Precursors to Contemporary Fantasy, Essay Example

The human imagination has led to the creation of many of the world’s most famous fantasy tales over the course of multiple generations.  However, there are many similarities and differences that can be found when comparing early fantasies to modern fantasies.  For instance, many of the fantasies exist as epic stories with multiple volumes of events surrounding the same characters.  This can be seen from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.  Bilbo Baggins has many adventures along his quest traveling throughout Middle Earth and fighting against multiple foes throughout both sets of stories.  Similarly, the epic of Eragon by Christopher Paolini showcases a modern fantasy epic that places the main character Eragon as he learned the powers and magic of the dragon rider and faces multiple epic journeys along his quest with his dragon Saphira.

There are several other key elements that show how modern fantasies can be attributed to the successes and notoriety of early fantasies.  First of all, there is a clear theme within both fantasies that places a main character or group of characters in a conflict against evil.  Almost every fantasy epic contains an inherent battle between good and evil.  Bilbo Baggins had to fight Gollum in the caves with his wit and quick thinking, and later fought the evil dragon.  Similarly, Eragon needed to fight against the power-hungry Galbatorix and the evil sorcerer Durza.  Furthermore, both types of fantasies appear to have an overall theme that the use of weapons or human physical traits is not enough to succeed.  In Lord of the Rings the wizard Gandolf and the elves of Lothlorien uses magic to fight off many foes along the famous epic.  Similarly, Eragon clearly would not have been successful without the magical powers of the dragon rider to fend off the attacks of his evil enemies and protect his dragon.  While each story is wonderfully written and presents innovative elements, the modern fantasy world is often very similar in the epic telling of a quest that contains very familiar themes and elements that were originally told many generations before.