Yes and Other Answers

Michael Ende’s “The Neverending Story” as an example of Reconstructivist Art

Michael Ende’s international bestseller found an audience among children and adults alike, and should not be confused with the more juvenile movie adaptation. While the movie faithfully reproduced the conventional fairy tale that takes up the first half of the book, it ignored the novel’s reconstructivist second half, in which the world of the story is literally deconstructed and rebuilt from scratch.

Reconstructivist Elements:

1. Nod to Artifice: The book “The Neverending Story” appears within itself in several different ways –first as a work of fiction being read by a boy named Bastian; next as a book within a book (which contains Bastian’s own story along with its other contents); and finally as the boundary of an entire universe.
2. Classic Structure: Ende’s book has a unique doubled structure, in which the first half consists of a classic fairy-tale style “hero’s journey,” while the second half examines a more psychologically rich version of the same theme.
3. Transcontextual and Iconic Elements: The first half of the book is filled with familiar tropes and archetypes of fantasy literature, from the zany band of non-human creatures to the ethereal Ivory Tower. The second half goes deeper, however, as elements from the first half are combined with new and more original archetypes that reflect and respond to things deep within Bastian’s psyche.
4. Moments of Genuine Emotion or Significance: Ultimately, the Neverending Story is about the redemptive power of art and imagination, and Bastian finds that love and friendship are real, even in a world where much of what he experiences proves to be illusionary.