (61). The trail Peter walks on is "needle-strewn and redolent of resin, sharp and soft in the nostrils. Flowers bloomed in the shade, their secret faces turned down to the mosses" (61-62). Clearly she knows exactly how her world is portrayed, and successfully can draw the reader to her imaginative landscape within the book. While reading the novel you can feel like you're taking a personal tour with Peter as he discovers his own world.

Character development is another important element in the fantasy fiction genre. Usually you see the protagonist discovering their true identity throughout the novel, watching the character grow right before your own eyes. These heroes or villains are able to identify themselves and the world around them, which most of the time is something that all readers can relate to as we try to discover ourselves in life.

In Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett's Good Omens the collaboration was ingenious, being able to successfully developed well-rounded characters. Although Good Omens is considered Fantasy fiction, the story is set up in reality during Armageddon. Two unlikely characters, Crowley, a demon from hell and Aziraphale, the archangel from the garden of Eden, band together to help save humanity. Their relationship, although originally based on a mutual agreement, becomes genuine in the story. As they learn to accept each other as they are, Crowley and Aziraphale also become more human-like and develop a taste for ordinary human life. Crowley, who was created without free will, develops it while on earth describing it as almost something contagious: "you couldn't hang around humans for very long without learning a thing or two" (Gaiman and Pratchett 39).

Pratchett and Gaiman use the angel and the demon not only to satirize but symbolize individual passion for salvation of the human race. Their internal transitions throughout the novel makes them more realistic and relatable than most of the non-fantastical characters in the book even though they are supernatural creatures.

It is up to the reader to decide what makes a good fantasy fiction; it's a matter of opinion and preference. Character and world development could prove a good story for some, and others not. Going back to what my brother said to me that one Christmas--"It's probably just like Harry Potter and the rest of those magic books and nothing is better than Harry Potter"--fantasy may seem tiresome and repetitive to some people. If they allow themselves, they could see that it is the opposite--and there are books better than Harry Potter.

Works Cited

Gaiman, Neil, and Terry Pratchett. Good Omens: The Nice and Accurate Prophecies of Agnes Nutter, Witch. Harper Torch, 2006. Print.

Tepper, Sheri. The True Game. Ace Trade, 1996. Print.

Fantasy versus Other Genres

Brittany sizes up fantasy's chances:

When it comes to comparing fantasy fiction to most other popular genres it just does not stack up very well. There are several factors that have an effect on why fantasy does not stack well up against the most popular genres. A few of those factors are how well readers actually know the fantasy genre, sales and fan bases.

There have however been a few very successful fantasy fiction books, such as The Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and Twilight. For example as of November 21st Twilight was number seven on the list of Top 10 Children's Series for the New York Times and has been on the list for 170 weeks while Harry Potter is at number nine on the same list and has been on the list for 232 weeks. Each of these four series had major success and include well-known books to many readers.

Although the above seems great, when measured on a larger scale based on what is sold and highly marketed in stores the fantasy genre is not what is at the top. For example when you go to Walmart and look at the book section you see authors such as Patricia Cornwell, John Grisham, Tom Clancy, Nicholas Sparks and whatever new celebrity has written a book. Also when I asked friends and family who some of their favorite authors were I got some of the names just listed along with Mary Higgins Clark, Jodi Picoult, Lisa Jackson, and James Patterson. These both further support my statement even more that fantasy fiction does not stack up well against other popular genres.

Another reason why fantasy does not stack up well is because even though fantasy has had the above-mentioned big successes most people do not identify those books with the fantasy genre. With the exception of Twilight because it is a newer book the rest of those books are classics and most people have read them but since a lot of people do not have background on the fantasy genre they do not classify them as fantasy fiction. I think if people had better knowledge of fantasy fiction, what it was and what books fell under the category it would help the genre to become more successful. For example people reading these classic fantasy fiction books without knowing it have boosted the fan base for fantasy fiction but if they liked these books and actually knew what genre they were reading they would probably be more apt to go out and buy more fantasy fiction books. This in turn would help fantasy stack up better to the more popular genres.

As previously mentioned I think that a lot of the problem is people not knowing much about the genre along with their many misconceptions. For example, as a new reader of fantasy fiction my thoughts on what the genre was were completely wrong. I thought fantasy fiction was about magical lands which ended up being correct but I also pictured it more like a Disney movie which was completely incorrect. Recognition of a genre is important in order to build a strong fan base which then moves into the genre becoming popular. Once those two things become stronger then fantasy fiction can better stack up to other genres.

I think that having more mixed fantasy would really help to boost it, for example using humor and romance. I know that we read a few good books this semester that did have humor in them but that was not used to help promote the book which I think may have helped. I also think adding in the romance would help too as long as it is not like Twilight. It would have to be actual romance, heartbreak and so on not the cheesy romance used in Twilight. Including these different aspects and using them to help promote fantasy fiction may attract more readers, such as readers who may never have picked up a fantasy book before. Which in turn could interest a lot of new people in this genre which would make it more popular and then the genre would stack up better.

Can Fantasy Stack up to Other Genres?

Zain Syed's answer:

The fantasy genre often is among the top tier of popular culture and conversation. Perhaps the most internationally recognizable film that has ever been made, Star Wars, is a fantasy story. Certainly the most recognizable children's stories of the past century, Harry Potter, are of the fantasy genre. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, both the original novels and the newer film adaptations, is immensely popular to people of all ages. Now, the Twilight series has over taken young women and has become a staple in popular culture. Just by looking at these examples alone, it is easy to see that fantasy is exceedingly prominent in terms of popularity. And that isn't the only area in which fantasy overcomes other genres.

One of the most disputed topics of discussion when talking about fantasy is its quality. Most people will side with the idea that fantasy is of a lesser quality than nearly all other genres, simply as a rule. However, this is not the case. Because fantasy is such a broad and appealing genre, more people write fantasy. And, since a great number of people write fantasy, there is a greater chance of there being bad fantasy, if only by rule of probability. Though, admittedly, there are plenty of bad fantasy works, there is just as much good fantasy. And luckily, just like those who write it, good fantasy always outshines the bad.

There is a great breadth of different types of fantasy created by many different fantasy authors, all of whom have their own distinct styles and contributions to the genre. Fantasy authors like J.R.R Tolkien lend to betterment of fantasy and literature as a whole. Tolkien, an English professor and philologist who taught at Oxford University, one of the most prestigious schools in the world, used his incredible knowledge of words and language to create several fully developed languages for The Lord of the Rings. He also made a timeline for all of the many different races and people in Middle-Earth as well as a complete history of the world in The Silmarillion. Tolkien's work proved that fantasy can be taken seriously and gave inspiration to future fantasy writers. H.P. Lovecraft also legitimized fantasy by writing horror and, like Tolkien, stories with darker themes. Writers like Piers Anthony have made the genre more appealing to the public by writing comedic fantasy. With Mark Z. Danielewski’s The House of Leaves and Alfred Bester's The Stars My Destination, fantasy has implemented ergodic literature, an innovative writing style that breaks the fourth wall. Through writers like these and many more, the genre of fantasy has kept current and progressed along with, and perhaps even farther than, every other genre of literature.

Most important, fantasy does what other genres don't. That is, fantasy gives readers what they want. It doesn’t matter what a reader might want or how obscure their desire is, you can always find what you want in fantasy. This is because fantasy, unlike other genres, or rather, exponentially more so than other genres, gives back to the reader what the reader puts into a fantasy work. Readers always give their own thoughts and criticisms while reading a story, despite the genre, knowingly or not. However, fantasy is the only genre that actively recognizes this, that actively sells itself to the reader. Take relatability for example. A reader might read about a character and identify with certain traits of that character, such as courage or bravery. The character will certainly have other traits, but since the reader doesn't identify with those specific traits, the reader will ignore those attributes that they don't see in themselves. The same rule applies with the setting or plot of a fantasy story. The reader may relate to how the protagonist, say for example, has run away from his home, much like the reader may have gone away from home for an extended period of time. However, the reader will push away everything else that doesn't coincide with them, like, in this fake instance, the fact that the protagonist is a fish and that, in this hypothetical situation, if it doesn't flee from home, it'll be killed by a fisherman.

Fantasy knows this. Because of this, fantasy does match up to other genres. In fact, it surpasses them.