[Elven-Maiden]

I totally agree that fantasy serves mainly to give people hope. But more than that, it teaches us lessons that can be hard to see in other places.

A major theme is LotR, and most other fantasy stories is good vs. evil, with good winning in the end. As children we are always taught to play nicely and share with our friends, even if your friends don't share with us. Fantasy stories go beyond teaching us the sometime frustrating rules, but they show why they are there.

For example, the Ring is evil. We cannot hold on to evil and expect to be uneffected. The Ringwraiths, Gollum, Boromir and even Frodo show that only too clearly. But what's more, we can't just avoid evil, as Galadriel tries to, because it will come to us. We must fight it, and if need be, die fighting.

Therefore, fantasy is hardly an escape from reality, and I wish it were only a dream. Fantasy is a lesson for people. Good vs. evil. And it gives us the hope that good will triumph, even when all odds are against it.