Nothing to do With Reality

 Fantasy stories are fantasy stories for a reason - dragons, trolls, and gnolls do not exist in the roundworld. Fantasy is meant to be for fun, to get away from the world. However, the best stories are allegories. They relate to our world in ways deeper than a pointy wizard hats.

Fantasy is often thought of when thinking of different species. Racism is often the most common output of this trope. Elves and Dwarves being common in any fantasy trope. The biggest titles - think Tolkien - often use this difference species as a metaphor for racism, using the fact dwarves hate trolls and vice versa for their quarrels. He didn't much go into the generational hate for his story, instead focusing on the journey. However, Pratchett (you knew it was going back to him) uses his books as metaphors for religious hate, and how religion causes much more hate than we can hope to change, without fundamentally changing the structure of religion.

Spoilers(ish) for Thud!

In the story, Tak wrote the world into existence (that is why it is illegal to erase the written word in dwarvish culture). 

"The first thing Tak did, he wrote himself.

The second thing Tak did, he wrote the laws.

The third thing Tak did, he wrote the World.

The fourth thing Tak did, he wrote a cave.

The fifth thing Tak did, he wrote a geode, an egg of stone" (Thud!, Terry Pratchett).

When the geode broke open, the brothers came. One brother walked out of the cave and saw the light, and therefore became man. The second stood under the darkness of the cave, and therefore became the correct height and was a dwarf. The third, however, never made it out of the geode. This malformed creature then became troll.

This was the written word of dwarf for centuries. This was the start of hundreds of wars, and this was the stem of hatred from dwarves to trolls. 

 Dwarves condemn trolls for this. The religion had been corrupted, the fundamental parts of the religion used for malice. There are so many wonderful parts to this story - so many allegories, so many genius stories that make me tear up. Sir Terry Pratchett is one of the best authors of all time. You truly have to read his novels.

Wonder: A Childhood Classic - Chloe L.

Wonder, written by R.J. Palacio is a classic book that I read a couple of years ago. It’s a quick and simple read but it’s a story that teaches many young kids about overcoming obstacles and situations that you will face in life.

The main character, August (Auggie) Pullman, was born with a facial difference that prevented him from going to public school– until now. He’s about to attend fifth grade (the first grade of middle school in this district) at Beecher Prep, an upscale private middle school. If you’ve ever been the ‘new kid’, then you already know how hard that can be.

Auggie is just an ordinary kid in his own eyes, but can he convince his new classmates that he’s just like them, despite appearances?

As he enters his new school, there’s all kinds of new classmates: welcoming people, nerds, jocks- and bullies. Auggie is the target of Julian, a bully who bothers him throughout the whole school year. However, he builds new friendships with Jack Will, a kind kid, who accepts Auggie and enjoys his presence. Even though there's blocks and conflicts throughout the story, Auggie eventually learns to be independent and that standing out is okay.

As his family, new friends, and the community that surrounds him, all struggle to discover their true role and acceptance in society, Auggie's extraordinary journey through his obstacles will unite them. Auggie Pullman becomes the most unlikely of heroes when he enters fifth grade.

Setting is Key-Chloe B.

People often make a mental note to themselves about what or where the setting is, and how the storyline revolves around the setting. Some people tend to use that setting and their knowledge of such places to visualize the story. There are some people who look/skip directly over the setting, and still somehow manage to visualize the story. But if you think about it one of the main things that people say when they ask about important characteristics of a story, is the setting.  

One example where the setting plays into the storyline is Lord of the Flies; in the book, the main setting is on a deserted island with upper-class boys who must learn how to work together to survive. As stated, the setting is a deserted island meaning that it has some resources, but the question is how many? They must ration their supplies so that they can survive and with the visualization of the island you can make inferences about the materials or items they are working with.  

While that was just one example and a little ranting, the main point of this post is to say that the setting is important. While other stories may use it more subtly than others, it is still there for a reason and makes contributions to the readers understanding of the overall idea in a story. So, in conclusion as the title says; Setting is key. 

What Makes a Poem - Max

I read a lot of poetry. I write it too. 

I know a lot of people sigh and huff when they hear “poetry” and dislike it due to the unstructured nature of its creation. But, unsurprisingly, the poems that are often read in classes and for homework aren’t the only types of poetry. 

The great thing about poetry is the fact that it can take many different forms. A poem could be a letter written to your past self or a run-on narration of your feelings. 

Sometimes they rhyme, and other times they’re formulated just as formally as an essay. The real importance is the feeling. 

Any piece can be a poem as long as you want it to be. 

In Depression & Other Magic Tricks by Sabrina Benaim; she writes a piece entitled “better together: a Jack Johnson erasure”. It includes a large block of text, though the text is blocked out. It removes the words that are, though written, unwanted and leaves the two phrases she wishes to keep; “I believe in memories” and “But there is not enough time”. Though this poem is not traditional, having few words featured, it conveys emotion and a goal. And, most importantly, she wants it to be a poem. 

the witch doesn’t burn in this one by Amanda Lovelace is another prime example of a poetry book including traditional poems beside some that are a little different. In her piece “a girl’s first words:” only one phrase makes up the page; “‘i’m sorry.’”, listed ten times. The same is said on the next page, a poem titled “a girl’s last words:”. 

Though these poems may not be the average Shakespeare or Edgar Allan Poe, they still convey intense emotion. The strange writing style often conveys more if the theme is to show the strangeness of life or other ordeals. Emotion and want for a poem is what makes a poem, not the way it sounds.

The Importance of Minor Characters - Elanor

 In every story, there are main characters, side characters, and minor characters. The main characters are the characters which are most central to the story, while side characters are connected to the main characters. Minor characters, however, are characters that only have a few pieces on dialouge, and not many readers would even remember their names. Despite this, I find minor characters to be central in creating an inveloping story that readers will truly feel connected to.

Any who know me know I'm a tad bit obsessed with Terry Pratchett, and a large reason for that is he truly gives every character a reason. There is no character meant to be a punching bag, or more importantly (to me at least), there is no character that simply exists to push a story along. Every character is meant to be in the story, and is meant to be impactful.

Spoilers for Thud! by Terry Pratchett.

In Thud!, it is very clear that Sam Vimes would do anything for his family. Throughout the eight book series, the reader watches him go from a drunk, run-down copper to a man who cares deeply about his job, The People (if there is such a thing), and his wife and son. When four dwarves try to keep him out of dwarvish murdering sprees by attacking his wife and son, it enrages him. In the previous book, he is fully ready to sacrifice his life so his wife and son can have a chance to become who they're meant to be. In this book, when that is threatened, he states he would kill any dwarf who was involved.

Eventually, eight dwarves come offering their help, and Vimes is enraged that they dare speak with him when it is their kind killing each other, their kind who tried to kill his son. One dwarf, the name I can't even remember, then speaks up. He says that his own son was one that was killed in the mines. Vimes snaps out of his angry stupor, allowing him to think about the situation. Vimes has never believed (or been good at) politics, and when he started to think about this crime as politics, he stopped having emathy for the people involved.

Despite not remembering the dwarf's name, I remember the scene profoundly. The scene is pivotal to giving Vimes the drive to solve the case. This minor character, which I could not tell you the descrption of other than him probably being short, is what drives the story to finish, while making the reader step back and understand the stakes of the story. The families that had their sons taken away. Main characters are what make the plot, but minor characters are what make the story.