The Importance of Fantasy
May 9, 1985
One of two essays which combined to win First Place for Grade Ten in the Vermont Honors Competition for Excellence in Writing held at the University of Vermont.
Copyright © 1997 Property of Deborah K. Fletcher. All rights reserved.
Fantasy can be defined in many ways. It can be defined as an escape from the
trials i\of thereal world. It can be defined as a way of buffering the confusion of our fast-paced
society. It can be defined as wishful thinking. It can be defined as a fictional world coexisting
with the world we see with our eyes. I find the second definition to be the most inwardly
satisfying of them all.
Fantasy plays ay important role in our modern lives. it gives us an outlet for our
creative selves in a society where rushing practicality is generally favoured. This is necessary
because without such an outlet, our creativity would eventually disappear. The imaginative
individuality of each person would be lost to a limbo, where it would remain trapped forever.
each person would then become, essentialoy, a clone of each other person. There would be no
room in our lives for the pleasures of distinct selfness. The reality of ego would give way to the
separate reality of pure logic.
Fantasy gives mankind a unique means of looking at reality. It forces each one of
us to see what we could become, given a proper amount of drive. Through fantasy, we may find
secrets within ourselves. These secrets might be positive or negative, but either kind could be
used to improve our personal lives, and our interactions with others.
Fantasy allows each person in the world to play. Whatever form the play might
take, fantasy will always add a dimension of relaxation and enjoyment to it. Fantasy can make
such games as Cowboys-and-Indians, House, and School seem real. To a non-participant in the
game, the fantasy is lost and the reality seems foolish. To a participant, though, the fantasy is
omnipresent. It brings broom-stick horses to life, makes gourmet meals of mudpies, and gives
authority to a five-year-old teacher.
Fantasy has a part in adult games as well. It adds adventuree to the on-going
game of Life, instills power in the participants of the game of Parenting, and brings the game of
Death into sharp focus. Granted, Life, Parenting, and Death are not commonly considered to be
games, but they take on an aura typical of games when they are coupledw with fantasy. life
loses some of its bitterness. Paerenting becomes a great pleasure. Even Death is filled with joy
in the deceased's escape from the trials and tribulations which affect all people.
Fantasy makes the world into a game so that each of the world's inhabitants can
have a chance to sit back, relax, and play life by a set of rules. The rules that fantasy gives to
life are, one: slow down and take each even as it comes; two: everyone is as lost as everyone
else and each person should helph other person to play the game successfully; and three: never
let yourself be discouraged by an unspoken rule of the game. The rules are short, but often
difficult to obey. Each one of us is too strongly conditioned with "rush," "fight," and "survive" to
play the game well, but each believer in fantasy makes the attempt.
Fantasy allows us to relax, to put aside the problems of life, and to rejoice in the
individuals we are.
Fantasy, more than many elements of life, is crucial to helthy, emotional survival.
Without fantasy, life would not be worth living.
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