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Dream World (plot Device)
Dream worlds (also called dream realms, illusory realms or dreamscape) are a commonly used plot device in fictional works, most notably in science fiction and fantasy fiction. The use of a dream world creates a situation whereby a character (or group of characters) is placed in a marvellous and unpredictable environment and must overcome several personal problems to leave it. The dream world also commonly serves to teach some moral or religious lessons to the character experiencing it – a lesson that the other characters will be unaware of, but one that will influence decisions made regarding them. When the character is reintroduced into the real world (usually when they wake up), the question arises as to what exactly constitutes reality due to the vivid recollection and experiences of the dream world. According to J. R. R. Tolkien, dream worlds contrast with fantasy worlds, in which the world has existence independent of the characters in it. However, other authors have u ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Plot Device
A plot device or plot mechanism is any narrative technique, technique in a narrative used to move the Plot (narrative), plot forward. A clichéd plot device may annoy the reader and a contrived or arbitrary device may confuse the reader, causing a loss of the suspension of disbelief. However, a well-crafted plot device, or one that emerges naturally from the setting or characters of the story, may be entirely accepted, or may even be unnoticed by the audience. Stories using plot devices Many stories, especially in the fantasy genre, feature an object or objects with some great magical power, such as a crown, sword, or jewel. Often what drives the plot is the hero's need to find the object and use it for good, before the villain can use it for evil, or if the object has been broken by the villains, to retrieve each piece that must be gathered from each antagonist to restore it, or, if the object itself is evil, to destroy it. In some cases destroying the object will lead to the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Through The Looking-Glass
''Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There'' (also known as ''Alice Through the Looking-Glass'' or simply ''Through the Looking-Glass'') is a novel published on 27 December 1871 (though indicated as 1872) by Lewis Carroll and the sequel to ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865). Alice again enters a fantastical world, this time by climbing through a mirror into the world that she can see beyond it. There she finds that, just like a reflection, everything is reversed, including logic (for example, running helps one remain stationary, walking away from something brings one towards it, chessmen are alive, nursery rhyme characters exist, and so on). ''Through the Looking-Glass'' includes such verses as "Jabberwocky" and "The Walrus and the Carpenter", and the episode involving Tweedledum and Tweedledee. The mirror above the fireplace that is displayed at Hetton Lawn in Charlton Kings, Gloucestershire (a house that was owned by Alice Liddell's grandparents, and wa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Wheel Of Time
''The Wheel of Time'' is a series of high fantasy novels by American author Robert Jordan, with Brandon Sanderson as a co-author for the final three novels. Originally planned as a six-book series, ''The Wheel of Time'' spans 14 volumes, in addition to a prequel novel and two companion books. Jordan died in 2007 while working on what was planned to be the final volume in the series. He prepared extensive notes so another author could complete the book according to his wishes. Fellow fantasy author Brandon Sanderson was brought in to complete the final book. During the writing process, however, it was decided that the book would be far too large to be published in one volume; instead, it would be published as three volumes: '' The Gathering Storm'' (2009), ''Towers of Midnight'' (2010), and ''A Memory of Light'' (2013). The series draws on numerous elements of both European and Asian mythology, most notably the cyclical nature of time found in Buddhism and Hinduism, the metaph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Circular Ruins
"The Circular Ruins" (original Spanish title: "Las ruinas circulares") is a short story by Argentine author Jorge Luis Borges. First published in the literary journal '' Sur'' in December 1940, it was included in the 1941 collection ''The Garden of Forking Paths'' ( es, El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan) and the 1944 collection ''Ficciones''. It was first published in English in '' View'' (Series V, No. 6 1946), translated by Paul Bowles. Epigraph The story's epigraph is taken from Chapter 4 of ''Through the Looking-Glass'' by Lewis Carroll: "And if he left off dreaming about you...". It comes from the passage in which Tweedledee points out the sleeping Red King to Alice, and claims she is simply a character in his dream.Carroll, ''Through the Looking-Glass'' 38 Plot A man arrives by canoe at the burned ruins of an ancient temple. The temple is centered on the statue of an ambiguous deity that appears to be a tiger or a horse. The man immediately falls asleep; his goal, th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jorge Luis Borges
Jorge Francisco Isidoro Luis Borges Acevedo (; ; 24 August 1899 – 14 June 1986) was an Argentine short-story writer, essayist, poet and translator, as well as a key figure in Spanish-language and international literature. His best-known books, ''Ficciones'' (''Fictions'') and '' El Aleph'' (''The Aleph''), published in the 1940s, are collections of short stories exploring themes of dreams, labyrinths, chance, infinity, archives, mirrors, fictional writers and mythology. Borges' works have contributed to philosophical literature and the fantasy genre, and majorly influenced the magic realist movement in 20th century Latin American literature.Theo L. D'Haen (1995) "Magical Realism and Postmodernism: Decentering Privileged Centers", in: Louis P. Zamora and Wendy B. Faris, ''Magical Realism: Theory, History and Community''. Duhan and London, Duke University Press, pp. 191–208. Born in Buenos Aires, Borges later moved with his family to Switzerland in 1914, where he studied ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ubik
''Ubik'' ( ) is a 1969 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. The story is set in a future 1992 where psychic powers are utilized in corporate espionage, while cryonic technology allows recently deceased people to be maintained in a lengthy state of hibernation. It follows Joe Chip, a technician at a psychic agency who begins to experience strange alterations in reality that can be temporarily reversed by a mysterious store-bought substance called Ubik.Grossman, Lev.Ubik–All-''Time'' 100 Novels. ''Time''. Retrieved on May 2, 2009. This work expands upon characters and concepts previously introduced in the vignette "What the Dead Men Say". ''Ubik'' is one of Dick's most acclaimed novels. In 2009, it was chosen by ''Time'' magazine as one of the 100 greatest novels since 1923. In his review for ''Time'', critic Lev Grossman described it as "a deeply unsettling existential horror story, a nightmare you'll never be sure you've woken up from". Plot By the year ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Three Stigmata Of Palmer Eldritch
''The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch'' is a 1964 science fiction novel by American writer Philip K. Dick. It was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1965. Like many of Dick's novels, it utilizes an array of science fiction concepts and explores the ambiguous slippage between reality and unreality. It is one of Dick's first works to explore religious themes. The novel takes place in a future 2016 where humankind has colonized every habitable planet and moon in the Solar System. To cope with the difficult life away from Earth, colonists rely on the illegal hallucinogen Can-D, secretly distributed by corporate head Leo Bulero. New tensions arise with the rumor that merchant explorer Palmer Eldritch has returned from an expedition in possession of a new alien hallucinogen to compete with Can-D. Plot summary The story begins in a future world where global temperatures have risen so high that in most of the world it is unsafe to be outside without special cooling gear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Philip K
Philip, also Phillip, is a male given name, derived from the Greek (''Philippos'', lit. "horse-loving" or "fond of horses"), from a compound of (''philos'', "dear", "loved", "loving") and (''hippos'', "horse"). Prominent Philips who popularized the name include kings of Macedonia and one of the apostles of early Christianity. ''Philip'' has many alternative spellings. One derivation often used as a surname is Phillips. It was also found during ancient Greek times with two Ps as Philippides and Philippos. It has many diminutive (or even hypocoristic) forms including Phil, Philly, Lip, Pip, Pep or Peps. There are also feminine forms such as Philippine and Philippa. Antiquity Kings of Macedon * Philip I of Macedon * Philip II of Macedon, father of Alexander the Great * Philip III of Macedon, half-brother of Alexander the Great * Philip IV of Macedon * Philip V of Macedon New Testament * Philip the Apostle * Philip the Evangelist Others * Philippus of Croton (c. 6th centur ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Neverending Story
''The Neverending Story'' (german: Die unendliche Geschichte) is a fantasy novel by German writer Michael Ende, published in 1979. The first English translation, by Ralph Manheim, was published in 1983. The novel was later adapted into several films. Plot summary The book centres on a boy, Bastian Balthazar Bux, an overweight and strange child who is neglected by his father after the death of Bastian's mother. While escaping from some bullies, Bastian bursts into the antiquarian book store of Carl Conrad Coreander, where he finds his interest held by a book called ''The Neverending Story''. Unable to resist, he steals the book and hides in his school's attic, where he begins to read. The story Bastian reads is set in the magical land of Fantastica, a place of wonder ruled by the benevolent and mysterious Childlike Empress. A great delegation has come to the Empress to seek her help against a formless entity called "The Nothing". The delegates are shocked when the Empress's physi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dream Cycle
The Dream Cycle is a series of short stories and novellas by author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937). Written between 1918 and 1932, they are about the "Dreamlands", a vast alternate dimension that can only be entered via dreams. Geography The Dreamlands are divided into four regions: * The West contains the ''Steps of Deeper Slumber'' (descended via the "Cavern of Flame") and the Enchanted Woods, by which many enter the Dreamlands. Other points of interest include the port of Dylath-Leen, one of the Dreamlands' largest cities; the town of Ulthar, "where no man may kill a cat"; the coastal jungle city of Hlanith; and the desert trading capital Illarnek. Here lies the fabled ''Land of Mnar'', whose gray stones are etched with signs and where rise the ruins of the great Sarnath. * The South, home of the isle of Oriab and the areas known as the Fantastic Realms (described in "The White Ship"). * The East, home of Celephaïs, a city dreamt into being by its monarch Kuranes, greatest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dreamlands
The Dream Cycle is a series of short stories and novellas by author H. P. Lovecraft (1890–1937). Written between 1918 and 1932, they are about the "Dreamlands", a vast alternate dimension that can only be entered via dreams. Geography The Dreamlands are divided into four regions: * The West contains the ''Steps of Deeper Slumber'' (descended via the "Cavern of Flame") and the Enchanted Woods, by which many enter the Dreamlands. Other points of interest include the port of Dylath-Leen, one of the Dreamlands' largest cities; the town of Ulthar, "where no man may kill a cat"; the coastal jungle city of Hlanith; and the desert trading capital Illarnek. Here lies the fabled ''Land of Mnar'', whose gray stones are etched with signs and where rise the ruins of the great Sarnath. * The South, home of the isle of Oriab and the areas known as the Fantastic Realms (described in "The White Ship"). * The East, home of Celephaïs, a city dreamt into being by its monarch Kuranes, greatest ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
