Is Fiction Escapist?

Now, I know this topic has already been covered by people far more worthy of tackling it and far more capable of fully expostulating on it, (Lewis has a splendid essay on this,) but I just wanted to give it a go myself.

            All it takes is one look at the news, one look at Israel, one look at the state of our country, to feel immediately down and depressed, aching inside and sick to your stomach. Mad at the government, mad at the stupidity of it all, mad that no one will pick up a history book, mad at the slaughter and horror and evil.

            Everyone knows the world is messed up. Everyone knows the world is sad and wicked. It’s awful, heartbreaking, sickening.

            Do people read books to escape from that?

            Absolutely.

            Books or work are the first place I turn to when I want to block out the pain or the anxiety. Who wouldn’t rather dive into a world where anything is possible and where good is guaranteed to win? Who wouldn’t rather focus on someone else’s problems that’ll never affect you? Who wouldn’t rather distract their minds?

            But as Christians, is that really what we ought to do? Should we hide from the real world and focus on fictional people’s problems?

            Or should those books inspire us?

            Books usually have a happily-ever-after ending, or at least some sort of victory. Unless you write horror, but then, your psychosis is irrelevant to this conversation. (I mean horror for the sake of horror, not for some sort of warning.) When we finish a book, a good book, we usually feel happy, right? Nice and warm inside, maybe a little inspired, maybe very eager to leap back in and start all over again?

            But is real life like that?

            When you’re trapped in that mire of misery, disappointment, and heartache, you might say no. When you’re in tears and it feels like your heart is cracking in two, when you’re panicked and frozen and the whole world is reeling – when it seems like your beloved family member is doomed to die or when it looks like there’s no end to the painful struggle in sight, it really does feel like happy endings are just the stuff of fairytales.

            You get that sense from reading William Goldman’s The Princess Bride. The book isn’t exactly like the movie, and there’s no long, drawn-out kiss at the end and then a gallant gallop into the sunset. In fact, Goldman even drifts the possibility that Inigo succumbs to his wound, Westley relapses, Fezzik gets them lost, and Buttercup is recaptured by Humperdinck. Add that to his rather demoralized and unhappy prologue chronicling his laments over life, and you realize his humor and standoffishness from his novel could have merely been scoffing at the happily-ever-after trope.

            But, Christian, are there such things as happily-ever-afters?

            Absolutely.

            Read the book of Revelation. Read Left Behind and get a sense of how truly terrible and awful it would be for a person to live through that. Hits you hard, doesn’t it? I mean, that things are promised to get even worse than this?

            But then comes the biggest, greatest, best happily-ever-after of all times: A happily-ever-after that never ends.

            There’s no next episode, no next book, no next villain.

            The End.

            God, the glorious King, the Conqueror, the Healer wins.

            Always.

            God planned everything, and holds everything in His hands.

            ‘The God of angel armies is always by my side.’

            ‘If God is for us, who can stand against us?’

            ‘And He will wipe every tear from our eyes.’

            We know it’s true.

            So when you read books, dear Christian, read them not as an escape. At least, not all the time. There’s such thing as purely reading for entertainment and it’s certainly allowed. But don’t let it become an idol.

            When you read, look at it like you look at archetypes, like you look at themes. Mirror it to real life. Combat the despair with truth.

            There are happily-ever-afters in real life. Whether you’re climbing up towards the midpoint and stuck in that try-fail cycle, or whether you’ve slid all the way down to the bottom of the Hero’s Journey and are stuck in the Pit of Despair, do not lose hope.

            We know how the story ends.

            P.S. By the way, the Shrieking Eels make no appearance in the original story! Nor does Fezzik’s wonderful line “EVERYBODY MOVE!” I know, right? Anyone else feel a little cheated?

            But then again, I still recommend reading it. Just skip the stupid prologue and beware a few instances of language. I grew up watching the movie while my mother, who knew the lines by heart, would reach up and mute it at the parts I wasn’t supposed to hear. Reading it later as a teen only helped me to love it more, become closer to the characters, and cling to hope all the tighter. Humor doesn’t always have to be scorn. Read it, but hold on to that storybook love (or storybook hope, if romance ain’t your thing – it’s not mine either.)

            Alright, folks, that’s all for now.

            Have fun storming the castle.

            Ciao!

Top Image By WangXiNa on Freepik