Shell Bongares - (Fantasy: Earthsea)

3) How is science fiction different from fantasy, according to Le Guin?

The central message of Le Guin’s comparison between science fiction and fantasy is formed around the idea of plausibility. Since science fiction is a “branch of realism” (Le Guin, 2005, para. 3), there is this unspoken principle that the situation or the landscape where the action of the story is taking place may actually occur in the (very distant) future. At least, quite a diminutive possibility definitely not happening within our lifetime. It is this highly unlikely, but not entirely ludicrous, chance that something like cyborgs and robots having human characteristics can happen centuries into the future. 

I personally really admire and completely relate to what she wrote about the expectations people hold when the story is set in the contemporary world due to the demand for solid facts. Every single detail about the characters within a story, even if it is fictional, must ring true; for example, if the protagonist is an American boy, but he speaks in New Zealand slang using words such as ‘munted’ or ‘nek minute/minnit’, readers or watchers would evidently feel that the content is not authentic. The language a character uses, the mannerisms, even the culture, must all coincide with reality. If it is not, as Le Guin has posited, “[it] will be taken as nonsense” (2005, para. 4). Which is exactly why, she believes, science fiction usually stays within the realms of the distant future rather than incorporating the modern world because of the flexibility this time period provides. 

Unlike fantasy which can virtually fall into any era without seeming ridiculous as the basis of what makes a fictional fantasy piece is already implausible and out of the ordinary. Attebery (1980) extends upon this train of thought wherein fantasy showcases a “straightforward treatment of impossible characters” (p.1). From the use of magic and construction of a wizarding school like that in Le Guin’s (1993) own novel series, Earthsea, with Ged the young mage, and comparably in J.K Rowling’s popularised Harry Potter series with the titular protagonist of the same name. Mythical beasts like dragons and centaurs, and creatures ranging from goblins to dementors (Rowling, 1999), it is evident that none of these elements would ever be seen in reality. To summarise, science fiction has a highly unlikely (though still minuscule possibility in the very distance future) chance it may happen, whereas fantasy will never be legitimately real.

References

Attebery, B. (1980). The Fantasy Tradition in American Literature: From Irving to Le Guin. Bloomington: Indiana University Press.

Le Guin, U. K. (2005). Plausibility revisited: Wha hoppen and what didn't. Retrieved from http://www.ursulakleguin.com/PlausibilityRevisited.html

Le Guin, U. K. (1993). The earthsea quartet. London: Puffin.

Rowling, J. K. (1999). Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban. New York: Scholastic.