Race in A Game of Thrones
High fantasy literature is defined as a subgenre of fantasy literature wherein the stories told include, but are not limited to, alternate worlds with their own consistent sets of physical laws; characters who experience a coming-of-age or other form of inner development; a quest or several quests with the goal of triumphing over an evil force; the existence of magic or other supernatural powers; and, more often than not, the presence of different races or nations within these alternate worlds.
George R. R. Martin’s epic saga A Song of Ice and Fire has all of the above in spades. Ironically, his treatment of the racial aspect differs from that of many other authors. While most fill their worlds with pointy-eared elves, squat and crafty dwarves, hook-nosed goblins, brutish trolls and orcs, tall and noble humans, and all the other cliché fantasy races that get recycled and renamed between writers, Martin populates his world mostly with humans. His fictional humanity, however, is much like our own. A multitude of physical types exist in his invented continents of Westeros, Essos, and Sothoryos, each hailing from their own fatherlands; some races have a great deal in common with each other physically, while others are so unusual that they draw derision at worst and curious glances at best; some individuals and entire races are the product of hybridization; each race has its own unique culture, language, and religious beliefs.
George R. R. Martin is a self-proclaimed liberal, having voiced his support for Obama and the Democratic Party. Despite aligning himself with those who would have us all believe that race is merely a social construct, Martin pays an incredible amount of attention to detail when describing the different human races in his alternate world; certain sections ofA Song of Ice and Fire almost read like passages from The Passing of the Great Race. Moreover, the world he has created is one where many characters are conscious of these racial differences, and where such consciousness is not portrayed as a bad thing. ...
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