Magical Learning

     This blog was created for the 2018 spring class for Lit of Horror/Sci-Fi/Fantasy course at Ringling College of Art and Design. In this blog I will talk about the books we read and what they mean to me personally. If you have come across this blog and have not read the book I am talking about this week, I will warn you now that I will spoil it. I understand I have not been posting for a while, that is because I have been working on other classes. I will make up for that and catch up to the curriculum by the end of the week.
     This week was about Magical Learning, Specifically we read Night Circus and Harry Potter. From what I can understand, Magical Learning stories are just coming-of-age stories but with magic and fantasy elements as opposed to the realism of The House on Mango Street. For example, in Harry Potter, Harry needs to learn the values of friendship, trust, and loyalty along with magic in order to retrieve the sorcerer's stone. The first Harry Potter book is more about the relationship of the trio than anything else. You have moments of tension, like when Hermione runs off to the bathroom because Ron hurt her, or when in the devil's snare Ron is having trouble relaxing, but Harry doesn't know what to do, so he needs to trust Hermione to save him.
     Magical Learning stories are simply about natural growth and learning with friends or rivals, only it adds elements of magic and fantasy to add some mysticism to the story, and more often than not those magical elements aren't just taken from thin air. For example, J.K. Rowling based all her mythical creatures off of creatures in greek mythology, and other magic off other mythos. Bottom line is: Research is key to making a good fantasy story.