Abstract:
This thesis aims to study the construction of Thai fantasy and the main ideas presented through fantasy in Ais Karin Pritsana Khadi Athan young adult fiction series. Data used in this study are 8 episodes of the part entitled Huachai Si Dam which were published between 2008 and 2011.It is found that this young adult fiction series use the beliefs, myths and stories that are known and circulated in Thai society to create Thai fantasy in two main literary elements, namely the character and the plot. In terms of characters, the author creates 2 types of fantastical characters, the magicians who possess the art of occult and the ghosts, from the beliefs in superstition and spirit. Concerning the plot, it is found that the performance of rites, such as the Life Changing rite, the Karma Changing rite, the Spirit Board rite etc., are the important incidents that contain Thai fantasy in the Quest Fantasy plot. Thai and foreign beliefs which are sources and materials of those magical rite incidents are either portrayed following its conventional methods or adapted into contemporary characteristics.As for the main ideas presented through fantastical elements, Karin Pritsana Khadi Athan young adult fiction series illustrates two main themes. The first group discusses the Buddhist concepts of attachment and the three characteristics of existence (impermanence, incompleteness and non-self). The second group deals with social problems, namely the social value concerning beauty, the lack of media ethics resulting from capitalism, the overconsumption of online games, and the suicide of young adults. These main ideas help young adult readers to manage the suffering in their minds and to understand the violence in the social problems that might happen to them. They, meanwhile, offer the readers the ways to deal with these social problems as well.