Fantasy
Fantasy, according to Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary defines fantasy as a pleasant situation that you image but that is unlikely to happen. Also they define it as a product of your imagination. Also they define as the act of imagining things, a person’s imagination.
So fantasy, can defined as a imagination story that contains a supernatural elements that cannot happen in real life.
Motifs are the subject s, ideas, or phrases that are repeated and developed in a work of literature or a piece of music. (Oxford dictionary 2015)
Therefore, motifs refer to these elements, things and events reoccurred in a story or literary work.
And fantasy motifs refer to these fiction and imagination elements, things and events that occur frequently or repeated in a story or literary works.
Children’s literature, According to Anderson defines it as all books written for children excluding comic books, joke book, cartoon books and non-fiction books that are intended to read from front to back like; Dictionaries, Encyclopedia, and other reference materials.
Hence children’s literature refers to these fictions and non-fictions books written or cited specific for the children. Like poems and stories books.
Therefore children’s literature including different basic fantasy motifs with its categories, so by using ROALD DAHL “MATILDA” the following are the some of them;
Magic, Oxford Advanced Dictionary define it as a special quality or ability that somebody or someone has, that seems too wonderful to be real. Therefore Magic refers to the events, things and a person seems to be wonderful or enjoyable. So in the Matilda there are different magic being used by Dahl few of them like, when he trying to use Matilda to shows us a magic element because she portrayed to be performing different activities that are very difficult to her and not relevant compared to her age especially with the age of 1 and a half her speech was perfect and she knew as many words as most grown up(page4), also with three years old she started to read the books without the supervision of anybody, this when the Author says “… By the time she was three, Matilda had taught herself to read by studying newspapers and magazines that lay on the house…” page4, And in age of four she could read fast and well and began hankering after books, page5, Also in page6 to 13 she went to public library in their village and starts to read a different books available in library, when she started to read a children’s books and then after finish to read all children’s books available in library she began to read a bigger books contains hundreds of pages like; Within a week, Matilda had finished Great Expectations which contains four hundred and eleven pages( page10). Then after next six months she read fourteen (14) adults books page10. Also she abled to criticizes like when she criticize her father about his business that it is not good, that made her to punish her father. Not only these but also she was able to calculate the arithmetic failed by her brother, even in her first day at a school she wondered her teacher (Miss Honey) by her ability, especially when she asked to make a multiplications tables, to read a words, sentences and composing a poem in chapter seven (7), not only about these but also she enabled Miss Honey to get up her cottage. And magic has been shown when Miss Trunchbull uses to leaning back against the weight of the whirling girls and pivoting expertly on her toes, spinning round and round. So all of them are perhaps are Magic because they cannot happens in our real happen life.
Good Versus Evils, a good refers to the something attractive that makes everyone happy or enjoyable. And evils as these bad things that make someone annoyed and unhappy, so always these with good character always rewarded and these with bad or evils must always punish. So in “ Matilda” there are different good versus evils as the author trying to use a different characters as following;
i. Matilda and Her parents, in this case we see that there good representing by Matilda herself especially when she shown to have talent but her parent discouraging her then he tried to have kindness and went library and met with Mrs. Phelps as a public librarian, the she decided to help Matilda in library in order to get different books, even when she refused the behavior done by her father of being selling a second hand cars.so evils when her parent did not appreciated her, also selling a second hand cars, as a result she decided to punish them.
ii. Miss Honey and Matild’s family, when she decided to assist Matilda especially by convincing the trunchbull be not take Matilda in opposite manner, as good. And evils when Matild’s family especially her parents did not shows any co-operation to Miss Honey ( page74-79), as a evils, therefore here Miss Honey opposed both in educated manner(psychologically).
iii. Matilda’s and Mrs. Trunchbull, here Matilda respected Trunchbull as good, but Mrs. Trunchbull did not, as a result he elaborating Matilda in negative way like, she believed that Matilda had putting a stinks-bomb under her desk ( page68), also she named her as a gangster (page69), even when Trunchbull wanted to eat the cake as a result she teach a lesson.
Heroism, Oxford Dictionary defines it as a very great courage. Therefore this is a situation whereby the character passes into difficult and then wins an expected event. In Matilda heroism had been shown when the Author uses a character Matilda, who from the beginning of the story she passed through difficult like; when she shown her intelligent to her parents but they did not appreciated her, also when she refused her father to engage in selling the second hand cars, even life at a school when she met with Trunchbull and baptizing her a bad name because of her negative attitude toward Matilda, but everything has an end, her intelligent known by everyone as a result she successes even Miss Honey given a hurt and some amount of money after the death of her father.
Fantastic elements, these refer to the things that make a strange and showing a lot of imaginations. Character always apply magical props in accomplishing their heroic maid, like; magical cloaks, sword, staff and mirror. So the fantastic elements in Matilda like; when the Author uses a different props in performance like; chalk uses to be writing itself on a blackboard without uses by anyone and writing some words especially from (184-187), a word like;
“ Give my Janney her wages
Give my Jenney the house
Then get out of here.
If you don’t, I will come
and get you
I will come and get you
like you got me.
I am watching you
Agatha.
That is a fantastic element that shows a magic prop, because in natural environments you can’t found a chalk writing itself on a blackboard or chalkboard but here just as a fantastic elements used by the Author.
Special character types, refers to the stereotype characters or fairy tale, mythical, imaginary character. In Matilda the special characters types including the following;
i. Matilda, she is a main character of the book, she carries the great roles like; with one and half she started to speak very well, with little age she abled to read a books very well, she has able to criticize, she passes the difficult times and at the end she wins.
ii. Miss honey, she is kindly, she lovely Matilda and then she helped her.
iii. Mrs. Trunchbull, she is Headmistress at Matilda’s school, represents these character with evils because she attributed Matilda in a negative way, and also she hashed the children at school by throwing them.
iv. Mr. Wormwood, he is a Matilda’s father, and he did not appreciate her daughter (Matilda) since he had ability (intelligent), also she was a cars dealer as a result he frequently punished by Matilda.
v. Mrs. Wormwood, she is Matilda’s mother, she like her husband (Mr. Wormwood) she did not shows co-operation to her daughter (Matilda) and she was irresponsible mother who uses a lot of time in playing with a bingo.
vi. Mrs. Phelps, she is public librarian in a village, she helped a lot Matilda in reading the books at a library especially by showing help her to find an interesting books and other lessoning books.
vii. Others character like Lavender, Fred, Michael and other fellows at school like a small boy called Nigel.
Conclusion
Generally the children’s literature have a different fantasy motifs as shown in Matilda by Dahl including the following like; Magic, fantastic elements, good versus evils, heroism and special character types.
Reference
Dahl, R.(1988). Matilda; New York. Scholastic book.
Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. (2015). Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. London. Oxford university press.
So fantasy, can defined as a imagination story that contains a supernatural elements that cannot happen in real life.
Motifs are the subject s, ideas, or phrases that are repeated and developed in a work of literature or a piece of music. (Oxford dictionary 2015)
Therefore, motifs refer to these elements, things and events reoccurred in a story or literary work.
And fantasy motifs refer to these fiction and imagination elements, things and events that occur frequently or repeated in a story or literary works.
Children’s literature, According to Anderson defines it as all books written for children excluding comic books, joke book, cartoon books and non-fiction books that are intended to read from front to back like; Dictionaries, Encyclopedia, and other reference materials.
Hence children’s literature refers to these fictions and non-fictions books written or cited specific for the children. Like poems and stories books.
Therefore children’s literature including different basic fantasy motifs with its categories, so by using ROALD DAHL “MATILDA” the following are the some of them;
Magic, Oxford Advanced Dictionary define it as a special quality or ability that somebody or someone has, that seems too wonderful to be real. Therefore Magic refers to the events, things and a person seems to be wonderful or enjoyable. So in the Matilda there are different magic being used by Dahl few of them like, when he trying to use Matilda to shows us a magic element because she portrayed to be performing different activities that are very difficult to her and not relevant compared to her age especially with the age of 1 and a half her speech was perfect and she knew as many words as most grown up(page4), also with three years old she started to read the books without the supervision of anybody, this when the Author says “… By the time she was three, Matilda had taught herself to read by studying newspapers and magazines that lay on the house…” page4, And in age of four she could read fast and well and began hankering after books, page5, Also in page6 to 13 she went to public library in their village and starts to read a different books available in library, when she started to read a children’s books and then after finish to read all children’s books available in library she began to read a bigger books contains hundreds of pages like; Within a week, Matilda had finished Great Expectations which contains four hundred and eleven pages( page10). Then after next six months she read fourteen (14) adults books page10. Also she abled to criticizes like when she criticize her father about his business that it is not good, that made her to punish her father. Not only these but also she was able to calculate the arithmetic failed by her brother, even in her first day at a school she wondered her teacher (Miss Honey) by her ability, especially when she asked to make a multiplications tables, to read a words, sentences and composing a poem in chapter seven (7), not only about these but also she enabled Miss Honey to get up her cottage. And magic has been shown when Miss Trunchbull uses to leaning back against the weight of the whirling girls and pivoting expertly on her toes, spinning round and round. So all of them are perhaps are Magic because they cannot happens in our real happen life.
Good Versus Evils, a good refers to the something attractive that makes everyone happy or enjoyable. And evils as these bad things that make someone annoyed and unhappy, so always these with good character always rewarded and these with bad or evils must always punish. So in “ Matilda” there are different good versus evils as the author trying to use a different characters as following;
i. Matilda and Her parents, in this case we see that there good representing by Matilda herself especially when she shown to have talent but her parent discouraging her then he tried to have kindness and went library and met with Mrs. Phelps as a public librarian, the she decided to help Matilda in library in order to get different books, even when she refused the behavior done by her father of being selling a second hand cars.so evils when her parent did not appreciated her, also selling a second hand cars, as a result she decided to punish them.
ii. Miss Honey and Matild’s family, when she decided to assist Matilda especially by convincing the trunchbull be not take Matilda in opposite manner, as good. And evils when Matild’s family especially her parents did not shows any co-operation to Miss Honey ( page74-79), as a evils, therefore here Miss Honey opposed both in educated manner(psychologically).
iii. Matilda’s and Mrs. Trunchbull, here Matilda respected Trunchbull as good, but Mrs. Trunchbull did not, as a result he elaborating Matilda in negative way like, she believed that Matilda had putting a stinks-bomb under her desk ( page68), also she named her as a gangster (page69), even when Trunchbull wanted to eat the cake as a result she teach a lesson.
Heroism, Oxford Dictionary defines it as a very great courage. Therefore this is a situation whereby the character passes into difficult and then wins an expected event. In Matilda heroism had been shown when the Author uses a character Matilda, who from the beginning of the story she passed through difficult like; when she shown her intelligent to her parents but they did not appreciated her, also when she refused her father to engage in selling the second hand cars, even life at a school when she met with Trunchbull and baptizing her a bad name because of her negative attitude toward Matilda, but everything has an end, her intelligent known by everyone as a result she successes even Miss Honey given a hurt and some amount of money after the death of her father.
Fantastic elements, these refer to the things that make a strange and showing a lot of imaginations. Character always apply magical props in accomplishing their heroic maid, like; magical cloaks, sword, staff and mirror. So the fantastic elements in Matilda like; when the Author uses a different props in performance like; chalk uses to be writing itself on a blackboard without uses by anyone and writing some words especially from (184-187), a word like;
“ Give my Janney her wages
Give my Jenney the house
Then get out of here.
If you don’t, I will come
and get you
I will come and get you
like you got me.
I am watching you
Agatha.
That is a fantastic element that shows a magic prop, because in natural environments you can’t found a chalk writing itself on a blackboard or chalkboard but here just as a fantastic elements used by the Author.
Special character types, refers to the stereotype characters or fairy tale, mythical, imaginary character. In Matilda the special characters types including the following;
i. Matilda, she is a main character of the book, she carries the great roles like; with one and half she started to speak very well, with little age she abled to read a books very well, she has able to criticize, she passes the difficult times and at the end she wins.
ii. Miss honey, she is kindly, she lovely Matilda and then she helped her.
iii. Mrs. Trunchbull, she is Headmistress at Matilda’s school, represents these character with evils because she attributed Matilda in a negative way, and also she hashed the children at school by throwing them.
iv. Mr. Wormwood, he is a Matilda’s father, and he did not appreciate her daughter (Matilda) since he had ability (intelligent), also she was a cars dealer as a result he frequently punished by Matilda.
v. Mrs. Wormwood, she is Matilda’s mother, she like her husband (Mr. Wormwood) she did not shows co-operation to her daughter (Matilda) and she was irresponsible mother who uses a lot of time in playing with a bingo.
vi. Mrs. Phelps, she is public librarian in a village, she helped a lot Matilda in reading the books at a library especially by showing help her to find an interesting books and other lessoning books.
vii. Others character like Lavender, Fred, Michael and other fellows at school like a small boy called Nigel.
Conclusion
Generally the children’s literature have a different fantasy motifs as shown in Matilda by Dahl including the following like; Magic, fantastic elements, good versus evils, heroism and special character types.
Reference
Dahl, R.(1988). Matilda; New York. Scholastic book.
Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. (2015). Oxford Advanced Learners Dictionary. London. Oxford university press.
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