[Peregrine]

Let me tell a little anecdote, then ask my question.

I have read David Gemmell explain that he once got a letter from a young man who was a fan of his. The young man in particular had just finished reading a Gemmell book, and took his dog for a walk in a park, where he came accross a woman being assulting by two men. The fan intervened and the men ran off. The fan, wrote to Gemmell, because he felt sure he would not have intervened so fast (maybe not at all), if he had not be reading Gemmell's book of heroism.

Gemmell reckons its the best letter he's ever had.

Now here is what I am wondering. Fantasy deals with the issue of good and evil in ways that other genres do not, and more than that it deals with defining how to behave good and evil.

I noticed back in high school that friends who were big fans of fantasy or into AD&D seemed to have a certain odd sense of morals - perhaps too upright, and somewhat out of step with the modern day, I mean.

I suppose what I want to ask is, do you take the morals of fantasy seriously? How seriously? Is part of what makes fantasy appealing to have a clear sense of right and wrong presented? Have any given books defined a part of your moral views? How you act day to day?

For that matter am I crazy? Do all books define morals for the reader (I can think of some non-fantasy books that have had major impacts on my sense of ethics - Wild Swans off the top of my head), and is fantasy just more blunt about it?

To end, I can think of an example for myself. Lord of the Rings was the first fantasy book I read (years ago), and I am sure that Tolkien's love of trees, nature, and simple pleasures has worked into my subconcious. I see deforstation and industrialisation as vaguely evil and wonder if I am simply making a connection with Tolkien's 'orcery' when I frown at a construction site?

Peregrin

[Dominus]

An interesting question, whether or not the morals in a book affect our lives. I think that in the heroism and valor department it may affect you in your mind, though you may never get a chance to do anything other people see like that guy. Of course in todays' world, you'd probably get shot.

But I so know what you mean about Tolkien and nature. Though I'm not a tree hugger or anything, it makes me mad when someone comes in and levels a forest to put up apartments or something.

Respondi

[Valada]

I think it may be entirely possible that some of us feel a connection with fantasy writing because it's a genre that can reflect what we feel is good and right. I know that's a generalisation, but in the old-style, mainstream-type fantasy it's certainly true that right and wrong are clearly defined, and that people live and act according to certain codes of conduct and moral frameworks. All of which is comforting in our relativist, postmodernist world!

[Qin]

"Dear David Gemmel, had I not read your fantasy book that has no relation to the world I live in, I would have stood aside and let two men beat up a woman."

I highly doubt that anyone in their right mind would stand aside and let a woman be raped because they read a tripe novel by Gemmel.

Backpatting by Gemmel aside, there is no way that anyone could suggest that a person suddenly developed noble characteristics because of one book they read.

Does this mean that the reader who wrote the letter was an absolute prick before he read the book, and suddenly, during the reading of the book, he discovered a better part of himself that he never felt before?

I highly doubt this. I'm sure his parents are the ones who deserve credit for developing a normal and decent human being; not Gemmel.

[Lani]

It's a very interesting topic.
I suppose fantasy morals do affect avid fantasy readers. Because, at least for me, there are often things to think about after I'm done reading a well-written fantasy books. I think even though probably a book won't made a drastic change in a person, slowly some of the morals do affect a person, especially if they don't conflict with other morals we already have. I'm not trying to say that a normal person who read lots of fantasy will go to save the world after he or she read the thousandth fantasy book, I think it might just make us a bit bolder or nicer in some situations.

As for the guy who saved the woman, I believe it's an exaggeration that one Gemmel's book made him do it; however, I could quite believe that after reading the book a person would more likely to come to the rescue fast because of the 'heroic' mood a book put him into.

Did I make any sense?

[astrianna]

To give a little bit of context to my response, let me say that I work in a general bookstore that is owned and run by Christians. The philosophy behind the store is to be a bridge, a place where believers and non-believers can be equally comfortable, and can find books that appeal to them. For and independant bookstore we have a large fantasy section, and the main reason for that is that fantasy, in my opinion, and the opinion of our manager, is one of the best ways to witness to someone without offending them.
There is no other genre that so consistantly lays out the problem of good and evil in terms that are easy to absorb. The worlds are so different (and yet not so different) from our own that it isn't offensive when morality is laid out so clearly. I think that what we read affects us on levels we may not even understand, certainly by reading about a certain morality it makes that morality easier to process, to pick apart for the pros and cons. Anything that gets you thinking about how you live and the choices you make is probably a good thing. Much of my morality, and my view of the person I want to be, has come from the fantasy books I read, Velveeta-esque as that may sound. Of course, I'm not a prostitute because I read Kushiel's Dart, and I'm not a warrior for having read The Deed of Paksenarrion. I didn't become a priestess after I read The Mists of Avalon, nor an assassin because of how fascinating I found Chade. You don't become the books you read, but I do think they affect you.

[Penumbra]

Most of us live in legalistic societies which are plagued by the fact they they try to separate church and state but require truth to seek justice. Consequently, morals get manipulated in odd ways resulting in narrow values. Fiction literature is one of the few venues that attempts to make "other" values noticeable and profound. Fantasy is a part of that and it serves to make people think about the things that our society often neglects. Therefore, I think your premise is essentially correct, but should include all forms of fiction.

[kyria]

Reading fantasy has affected me deeply. It's not that I was a bitch before I started reading fantasy, but fantasy has a way of bringing out the heroic feeling in me. I feel more in tune with my sense of honor and I feel more brave. If Frodo could walk into Mordor with nobody but Sam, how can going on a little daytrip alone compare, or even backpacking in Thailand, no matter how much my parents protest that it's dangerous and I could get mugged or worse.. I've always wanted to travel the world but the characters in the books I read inspire me more because more odds are stacked against them than me, in all probability. I mean, they're being chased by Myyrdaal and worse, and I'm afraid of muggers who might not even be after me and are probably just a figment of my parents' imagination? All the fight scenes make me feel more comfortable about being able to take care of myself. Because of those courageous characters, I am inspired to face the world, on my terms. And I have become serious about my values and principles. I don't have many 'rules' but the few that I do are core and strong. The values that I admire in the characters that I read and how they live their lives have inspired me in the way I live my life. Integrity, honour, eschewing pretense and hypocrisy. Love of nature and other living things. I have even become more understanding of other people and have learned to look deeper, and not judge them by their cover, and to try to find out what their 'stories' are.

On the down side it's also made me hold other people up to a higher standard. I just want people to be true to themselves, and I really hate conformists. I used to belong to a group that was one and it was awful-they watched the popular movies, read the popular books, wore the popular clothes, had the same lifeplan. I don't think they had ever done any real soul searching, and never got to really know themselves. They got pissed at me for leaving them and blazing my own trail, but I think most of all they got mad because I left them for something they thought was inferior (their pride couldn't take it - I left them for a fringe group). Anyway, I digress, boring you with my college drama http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/wink.gif. I hold people to a higher standard now (mainly in the be-true-to-yourself, make-your-own-decisions-and-not-simply-conform-to-society, do-a-little-soul-searching-why-don't-you department; you can be an asshole but if you were true to yourself I would respect you) and many people don't pass, and I can get pretty disappointed at people sometimes.

[astrianna]

Penumbra, point well taken. Since fantasy and science fiction are the genre's I read most often, I tend to forget that any fiction offers the opportunity to lay out a world with a clearer set of values than ours seems to have.

[SusF]

Mysteries are a good example of a genre where the good guys usually get the bad guys. That's the entire premise of the genre. I'm an avid mystery reader, as well as SF and Fantasy.

I'm not aware that Tolkien or any of the other books I've read have shaped my moral code. I think most of that came from my mother and grandmother.

Kyria, go travel! It's the best thing on earth to do. I love to travel and have done a lot, and plan to do more.

Susan