Rhetorics of the Fantastic: Re-Examining Fantasy as Action, Object, and Experience Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation Authors Rick, David Wesley Publisher The University of Arizona. Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction, presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. Download date 02/10/2021 15:03:20 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/631281 RHETORICS OF THE FANTASTIC: RE-EXAMINING FANTASY AS ACTION, OBJECT, AND EXPERIENCE by David W. Rick __________________________ Copyright © David W. Rick 2019 A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the DEPARTMENT OF ENGLISH In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY In the Graduate College THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 2019 Rick 3 STATEMENT BY AUTHOR This dissertation has been submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the Library. Brief quotations from this dissertation are allowable without special permission, provided that an accurate acknowledgement of the source is made. Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder. SIGNED: David W. Rick Rick 4 Acknowledgments Since I began my program at the University of Arizona, I have been supported in innumerable ways by many dedicated people. Dr. Ken McAllister has been a mentor beyond all my expectations and has offered, in addition to advising, no end of encouragement and inspiration. I am grateful to each of the professors I have worked with at the U of A, but in particular I wish to thank Dr. Damián Baca and Dr. Adela Licona, who served on my dissertation committee and have always pushed the boundaries of my thinking and scholarship, urging me past easy answers toward more meaningful, engaging work. I also owe a tremendous debt of gratitude to Sharonne Meyerson, whose guidance and kind support have made all the difference in helping me survive—quite literally—the dissertation process. I would also like to thank my prior mentors from Sonoma State University, who set me upon this path. Dr. Scott Miller showed me that there was a place in academia for my work, and he first inspired and encouraged what became the seeds of this project. Dr. Brantley Bryant offered substantive advice, encouragement, and hope, without which I would never even have begun my program at the University of Arizona. Robert Coleman-Senghor was the first professor to show me that scholarship takes real work and never to be satisfied with the easy answers. It may be a cliché to thank one’s parents, but I must also acknowledge and thank my mother, Maureen Rick, in whose beautiful home and with whose unwavering support I completed the last chapters of this project. Bilbo Baggins in the House of Elrond did not enjoy more gracious accommodations. Thank you to the rest of my dear friends and family who always treated my work as worthwhile. Finally, I cannot express enough gratitude for one whom I will name only as Hushicho, who believed in me past every obstacle, every doubt, and every terrified moment of certainty that I had no idea what I was doing. Thank you, with all my heart. Rick 5 Dedication To all my fellow wanderers in the Perilous Realm, without whom I would indeed be lost— especially those, best loved, who have been my companions on Earth and Otherworlds. Rick 6 Table of Contents Lis t of Figures ................................................................................................................................. 7 Dissertation Abstract....................................................................................................................... 8 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 10 Chapter One: Magic, The Fantastic as Action .............................................................................. 16 Literature Review...................................................................................................................... 18 Act ............................................................................................................................................. 35 Scene ......................................................................................................................................... 38 Agent ......................................................................................................................................... 41 Agency ...................................................................................................................................... 42 Purpose...................................................................................................................................... 43 Reflection .................................................................................................................................. 44 Chapter Two: Fantasy, The Fantastic as Object ........................................................................... 47 Fantasy vs. Sci-Fi and Magic vs. Science ................................................................................. 49 Scene ......................................................................................................................................... 55 Agency ...................................................................................................................................... 59 Purpose...................................................................................................................................... 63 Reflection .................................................................................................................................. 67 Chapter Three: Enchantment, The Fantastic as Experience ......................................................... 69 Act ............................................................................................................................................. 71 Scene ......................................................................................................................................... 73 Agency ...................................................................................................................................... 82 Agent & Purpose ....................................................................................................................... 90 Reflection .................................................................................................................................. 92 Chapter Four: The Fantastic in the Composition Classroom ........................................................ 94 Renegade Rhetoric .................................................................................................................... 99 Play is Learning: A Fantastical Transformation ..................................................................... 105 Creative Inclusion as Renegade Rhetoric ............................................................................... 109 Transformation in Practice: An Example................................................................................ 112 Reflection ................................................................................................................................ 116 Chapter Five: Games and Fantastical Play ................................................................................. 119 Agent: Creating the Character................................................................................................. 122 Act: Inhabiting the Role .......................................................................................................... 127 Agency: S haping the Narrative ............................................................................................... 132 Scene: Setting the Stage .......................................................................................................... 136 Purpose: Playing the Game ..................................................................................................... 139 Reflection ................................................................................................................................ 142 Chapte r S ix: The Fa ntas tic in F ic tio n ......................................................................................... 145 Establishing a Genre: The Lord of the Rings and the Familiarization of the Epic.................. 146 The Bookworm as Chosen One: The Neverending Story and the Accessibility of the Portal 151 The Wizard as S tudent: Harry Potter and the Democratization of Wizardry ......................... 156 The Fantasist as Indifferent: Game of Thrones and the S ubversion of the Fantastic ............. 161 Reflection ................................................................................................................................ 166 Conclusion .................................................................................................................................. 168 Works Cited ...............................................................................................................................