Themes
From Fantasy Novel
Contents |
[edit] Heroism
The main theme of the entire series is that heroism is truly:
- Somebody willing to die uncredited and forgotten
- His gains might happen far beyond his death
- Not cheered and exhaulted at the end of each story, not campy, not happily ever after (Harry Potter)
- Did something because he was right, decisive and righteous
[edit] Respect and reverence for the ancient
Self explanatory
[edit] Order vs. Chaos
Self explanitory. Its the predominant theme in the entire series. Order vs. Chaos - but the epiphany eventually about the beauty of harmony and balance.
[edit] Free Will vs. Destiny/Determination
The conflict between humans having the ability (or illusion) to choose, vs. the reality of having their actions pre-determined, giving them unchangable destinies. Have this especially evident with the time travel issues.
A significant part of this theme will be nature vs. nurture - do people deserve blame for evil actions if their environment was evil.
[edit] Religion and the Supernatural
Reveal little of the ACTUAL truth of the supernatural, but portray a major sense of wonder, inspiration and awe. Make all people desire to know what is more than just themselves - make them yearn for knowledge of the supernatural, looking for explanations for things. Have unique creation myths, religious dogma, all CREATED BY YOU as plausable descriptions people would believe for "why we are here, and how it happened.". Have elemental religions, have representation from the three major forms of religion in today's world... have pantheons of gods (greco-roman)... etc. Have a sense of religiosity be a MAJOR theme.
There are a number of perspectives regarding the fundamental nature and substance of humans. These are by no means mutually exclusive, and the following list is by no means exhaustive:
- Philosophical naturalism (which includes materialism and rationalism) encompasses a set of views that humans are purely natural phenomena; sophisticated beings that evolved to our present state through natural mechanisms such as evolution. Humanist philosophers determine good and evil by appeal to universal human qualities, but other naturalists regard these terms as mere labels placed on how well individual behaviour conforms to societal expectations, and is the result of our psychology and socialization.
- Abrahamic religion holds that a human is a spiritual being which was deliberately created (ex nihilo) by a single God in his image, and exists in continued relationship with God. Good and evil are defined in terms of how well human beings conform to God's character or God's law.
- Polytheistic or animistic notions vary, but generally regard human beings as citizens in a world populated by other intelligent spiritual or mythological beings, such as gods, demons, ghosts, etc. In these cases, human evil is often regarded as the result of supernatural influences or mischief (although may have many other causes as well).
- Holistic, pantheistic, and panentheistic spiritual traditions regard humanity as existing within God or as a part of Divine cosmos. In this case, human "evil" is usually regarded as the result of ignorance of this universal Divine nature. Traditions of this kind include Vedic religions and other forms of Eastern philosophy (including Buddhism and Taoism), and Western philosophy such as Stoicism, Neoplatonism, or Spinoza's pantheistic cosmology. Certain kinds of polytheism, animism, and monism have similar interpretations.
[edit] Morality
There are a number of views regarding the origin and nature of human morality. An exploration of competing themes and ideas of Morality will be explored. Arguments will ensue between characters about realism, relativism, absolutism, universalism, etc... will play out.
- Moral realism or moral objectivism holds that moral codes exist outside of human opinion -- that certain things are right or wrong regardless of human opinion on the topic. Objective morality may be seen as stemming from the inherent nature of humanity, divine command, or both.
- Moral relativism holds that moral codes are a function of human values and social structures, and hold no meaning outside social convention.
- Moral absolutism is the view that certain acts are right or wrong regardless of context.
- Moral universalism compromises between moral relativism and moral absolutism and holds that there is, or should be, a common universal core of morality.
[edit] Ambition
The destructive nature of seeking absolute power. Even if it is managed to be achieved, it has a price that is too high. Build in the "Londo Mollari" scenerio, a "Hitler" scenerio, and kill off the main character in the end to show that even if you seek ultimate power for altruistic reasons, it will kill you in the end.
[edit] Love
Unrequited love is a major source of pain. Fraternal love is a source of major joy and trust. Romantic love is a source of weakness (leaves you open to blackmail, blinds you to truth, etc).
[edit] Betrayal
Humans are fallable, weak creatures, easily succumb to temptation, and betray each other. This is demonstrated by a major ally/friend falling from grace and becoming an enemy... create a mood of never knowing where certain people's loyalties lie (somewhat snape like).
[edit] Addiction
Have some characters face REAL addiction, not some cartoon version. Have drinking or some other addiction (hell, even an addiction to the current) cause real and terrible consequences for the person addicted. They lose loved ones, they end up killing somebody through inaction caused by addiction.
