Jae-Hwan Jung, [Fantasy/Earthsea]

How is science fiction different from fantasy, according to Le Guinn?

Many people confused about the difference between SF and Fantasy. SF is stands for science fiction. In science fiction, the genre is normally about future science technology that people can only imagine. For example, there is a car that can fly without any wheels, human cloning has been realized, and lightsabers in Star wars series. However, fantasy has not rely on science. The genre tells story about magics, werewolf, vampire and something that people can see in fairy tale. 

Le Guinn (2005) discriminates between science fiction and fantasy through the reality in story. Le Guinn (2005) says that "Fantasy is far more direct in its fictionality than either realism or science fiction." Fantasy normally stories about something is not in real world. The backgrounds are fully made by author through his imagination. It is more like myth, legend and folktale. The story cannot be happened in real world. "There is no agreement to pretend that its story happened, might have happened, or might ever happen." (Le Guinn, 2005). Fantasy world is unrealistic and fictive. 

However, science fiction stories about something that can happen in the real world.  Science fiction is a branch of realism. Most science fiction pretends that the future is the present or the past. Le Guinn (2005) says that "Fiction is what didn't happen, but realistic fiction pretends." Science fiction is about realism, and realism is the most important point of science fiction. In science fiction, plausibility is very important part of the genre. That gives reality of the story and makes people to believe that the story can happen. "A story about the immediate contemporary world is read with high expectations of factuality, and blatant contradiction of fact, if not satirical, will be taken as nonsense." (Le Guinn, 2005)

In conclusion, according to Le Guinn (2005), science fiction is based on real world, but fantasy is based on unrealistic world from author's imagination. In science fiction, realism, and plausibility are very important part of the genre. On the other hand, in fantasy, it deliberately violates plausibility, it gives more weight on fictionality.

Reference

Le Guin, Ursula K. (2005)  Plausibility Revisited What Happened and What Didn't. Retrieved from http://www.ursulakleguin.com/PlausibilityRevisited.html