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Ye In Kim

Professor Lee

Writing 39B

18 November 2020

The Neverending Story​: Escapism and Recovery

Michael Ende experienced the horror of both World War II and the Cold War that

brought destruction and division to the country. As a citizen affected by devastating situations,

Michael Ende escapes this reality as a child through the help of literature and ultimately

illustrates his experience in the novel ​The Neverending Story​. In his story, the main character,

Bastian, encounters the beauty of escapism and recovery that allows him to break free from the

cruel reality of the world that consists of fear, sadness, and loneliness. Through this character,

Michael Ende encourages his readers to follow the footsteps of escapism and recovery through

stories to discover a new perspective of their existing life that goes beyond what they know of

reality in order to bring light into the darkness of misery.

In the essay of “On Fairy Stories'', the well-known English writer Tolkien, identifies the

aspects of what fairy stories give to a person’s life, including escapism and recovery. While it

may have some sparks, the world seems like a prison where what you can do is very limited.

With this in mind, according to his essay, Tolkien claims “that Escape is one of the main

functions of fairy-stories” where it allows people to escape the ugliness that the world brings

them (Tolkien 20). However, during the time of World War II, many critics criticized the idea of

escapism because they believed that escapism forced people to ignore and reject reality instead

of facing it. In response to the oppositions, Tolkien supports his argument by questioning “Why

should a man be scorned if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if,
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when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls?”

(Tolkien 20). He argues that escapism is natural and necessary to experience because it allows

people to see a new side in life and away from their limited imagination and creativity by the

world. Here, Tolkien emphasizes the key element of escapism is the escape from the “present

time and self-made misery” and not the rejection of life that the critics have been arguing

(Tolkien 21). The escapism that fairy stories provide leads to taking steps into a new world of

fantasy that aids readers away from their stressors. Eventually, the influence of escapism leads to

recovery.

Recovery, another key element that Tolkien mentions in “On Fairy Stories”, is defined as

the “regaining of a clear view” (Tolkien 19). What he means by this is that fairy stories help

people open their eyes and see what they have not been able to notice before in their lives.

Tolkien applies this idea in his other writings called "Leaf by Niggle" as an example in defining

recovery. From an artist who didn’t appreciate the existence of his neighbor Parish, the main

character Niggle encounters the beauty of recovery that allows him to realize “the most perfect

examples of the [Niggle’s artwork]—were seen to have been produced in collaboration with Mr.

Parish” (Tolkien 8). He regains a clear view of Parish when he catches the idea that an

“individual creativity always has the influence of our environment and the others that we are in

relation to” (Lee). As we can see, recovery connects to the idea of defamiliarization, which

transforms such familiar and ordinary things to be seen in a different perspective. What has

always been with us and viewed as the same old things suddenly refreshes into a new perspective

in a positive way. In addition, the element that is involved in this idea of recovery is

eucatastrophe. According to Tolkien, eucatastrophe is “the sudden joyous ‘turn’” and “a sudden

and miraculous grace” that creates “the true form of fairy-tale, and its highest function” (Tolkien
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22). While the harsh reality of life seems to fall into failure, fairy tales always and must have a

sudden change from darkness to light that gives a happy ending to the character of the story. The

eucatrophe that fairy stories give best adds on to the development towards recovery, as the reader

is able to see a spark of light out of nowhere in the most miserable times. With these, Tolkien

allows the audience to learn the beauty of recovery that helps people be “freed from the drab blur

of triteness or familiarity” through literature and influences other writers to include this idea in

fairy stories, like Michael Ende (Tolkien 19).

Born on November 12, 1929 in Germany, Michael Ende experienced the horror and

destruction of both World War II and the Cold War. Living in this background, the author has his

own experience with escapism. According to the article “Michael Ende, 65, German Children’s

Writer”, Michael Ende grew up as “the son of Edgar Ende, a Surrealist painter whose work was

banned by the Nazis'' (Cowell). The restraint of art and imagination pressured by WWII caused

him to fear that if he followed the rules of the Nazis that were only based on facts and science,

his “imagination would go kaput” (Cowell). With this in mind, the author experiences escapism

two times: near the end of WWII and during the Cold War. Near the end of WWII, Ende

abandones the draft of the German’s Army and escapes into an “anti-Nazi underground

mvoement called the Bavarian Freedom Action. He made a clear decision that the ideology

under the Nazi army should no longer manipulate his life. To take a step closer to art, Ende

completed his education and later successfully published his first book “Jim Knopf and Lukas

the Locomotive Engineer'' during the Cold War. This is where the second escapism comes in.

Ende’s book caused “sharp criticism from radical leftists...who accused him of encouraging

escapism instead of political commitment” (Cowell). With the huge amount of criticism and

oppositions toward him, Ende flees to Italy and is able to freely grow his imagination and write
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fantasy novels that were not permitted before. Just as how Bastian was able to escape into a

world outside the misery of his old life, the author is able to escape from the manipulation and

horror of WWII and the Cold War into a more freely driven place that goes beyond his

limitations and allows him to view the world in a clearer lens. Michael Ende, then, illustrates his

past personal experience of escapism through his famous fantasy novel ​The Neverending Story.

In ​The Neverending Story,​ the story starts off by introducing the main character Bastian

living in the real world. The young, fat boy’s life is surrounded by such negativities that force

him to want to leave into the fantasy world portrayed in the book he reads. Every day, Bastian

has to live with the fear of getting bullied, the sadness over his mother’s death, and the lack of

love between his relationship with his father. As much as he was an outcast among his fellow

peers, home with his father also seemed very distant to the young child. To draw away from this

misery, Bastian steals the book, ​The Neverending Story​, and hides in the attic to read it. At this

point, the novel shifts away from the real world and delves into the world of fantasy called

Fantastica as Bastian starts reading. In between his readings, there are a few pauses where

“Bastian’s thoughts turned back to reality” (Ende 21). The on going back and forth from the

Fantasy world in the reading to reality makes Bastian to be “glad the Neverending Story had

nothing to do with [​reality​]” (Ende 21). Here, the “reality” Bastian dislikes is the misery that

morphed his own life, and the boy realizes the beauty of the fantasy story allowing him to break

away from his reality. As the book progresses, Bastian’s desire to leave his reality and be part of

Fantastica grows bigger, and he eventually encounters escapism into the fantasy world, where he

literally dives into the book. Opposite from his past self, Bastian transforms into the desired

appearance that Bastian wished for: a handsome slender boy ‘wearing a silvery-glittering

mantle” (Ende 185). From a discouraged shy boy, Bastian gained “wonder and admiration” to
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himself, and this allows him to have the courage to do the impossible that he could not have been

able to do before, including the confidence of being able to save Fantastica from the evil

antagonist The Nothing and finding his way back to the real world through the Water of Life

(Ende 185). With the other characters inside the novel, including Atreyu and Folklore, Bastian

continues his journey to accomplish his goal. However, as much as escapism assisted Bastian’s

transformation into what he desired to have, there are also the dangers. In the process of trying to

save Fantastica, Bastian faces Xayide who is secretly an agent of The Nothing. The evil Xayide

sweetly lures Bastian into a trap that pressures him to make more wishes according to his desires

to prevent him from focusing on his mission and saving Fantastica. Successfully, Xayide’s

persuasion leads Bastian into “[crowning] himself Childlike Emperor of Fantastica...for he

wished every nation of the Fantastican Empire to be represented at his coronation” (Ende 326).

The remembrance of one’s identity is so important for Bastian because in order to return to the

real world, he needs the fountain of the Water of Life, which requires him to know who he is.

However, as we can see in the changes that Bastian wants, wishes force people to thirst for

things that they do not have or are not in the present and reality. One’s self greed to have more of

what they do not have causes the denial of one’s own identity and pulls them away from

appreciation for what they have, just like it does to Bastian. As a result, Bastian’s wishes slowly

lead him into losing his own friends, such as Atreyu and Folklore, memories, and identity,

leaving him as “the boy without a name” (Ende 384).

At the brink of failure, an eucatastrophe takes place, as Atreyu and Folklore jump in out

of nowhere to fix the miserable problem. The two characters work together to crack the entrance

that links to the Water of Life and lead “[Bastian] through the terrible gate toward the fountain”

(Ende 385). As Bastian gets closer to the final destination, all of his wishes go away one by one
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and “the strong, handsome, fearless hero becomes again the small, fat, timid boy” (Ende 385).

Although Bastian loses his desired appearances and image of himself, there is recovery through

the Water of Life. As Bastian drenches himself into the water, he has “joy [fill] him from head to

foot, the joy of living and the joy of being himself” (Ende 386). The recovery allows him to see

and accept his true self and for who he was. Bastian is able to find joy because he let go of the

things that tried to change his identity, but accept the things that reality gave him from the start.

He is also able to regain his memories and “even in the hardest moments of his life he preserved

a lightheartedness that made him smile and that comforted others” (Ende 386). While the

previous way he viewed his life was with misery and hardships, recovery aids him to view them

in a different perspective with positivity. Not only does recovery let Bastian accept self love, but

also recover his relationship with his father when the Water of Life also gives Bastian “the joy of

being able to love”(Ende 386). This joy of love refers to Bastian’s relationship with his father.

As mentioned before, in addition to the absence of the motherly love, Bastian lacked love from

his father that left Bastian lonely and empty. However, as Bastian returns back to the real world

after his journey inside the book, he does not hesitate to run to his father like how he did before

and begins to “tell his father about his adventures” while “his father listen[s] as he had never

listened before” (Ende 391). This rare conversation and interaction between the two shows how

what was a dull relationship can change anew as one opens up their hearts and ears for each

other. They have always been together and existed as a father and a son, but their perspective

towards their relationship changes. Soon, “[Bastian] saw tears in his father’s eyes” (Ende 391).

The tears of joy in his father’s eyes represent the recovery of parental love and the joy of a happy

ending. With this, it is evident that Bastian eventually embraces his identity as a son of his father.
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Through escapism and recovery, Bastian is able to change the negative way he viewed the reality

of the world and clearly see the comfort and love that he couldn’t see before.

With his personal experience with escapism, Michael Ende encourages his contemporary

audience to understand their need for escape during 1979 West Germany. Published on

September 1, 1979, ​The Neverending Story​ parallels WWII and the Cold War. The year of 1979

was the time of Post-World War II and the middle of the Cold War. Post-World War II left the

German citizens with the aftermath of destruction. The horror that the people had to face against

millions of deaths and violence from the Nazi have left a permanent stamp on the minds of the

survivors. In addition to WWII, the Cold War brought up a sexual revolution that also focused on

sexual liberation of children. According to the article “How the Left Took Things Too Far”, the

revolution created a “climate in which even pedophilia was considered progressive”

(Fleischhauer & Wiebke). This led to the division between adults where “some were determined

to encourage their children to show and touch their genitalia, while the others were horrified by

the idea” (Fleischhauer & Wiebke). This sexualization of children creates sorts of trauma and

limitation on how children will view the world.

Contrasting this ridiculous situation, the image of an appropriate relationship between

parents and their children is demonstrated through Bastian and his father as a result from

recovery. Just how Bastian and his father shows what parental love truly is in the end of the

book, Ende’s novel allows his audience to gain recovery in learning how children are supposed

to be seen as by going beyond what reality perceives them as through his writing. This recovery

for the people during this particular time may be set up with an image where children are to roam

free besides their parents, while parents are to give unconditional love and comfort that allows

their children to open up to them. Instead of following reality's sexualized views towards young
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children, parents are to be parents, which is allowing their children to be who they are without

negative influence on them, in order for children to be children: imaginative and creative.

Escapism and recovery are such important key elements that individuals need in their life.

Whether we lived back during Michael Ende’s period or in the present, there will be times where

we would want to escape the actuality and have our views changed toward our lives, just like

how Bastian is able to see his life in a different way. The influence of the fantasy novel on

Bastian teaches the importance of escapism and recovery for the audience. As we grow up and

encounter more knowledge of reality, the desire for escapism and recovery will continue to

remain, and this is where literature comes into action.

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Work Cited:

1. Tolkien, J. R. R.. “On Fairy-Stories”. Oxford University Press, 4 December 1947

2. Lee, Justin Dean. “Lecture 10-18-2020 (Leaf by Niggle; Allegory of the Cave).” 18

October 2020, Lecture

3. Tolkien, J. R. R.. “Leaf by Niggle”​. ​Harper Collins, January 1945.

4. Ende, Michael. ​The Neverending Story. ​Garden City, NY, ​Thienemann Verlag, ​1

September 1979. Print.

5. Cowell, Alan. “Michael Ende, 65, German Children’s Writer”. The New York Times, 1

September 1995,

https://www.nytimes.com/1995/09/01/obituaries/michael-ende-65-german-children-s-writ

er.html​.

6. Fleischhauer, Jan, and Wiebke Hollersen. “The Sexual Revolution and Children: How the

​ ER
Left Took Things Too Far - DER Spiegel - International.” ​DER SPIEGEL, D

SPIEGEL, 2 July 2010,

https://www.spiegel.de/international/zeitgeist/the-sexual-revolution-and-children-how-the

-left-took-things-too-far-a-702679.html​.