Elements of Science Fiction and Fantasy Fiction

             Science fiction can be described as the scientific speculation of things to come. Science fiction writers take modern technology and elaborate and make intelligent guesses about its future, then put a catchy story behind it. Science fiction, like many forms of literature, has several sub-genres such as the space opera, heroic science fiction, hard science fiction, and more. Each sub-genre has its own elements that define them, but all tie into the same basis of excelled science in one way or another.
             The defining line between science fiction literature and fantasy literature is small but present. Writers and critics alike have debated and argued over the absolute defining characteristics of the two for centuries. The truth is there is no hard set of rules that can define whether a piece of work is science fiction or fantasy. The actual definition usually comes from the weather the science fiction aspects or the fantasy aspects are more dominant in the story.
             Like I said before, there aren't any steadfast rules to defining the work, but there are some commonly used identifiers. First of all there is the obvious element of time. Science fiction stories occur most often in the future, and the majority of fantasy stories happen in the past or in different worlds that would be considered to be a younger civilization than our own.
             These rules of time aren't always true, however. There are exceptions to every rule and a good example of an exception in this case is "The Giver," by Lois Lowry. "The Giver" is a fantasy tale that is set in the present or near future about having the ability to control thoughts and memories, thus defying the rule.
             On the other hand, a good example of a science fiction story that contradicts the rule is the Edgar Rice Burroughs work, "A Princess of Mars." This tale, although set in the past just after the American Civil War, is a science fiction piece. The author overcame the boundaries of...

More Essays:

APA     MLA     Chicago
Elements of Science Fiction and Fantasy Fiction. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 06:56, March 28, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/21421.html