Escapism In Literature

Unicorns singing on a rainbow, Spider-Man climbing up the wall, gladiators brandishing swords in arenas... all of them can be found in fiction novels that are prevalent among teenage readers. Fiction novels such as the Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins and Harry Potter by J.K Rowling both have taken top places in Amazon’s Best Sellers ranking. Moreover, these books are widely chosen by secondary schools’ English teachers to teach. English courses require students to read fiction, since they allow students to invent, imagine and spend free time to build their own world. In spite of escapism, which is the tendency to retreat and panic from reality or routine through imagination or fantasy, is a problem for people who indulge in fiction stories,

For the majority of people, the world of fiction is an ideal break from a reality swell with pressures, deadlines, and responsibilities. According to Sana Hussian, a professor in the research of escapism, has designed a survey for four middle school students in United States to participate. The result of the survey found that 85% of students in middle school choose to read fiction because reading fictions are fun, interesting and it is a way to reduce stress. Often, reading fictions are used to pursue certain passions. Particularly, introverted teenagers found great comfort in reading, unrealistic contents, phantasmic characters, and fantastic background build up a world of fiction. This is the world they felt comfortable to relieve persisting feelings, forgetting pressures, annoys, and upsets in the real world. Escapism brought on by fiction can allow teenagers to find satisfaction in an alternate world, forgetting important things in real life, such as family, school works and friends. Some against to assign fiction to teenagers, since negative escapism can lead to breakdown of relationships and even inability to survive in the real world. Negative escapism will lead to lack of communication with others and having a completely different perspective on things. In fact, by allowing teenagers to become absorbed into the world of fictional characters, escapist fiction enables them to be more perceived in social. Make Mike, a famous speaker, he believed fiction provide teenagers better behavior, motivation, and perception in his presentation. Readers prefer to read with a willing construction of disbelief within context of fiction, while readers are more likely to read logically and critically within persuasive articles. Teenagers immerse their selves in characters’ view reminds them of different perspectives and can move them to use skills,