History in Fantasy Books

I am a huge fan of fantasy books, whether they be for children, teens or adults. I like to indulge in the fantasy worlds and get to know them. However, once you get older and you read these books you realize that that are real-life history elements that have been placed in them. So, here is a list of fantasy books that historical and religious elements in them.

1. 'The Chronicles of Narnia,' specifically 'The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe'

We see the character Aslan act in a god-like way, where he sacrifices himself on the stone table, but then he comes back to life and basically saves everyone's lives. This may be similar to the story of Jesus, and how he gave up his life to save our souls. I believe that the purpose of this is to show children at a younger age that Catholicism can be as fascinating as a fantasy book.

2. 'Harry Potter'

The villain Voldemort wants there to be only pure-blood wizards in the world and all of the other "mud bloods" to be no longer alive. Well, this should be familiar since the idea was taken from history. Hitler had wanted to get rid of the Jewish population and it was a tragic time for everyone. Throughout the Harry Potter series, we see him grow in power just as Hitler did, but luckily Neville, Harry, Ron, and Hermione were there to save the day.

3. 'Lord of the Rings'

Lord of the Rings is one of the most popular book series for any fantasy reader to indulge in. Even though there are no signs of religion being shown, there is underneath.

4. 'The Silmarillion' by J.R.R Tolkien

The book that shapes Middle Earth and creates a better understanding of the Lord of the Rings series. It retells the creation story in an allegorical sense. There are also elements of the fall from the bible too. This, of course, is mostly to do with the Catholic faith.

5. 'Animal Farm' by George Orwell

This was a popular book that was read in schools mostly. The author had targeted Stalinist Russia and the issues that Stalin had caused.

6. 'Lord of the Flies'

Since it takes place right before World War II, it makes it somewhat historical. Not only that but there is a lot of political ideals that are in the book, which is a failure and it reflects on what happens when no one knows what to do when stranded on an island.

7. 'The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'

This is a personal favorite book of mine. It explores the political upheaval by introducing the cyclone that brought Dorothy to Oz in the first place. The yellow brick road being the representation of what gold is. These little symbols make The Wonderful Wizard of Oz an allegory.

8. 'Brave New World'

It is a dystopian book and I believe that it is what started the trend in teen novels. The reason this book was created was not only due to other influences, but because of the fact that depression in Britain was taking place, Huxley saw this as an opportunity to tear the readers away from what was going on outside and bring them to a whole new world.

9. 'A Wrinkle in Time'

The allegory, which it takes on is that communism destroys the happiness that people could have. It describes a fauxtopia where there is the same thought process and there is no individuality. One of the "dictators" also has red eyes... which represents the evil of what communism is.

10. 'Life of Pi'

I found this book slightly controversial to the topic, but here is what some believe. Pi's stuck on a boat with an ape, tiger, hyena and a zebra. Near the end of the book there is only the tiger that is left and on this journey, Pi is trying to find a religion that fits him. The tiger can be seen as God. Pi tries to control him, but in the end, he makes sacrifices for the tiger. They then together create a deep relationship and the tiger leaves him, which is a meaning for something very depressing. In the movie, I feel it was explained better.