[MLD-Grounds-Keeper-Willie]

Very interesting topic Gorothlammothiel. You should check out this thread too (if you haven't already) To love, or not to love fantasy. I think you'll like it.

Do you think Fantasy is more popular amongst children or adults? And why?

Well I think its very popular among both. However, moreso among adults. And then again it all depends.I think children do like certain types of fantasy. Take Harry Potter for example. Many children love that book. Why? Because it deals with character more at their age, and they might relate to them better. Also (I'm just guessing here, I haven't read any of them) I think it's easier for a child to read Harry Potter than it would be for them to read LotR. I think it has to do a lot with the style of writing in the books. If a child is going to have to visit the dictionary five or six times a page, it's most likely they're going to get bored with it. Or they might get into a bad habit that I did. I got sick and tired of having to look up words that I hated reading and when I had to for school, I would just skip the word, or even the sentence, and then the story had a different meaning for me and made absolutely no sense some times. So a simpler book like Harry Potter would be easier for children to read, and it's no surprise why they love it so much.

Then, there are the more complex books, like LotR. Some children might find it too complex for their liking. But adults tend to like it more than children do. Not to say that children don't like it. There are some that do. But through a child's mind usually it's merely good v bad, the ring is destroyed and the day is saved. But the older you get, the more you learn. The more you learn, the more complex it is, and then you love it more. It satisfies your hunger for a well developed fantasy. Something that is so elaborate and intricate, so developed, it makes you feel as though it's real and somehow, somewhere, it existed, even though it didn't. So the more complex it is, the more realistic it seems.

As children can easily relate to characters in Harry Potter, adults can also easily relate to characters in LotR. Adult characters with sophisticated personalities are easier for adults to relate to. So adult readers usually like this in their fantasy.

Is it a dream or an escape?

I think it's both, and both for children and adults alike. However, it seems to be more of a dream for children and more of an escape for adults. Children seem to dream, rather than escape, when reading fantasy. For them, it's easier to let their imagination run wild. Their kids, it's ok. THey don't have to worry about a lot of things that adults do. Most kids are happy and carefree, so when reaing fantasy, they might start start to daydream in class or pretend that they are Strider fighting orcs in their backyard. But when you get older, you are taught not to do this. You can't play around like that. You're supposed to act your age and be mature. So while you still want to stay a kid and be carefree, you get older. Time never stands still and it waits for no one. You start to lose this behavior, and as time goes on, you gradually (some faster, some slower) stop doing it. And then you miss it. Life can be very stressful as an adult. You have to worry about many things and very important things. So you start to read fantasy. Why? Because you love it, yes. But a big reason is because you want to escape. Escape from reality. You miss the days when you were young and happy and didn't have to worry about a thing. So you read, and it helps ease the stress and pain of everyday life. It makes you feel like a kid at times. Like when you read and totally forget about the bad day at work you had, and you get lost in the reading and want to dress up as Aragorn and fight some orcs. And sometimes (I think that this is one of the greatest feelings that you can get in reading), you become overwhelmed by everything in the book. Not in a bad way. you feel so small compared to everything, and it all seems so vast and magnificent. Like if you went go see something like the statue of Liberty. As a child, when you see it, it's so large and wonderful. But then as an adult you think that it and anything like it isn't so big or great. It's just that feeling you get when you see something like it for the first time. Just like the members of the fellowship seeing the Argonath for the first time. It's feelings like those that make you feel like a child, happy and carefree. And that's why adults like the escapism in fantasy.

As I have said earlier, it all depends. Looking at all that I just said, things might be a lot different for people. For some children, reading fantasies all thier life will make their views turn out different than someone who just started at 30. And then, both those views will be different than someone who has not read, but been read to. There are many more factors that contribute to this and that's why it varies from person to person. And so some children do read fantasy partly because of the escapism, and some adults can read fantasy and dream. But we don't just read it for those, I like to read it for the enchantment and medieval qualities, and much more, but I have to admit, escapism is a big part of it.

Great topic Gorothlammothiel, and thanks for listening.