Analyzing Tolkien's On Faerie Stories

According to Tolkien, fiction is not a pointless escape from reality, but a distinct arrival into reality. Tolkien believes that one’s imagination is an onset of truth and that concepts are and were formed from abstraction, which is why there is truth in fantasy and our perceptions of a secondary world. Tolkien’s “On Faerie Stories” illustrates what he believes are the three key elements in fantasy: Recovery, Escape and Consolation. Several authors have adopted his elements into their writings to create powerful, mythical stories such as, Katherine Paterson in Bridge to Terabithia where man enters into a unique, mystical land to find comfort in all that transcends fact and reality.

In relation to Tolkien’s philosophy and ideology about myths,

Jess Aaron’s also escapes when he finds Terabithia. It is a physical, yet fictional refuge from realities harsh stigmas. Not only does he escape from his school enemies and judgmental father, but also his own self-hypocrisy, insecurities and fears. Within Terabithia, Jess learns to tackle his mythical obstacles, which then in turn teaches him to build up the courage to apply it in the real world. When Jess finally faces his hardships, he then sees the importance of being enchanted because it is there where he felt most comfortable with himself and away from a world of stereotypes and expectations. He slightly becomes disenchanted when Leslie dies, however when he realizes that her memory will live on and remembers all that she introduced him to which in turn has made him a more confident person, he begins to re-appreciate what Terabithia was for him and did for him, giving him the want to keep it alive for others and for himself, not as the physical realm that it is, but as a tribute against disenchantment and a realization that there is more to this world that we have yet to

Jess initially feels defeated by Leslie’s death, however, he finds solace in knowing that her memory will remain alive and that she made a significant impact in changing his life for the better. He intends on preserving Terabithia knowing that it is not his ultimate destination in life but a place where he grew throughout his childhood, which he must leave when pressed with reality (“On Fairy-Stories: Tolkien’s Theory of Fantasy,” 2015). As we mature our innocence and very nature is adjusted to society’s conformities. We learn based off what is believed to be fact and scientific instead of holding onto our belief in the impossible. Tolkien defends this idea throughout “Mythopoeia,” when he states that there is truth in everything. He said a tree is not a tree until we have registered it, until us humans have seen it and called it a tree while creating a story (“Mythopoeia,” 1965). It is not a tree on its own but a tree to us demonstrating the uncertainty in what is true. We cannot give absolute truth which is why Tolkien believes in myths and all things questionable to reality because everything is a lie in consideration of all things, so what makes a myth false when in fact nothing is true (“Mythopoeia,” 1965). Jess Aaron comments that he will not let Terabithia wither away even when he has matured, not referencing its