Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
7th BAKEA (International Western Cultural and Literary Studies Symposium), Denizli, Türkiye, 15 - 17 Eylül 2021, ss.60
Modern fantasy is often criticized for being escapist and nonessential. While escapism is most commonly associated with the reader, Neil Gaiman uses fantasy to alter his perspective of the past and invent a new identity. The author notes that The Ocean at the End of the Lane (2013) is not an autobiography but the nameless seven-year-old protagonist is him, as the house and the neighbouring locations are from his childhood. The novel presents fantasy as an intrusion in the forms of monsters and magic. The explanation put forward by this study is that the story is a realization of his imaginations and how his life was affected by them along with the vitalization of important things for him. Throughout the story, we see the boy enjoying what Gaiman loved during his childhood to an amplified extend. His love for reading fantasy and myth actually materialize in this alternate past by using those stories in overcoming monsters and fears. He also increases the importance of the things in his childhood home by incorporating them into the story. The treehouse where he spent a lot of time is now a safe place or the fairy ring he made in the garden is used in the story as a magical shield against monsters; things that had significance for him as a child are indeed significant in the novel. Gaiman uses fantasy to escape from and enhance his past by reconstructing his memories in order to show the reader what it meant to be him.
Keywords: Neil Gaiman, escapism, fantasy, childhood