G is for good vs. evil

[eimarra]

The classic theme for epic fantasy is good vs. evil. It’s big, it changes the world, nations hang in the balance. The nations of the North unite to fight Sauron. Only the Sword of Shannara can defeat the darkness. The Rebels have to destroy the Empire. Good must be triumphant.

This lack of shades of gray is why some people don’t believe that George R. R. Martin’s Song of Ice and Fire series is epic fantasy. It may have all the trappings (although use of magic is low), but all the stakes are personal, individual goals. I’ll come back to this idea when I hit the letter “S.” (Ha! You’ve just had a sneak peek!)

What do you think? Do you like to read or write good vs. evil stories?

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This is a post for the Blogging from A to Z April Challenge. My theme is epic fantasy, and blog posts will cover authors, books, tropes, themes, or anything else I can think of to fill the alphabet. Check out some of the other bloggers participating or follow my blog by e-mail if you like what you’ve read.

Originally published at Erin M. Hartshorn. You can comment here or there.

Comments

[saetter.livejournal.com]

I would argue that scope and/or scale (is this your "S"? :)) is more of what makes a story epic, rather than just good vs evil, though most epic fantasy does also include this. For context, I would look outside of fantasy to see how other genre stories are defined as epic.

North and South by John Jakes is an epic telling of how the Civil War affected two American families on opposite sides of the conflict. This also shows many shades of grey and does not have a good vs evil component, though there are certainly evil characters and mostly good ones. The tale spans years and generations, showing how they influence and are impacted by the greater events of the nation.

Dune is surely epic, yet I wouldn't call Paul completely good, even though the Harkonen are on the evil side of things. The navigators and Bene Gesserit have very good reasons for opposing Muad'ib's eventual empire.

Or look at "epic" films. Braveheart, Lawrence of Arabia, Gladiator, El Cid, Kingdom of Heaven, Star Wars, etc. All grand in scale and scope, and not purely stories of good vs evil, unless you align the principal protagonists/antagonists. Wallace vs Longshanks. Maximus vs Comodus. Skywalker vs Palpatine. Harry Potter vs Voldermort. If these stories were only about those personal conflicts, they wouldn't be epic. The scale beyond or affected expand the tales into an epic class.

You don't see many "epic" thrillers, but I'd reason that's because being "epic" tends to slow the pace of the story as all sides are presented. Thrillers are all about keeping up the tension.

I'm not saying that I can clearly define what makes up "epic fantasy" (as illustrated by my ramble), but if your definition doesn't include Game of Throne, then it's probably too narrow. The world-wide scope, the vast array of characters, and the grand scale of the story almost screams epic. And to possibly contradict my initial premise, I think eventually there will be a clash of "good vs evil". After all, it is a tale of Ice and Fire.

[eimarra]

Heh. Clearly, I need to have phrased this better. I believe that good vs. evil is the classic theme, the one used most commonly in the past, and still highly prevalent. However, I don't believe it's the only theme or even necessarily present. Last Sunday, I talked about Joe Abercrombie's work, for example -- which is every bit as murky as Song of Ice and Fire.

If you read the discussion at FM on epic fantasy, you see that I think epic fantasy has a range of attributes, and whether a work falls into the subgenre of epic fantasy depends on how many of those it has -- and yes, scope is one. I'm not about to say that The Lord of the Rings is epic and The Hobbit isn't, though, even if Bilbo doesn't engage in an over-arching plot of good vs. evil or have anything large about the story except the amount of distance he travels.

And I have to disagree with you about Star Wars -- it is clearly a battle between good and evil, between the Light Side and the Dark Side of the Force. Luke and the Emperor give the sides faces. Darth Vader represents the idea of whether one can be redeemed, returning to the good, even if one has done evil. It's all about good vs. evil.

Voldemort is similarly evil personified. Unlike, say, Snape, or even Malfoy's mother, he has no redeeming qualities, no attachments to others (except Nagini). Harry Potter is as much good vs. evil as LotR.