Nelson Wells

30-April-2007

Prof. Warner

Magical Creations

It takes a great mind to conjure up all of the new technology that has been coming about in the past fifty years, but it takes an imaginative mind to find true happiness. Some teenagers never learn to find their imaginations and simply buy all of the products that others produce. Others find that there is much more to life than what we can see with our eyes, and so, these are the teenagers who grow up to become great artists, poets, musicians, writers and in other words, the painters of beauty for our world. Expanding upon one�s imagination is a necessary part of development as a teenager.

From imagination comes magical creatures, mythical places, and hopefully an expanded and open-minded view of the world.

Magical creatures inhabit the worlds of all of the references chosen for this bibliography. These creatures range from merfolk, elves, dwarves, wizards, hobbits, goblins, dragons, centaurs and many, many different types of fairies. In most of the books and sources presented, these creatures neither present themselves as good nor bad, but are simply out to find what interests them the most. For a goblin, it is the next meal; for fairy, it is mischief; for an elf, perhaps staying to him or herself among other fellow elves. These attributes make the creatures gripping and seem full of life, and almost real.

There are people who would say that fantasy is a waste of time and that these mythical beings and places are not important because they do not exist. On the contrary, they do exist. They exist not only in the minds of those who believe, cherish, and love them, but also in the artwork and literature that has been written about them. Just as there are stories of a god having great love for all beings and great wrath for those who sin, so too, are there stories of magical beings who could have at one time existed. Also, as a god or gods are usually metaphors for greater moral implications, so too are the fairies that exist in the fantasy world. They teach us lessons of what to do and what not to do, what to meddle with and what sort of people to stay away from.

These lessons that fairies and mythical beings teach us seem to be filling in for something more important. One may take note of the fact that nearly all of the characters in these fantasy books and sources lack the necessary presence of parents, whether by death or otherwise. Without parents around to guide these characters, they must find a way through life on their own. The guidance of centaurs, wizards, and other beings helps teach teens that there are many places to look for guidance, and more importantly, as is shown through the presence of mischievous goblins, to trust one�s instincts and to make one�s own judgments.

The Wrath of Mulgarath is part of a five book series written by Holly Black and illustrated by Tony DiTerlizzi. The series tells of two twin boys, Simon and Jared, and their older sister Mallory. They move into their aunt�s old house and find that their great grandfather was involved with the study of fantastical beings such as goblins, elves, fairies and dragons. This story encourages the reader to open his or her imagination in a way that no other story does. That is, Black and DiTerlizzi take ordinary miscomings, such as losing one�s keys, and explains how fairies are usually the culprits and how some take joy in tormenting humans in minor, everyday methods. Challenging readers to look at the world differently, this book promotes creativity and encourages young readers to broaden their imaginations by looking at otherwise ordinary occurrences in different ways.

The Hobbit, written by J.R.R. Tolkien, falls into the category of �Hero�s Journey�, that is, the protagonist Bilbo Baggins is taken out of his comfortable home and thrown into an adventure where he is met with trials and tasks that he must overcome. There are fantastical beings in this that Bilbo has never seen before because he has been so sheltered in his paradise home of the Shire. Tolkien challenges readers to let go of their own comfort zones and explore the natural world around, stressing imagination through his descriptions of fantastical beings and scenery.

Planar Chaos, written by Scott McGough and Timothy Sanders, is the middle book of a three part series inspired by the Fantasy card game Magic the Gathering. This book was written to follow along with the release of the Magic the Gathering card set with the same name, Planar Chaos. Many of the characters are somewhat hard to like, the book is in need of some serious editing, the writing style is sort of stuck between being written for a younger audience while throwing in bigger words for an older audience, and the book could be about 150 pages shorter, but there are a few instances that catch the imagination, nonetheless. Those instances are the descriptions of the magical beings and the powers that they have.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, written by J.K. Rowling, is the fourth installment of Rowling�s Harry Potter series. This book is about Harry Potter the 14 year old orphan wizard who goes to Hogwarts School of Wizarding. He must go through trials in the Triwizarding Tournament because someone has put his name into the Goblet of Fire. This book has a very important magical creature from previous Harry Potter books named Dobby. He is a house-elf and his presence reveals the attitudes of many of the characters. Hermione treats him like an equal, as does Harry, while others treat him like a servant and slave.

The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess contains a substantial amount of reading and a submittal to the awesome and gripping beauty that the games artist/designers have created. This game has a very gripping story line with characters who present long monologues, as well as extended story line narratives. This game is helpful in that it shows teenagers that a love for art can lead to successful careers as game developers. As a game developer, one would be able to create the fantastical beings and bring them to life in front of the television screen. Many of the creatures in this story help the main character Link through his trials, while others try stop him.

The Goblin Wood by Hilari Bell is about a young woman Mekenna who is a �hedgewitch.� She has seen her mother�s death and runs away to the forest where she meets the goblins. This book shows how one can rely on magical beings during tough times, or in metaphorical words, the imagination. Her mother is dead and the village whom she once loved now despises her, therefore she must turn to other means. For teenagers, this book could be used to help get through a death and the presence of magical beings could be comforting to one who is looking for an outlet in an otherwise hectic world.

Artemis Fowl is the first book in a series of books with the same title written by Eoin Colfer. This book is about Artemis Fowl, a twelve-year old and criminal mastermind, and his plot to steal the gold from the fairyfolk. This book takes a different approach by having the human character meddle with the fairies, as opposed the other way around which seems to be most common. Of course, there are repercussions for his actions but it is an exciting adventure nonetheless.

Two orphans, Kate and Emily, stumble upon a great cat and the goblin king in the book Hollow Kingdom, by Clare B. Dunkle. When Emily disappears, Kate must marry the goblin king in what she thinks will bring her sister back. This book follows the theory that one must find his or her own path, and the fairies and magical creatures can help those in need of guidance.

The Moorchild looks like a very interesting book by Eloise McGraw. Once again, there is situation between child and parents. This time, Moql is half-human, half-folk, a fairy race. As a baby she was exchanged between a human race and folk race. Her struggle is that of one trying to find her identity. Magical creatures, namely changelings and fairies, help Moql through her journey of finding out who she is and where she is from.

Once again, a book which holds characters who have been orphaned, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe is a wonderful story written by C.S. Lewis. One may think that this book was written for a younger audience than teens, but when examined closely it fits all ages, especially those of one trying to find oneself. Edmund, for example, surprisingly does not choose the �good� route as his siblings, Peter, Susan and Lucy do. He makes a choice to stay with the enthralling and sadistically beautiful but evil princess. As teens make choices for good or bad, they need guidance and help to make those choices. There are many magical creatures in this book, such as centaurs, fawns and giants, who help the children find their way.

Works Cited

Bell, Hilari. The Goblin Wood. New York: Harper Collins, 2003.

Black, Holly. The Wrath of Mulgarath. New York: Simon and Schuster Books for Young Readers, 2004.

Colfer, Eoin. Artemis Fowl. Miramax Books/Hyperion Books for Children, 2005.

Dunkle, Clare B. The Hollow Kingdom, New York: Henry Holt and Company, LLC, 2003.

Lewis, C.S. The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. New York: Harper Collins, 1950.

McGough, Scott and Sanders, Timothy. Planar Chaos. Washington: Wizards of the Coast, 2007.

McGraw, Eloise. The Moorchild. New York: Simon and Schuster Children�s, 1996.

Nintendo. The Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess. Japan: Dolby Laboratories, 2006.

Rowling, J.K. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire. New York: Scholastic, 2000.

Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit. New York: Random House, 1982.