Finland and Tolkien

We talked in class a little today how it was really cool to hear about Tolkien's sources when it came to writing his stories of Middle-earth. I wanted to include a little portion of my revised paper that talks a lot about the sources that Tolkien drew from Finland:  

"believe that Finland's landscape was Tolkien's inspiration for many places within
Middle-earth like Mirkwood and other woodland realms. When I think of Middle-earth, the first
images to cross my mind are wide open countryside’s, densely populated forests, and steep
cliff sides carved by a river. Many people attribute this atheistic found in Middle-earth to
Switzerland, which I must agree with wholeheartedly. However, I will also argue that these
surroundings can also be found elsewhere in Europe. Finland is Europe’s most forested country
having about 70% of the land covered with trees. “The country lends itself to
a sense of magic and mystery”. For this reason, I believe that Mirkwood could be
inspired, at least in part, by the forests and natural landscape of Finland."

Who is Samwise?

I know that I put this out on the chat earlier today but I also wanted to post it here for anyone that wasn't able to make it to class today.

Samwise is Joshua Rodriguez.

It's been a pleasure learning about Tolkien with all of you and reading all of your marvelous blog posts. The biggest takeaways for me were learning just awesome Lord of the Rings is, how it's okay for adults to love fantasy literature, how invested Tolkien truly was in creating an immersive world, and the concept of the eucatastrophe and how it applies to all  of us today during these crazy times! Congrats to all of those graduating and have a great summer everyone!   

Quarantine Teachings

In our wrap up discussion today, we talked about things we’ve learned this semester and things we’ll take away from this experience (this class, this semester, this quarantine situation). I hope one thing that we’ve all learned from this situation is to appreciate what we have, even though the things we don’t have may seem looming and numerous at times. Like Thorin said “If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world.” I just want to celebrate all that we do have – and one of the biggest things we have are the people in our lives, whether we live with them or can only see them through technology! We can't change everything that's going on - “all we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us,” and I’m so proud of all of you for what you’ve done this semester even with all the additional stresses we didn’t plan on having. My fingers are crossed that next semester you are all able to go back to campus and see people in person, but no matter how things turn out or how long we need to deal with Zoom meetings and six feet of distance, I know you will all find ways to stay connected and go on to do wonderful things. 

Thank you all for making this semester wonderful,

<3 Ashleigh

all good things must come to an end

I have loved this class and talking with all of you about Tolkien. Thank you all! I have definitely appreciated having people to talk to outside of my house during this crazy time! I hope all of us are able to get through it safely.

I don't have much more to say, so bye for now I guess, and hope I will see most of you around campus whenever it reopens. Congratulations Michael, Ashleigh and Taylor on graduating!

-Isaac

Wrapping up the Semester

As Elrond, I am really supposed to be "all knowing" when it comes to things in the LOTR. The truth is, I really am the exact opposite of my pseudonym. This class taught me the rich, deep, and love Tolkien put into his readings, making sure things didn't really end even at the end of the novels. People (including his son) kept his stories alive, even after death, whether it be just keeping the books alive by making blogs, websites, and even games. This whole semester opened me up to a new respect and appreciation to a section of Fantasy that I never really took the time to look at. The Lord of the Rings really changed my mind on this style of fantasy, and now I actually understand the movies as I watch them. This was a big chunk of literature that I really am not used to reading throughout the semester, so I fell behind and skipped around a little bit. However, I really do plan on going back and reading both The Hobbit and LOTR once I am done getting the rest of my life together. This class was a pure joy, and really turned me into a Tolkien fan. I still have a lot of catching up to do, in regard to Character formation, but I finally understand the overall premise of Tolkien's books.

Lots of Love

Hello everyone!

I wanted to take my last blog post to say thank you to you all for such an amazing semester. It really was amazing and I'm so grateful for the opportunity I had to meet such wonderful people. I know that everyone in this class is going to go out into the world and do amazing things. 

I also wanted to specifically thank Dr. Donovan for being such an amazing teacher and for showing how much she cares for us during this time of uncertainty.

I do have a few book recommendations for you all. I really enjoyed both the Falconer series by Elizabeth May and the Doon series by Lorie Langdon and Carey Corp. Both are fantasy, involve the Fae, and take place in Scotland. (Also they both have romance because I'm a sucker for men in kilts. What can you do?).

Love you all and hope to see you soon!

- Celeborn (Abby)

Robin Williams Quote :)

"We don't read and write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine, law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for." - Robin Williams, from the Dead Poets Society film.

“Leaf by Niggle”

In our last discussion, we talked about how this story might be a reflection of Tolkien on himself as a writer. How this story might depict how he was never satisfied with his work. How he never accomplished as much as he wanted. And how what he managed to actually get out was only a pale comparison to the vision he actually had. Well, that’s quite telling in and of itself as what he produced is incredible and so detailed so I can’t imagine what it actually could have been if his vision was fully realized. That’s a whole other discussion in itself, but not what I really want to look at. 

What I’m interested in exploring here is another possible interpretation for this story, one I had upon initially reading it, after looking past the not so subtle spiritual allegory aspect of it, this story could also be read, in my opinion, as a tale on the method of creating something artistic, whether that be a piece of art, a piece of writing, music, or whatever one’s artistic fancy may be. 

It details all of Niggle’s struggle to work on and get done this painting he wishes to accomplish, such as his responsibilities and his own lack of commitment. Then it shows how one sometimes has to put their work aside, not even think about, look at it, or consider it for a time. And then one can come back to it with fresh eyes and start anew, and possibly finally be able to realize the vision they’ve been striving for but have been unable to accomplish until now. That was the impression I took away from reading this story, pushing aside the idea that heaven is where all your greatest aspirations are realized, which is a nice thought but not a fulfilling one.  

Closing Thoughts on the Lord of the Rings

As we have all discussed, the ending of The Lord of the Rings is pretty long.  The scouring of the shire seems like such an odd thing to tack on after the climax of the overall story.  However, we get to see the changes brought to our characters shine through, and appreciate the brave hobbits that they have become.  Even after the Grey Havens, Pippin, Merry, and Sam all return to a seemingly normal life in The Shire.  If one reads the appendices, they can learn about their families and lives and how eventually all members of the Fellowship either die or pass on through the Grey Havens. 

Tolkien seems to bring everything back to the theme of home and the simple pleasures in life in this way.  We see all the remaining members of the Fellowship pursuing ordinary lives compared to their grand deeds in their younger days.  The hobbits remind me of a verse from Ecclesiastes in the Bible that says, "Here is what I have seen: It is good and fitting for one to eat and drink, and to enjoy the good of all his labor in which he toils under the sun all the days of his life which God gives him; for it is his heritage" (Ecclesiastes 5:18).  This might be part of what inspired Tolkien, since he tries to send the message that simple pleasures are worthier pursuits than gold and power, as Thorin says before his death at the end of The Hobbit.  Perhaps this is why the hobbits succeeded on their quest: they wanted to protect each other and their homes, not seek power and gain for themselves.

Reading beyond Tolkien

As we finish our course and head into a summer that might contain some new reading, what authors (other than Tolkien) will you be reading or would you recommend to others who enjoy Tolkien's work?

One of my personal favorites is Guy Gavriel Kay, a fantasy writer, who got started by helping Christopher Tolkien compile The Silmarillion. If you are looking for epic fantasy to read, consider The Fionavar Tapestry by Kay. It makes me laugh and weep in some similar ways to Tolkien's texts.

The Scouring of the Shire

Reading The Lord of the Rings this most recent time introduced me to something very interesting about Chapter 8 of The Return of the King.  According to Tolkien's own words and alluded to throughout the narrative, the Scouring of the Shire was "foreseen from the outset."  This strikes me as somewhat odd since the whole story seems to hinge on the destruction of the ring, and while this may partially be Tolkien's intention, I think his decision to conclude the dramatic side of the story through sacking the Shire indicates that something more was behind his plans.  The Lord of the Rings was more than just a story of destroying a horrible evil.  It is also a catalog of personal growth.

Each of the four hobbits left the Shire not quite understanding what dangers and perils they would find themselves in.  Frodo did not yet understand the full corruptive power of the ring, Sam had not yet foregone the comforts of home for the discomforts of the road, Merry had not yet developed the full attributes of a leader, and Pippin had not yet found his courage.  However, upon return to the Shire, each one had gone through numerous trials, encountered great difficulties, and experienced tragic loss, and through these, they grew into the hobbits they were supposed to be.  I hesitate to argue this, but perhaps their transformations and the final trial of the Scouring provide the climax of the entire story.

Additionally, we discussed throughout the semester various instances in which Tolkien alludes to what is to come.  The history of the Old Forest, Sam's vision in the Mirror of Galadriel, and the spoils of Isengard all tease what will happen to their beloved home, and I suppose I was able to better catch these references this time around.  Still, something I haven't considered until writing this post is that these references I listed all involve a hobbit.  Merry retells the story of the forest, Sam looks into the mirror, and Merry and Pippin discover the pipeweed after Saruman's defeat.  I think this small detail is tremendously important.  If Tolkien alluded to this event primarily through Gimli, Legolas, or even Aragorn (though I think his role as a Ranger guarding the free lands of the West might excuse him), the gravity of the hobbits' discovery would not be as poignant.

This chapter remains one of my favorites in all of The Lord of the Rings.  The idea that life continues on, even after the destruction of the evil ring, is important to me.  I'm a steadfast believer in the concept of happy endings (or eucatastrophe, if you please), and I can also appreciate Tolkien's writing his ending to be more reflective of real life.  Struggles will spring up sometimes where we least expect them, but ultimately hope and joy will still prevail.

Creative Project Thoughts

Hey everyone!

I just thought I'd hop on here and share some of my thoughts on the creative project. I personally really enjoyed this project for multiple reasons like the fact that it allowed me to try something new and do something different during this whole thing. It was really enjoyable to try something new for me and discover that I really enjoyed painting. I have never really painted but my sister loves it so I was inspired to step out of my comfort zone for this project and try something new. It gave me a nice challenge and introduced me to something I ended up really liking. By doing something different it also allowed me to destress a bit and get out of this essay and discussion post writing machine because that was definitely taking a toll on me. Overall I really enjoyed this project and how it gave me something to do that I enjoyed during this weird time and I hope I have a chance in a future class to do something similar.

The Appendix

Reading The Return of the King, you always feel like you have way more reading left than you actually do. Once the ring is destroyed, there is still a hefty chunk of pages in your right hand (assuming you're reading a hard copy). Even after the scouring of the Shire, there are well over 100 pages remaining in the text. This is because of the appendix. Tolkien added it in general Tolkien fashion, and filled it with so much information that no one could possible remember it all, no matter how many times you read it. You could devote years to any particular section and still find things left to study probably.

The way I used to read books, I would skip the introductions and the appendices in the rare book that had one. I was primarily interested in the actual text of the story and that was about it. That has changed somewhat, but I still find myself reading about half of the introduction to a book and then just skipping it. That being said, it took a lot of me to start that appendix. I knew that the story was over, and I was not particularly interested on reading 100 pages on Tolkien's development of his language, which is kind of what I was expecting. Fortunately, there was much more information than that, and a lot of it was very interesting and definitely added to my understanding and enjoyment of LOTR as a whole. There were definitely some sections that I read the first paragraphs and then kind of skimmed the rest, and I did not devote too much of my life to staring at the family trees in the appendix either. If anything, I liked the maps the most.

I'm glad the appendix is there though. Other books that I read or shows that I watch, I feel sad when they are over, because I am not ready to say goodbye to the characters yet. I felt this way after watching Game of Thrones (I haven't read the books yet, but they are next on my reading list once this class is over and Tolkien loosens his clutch on my spare time). But with Lord of the Rings, you're never done. There is always more information that you could learn. And that is cool. Most authors could only dream of that.

The End (Sad but True)

There are several interesting aspects of Appendix A that we didn’t really look at in our discussion that I wanted to explore. The first is Aragorn having the choice of exactly when he would pass on and doing so despite the fact he would abandon Arwen in Middle-earth. This part caught my attention strongly as I found it very intriguing Tolkien decided to do it that way. Especially with the fact that Aragorn is essentially leaving Arwen behind by doing this, after having caused great emotional turmoil between her and Elrond by staying in Middle-earth to be with Aragorn. 

Second, the fact Legolas remains in Middle-earth until Aragorn decided to pass on before going overseas and the fact that he took Gimli with him. This fascinated me because the pull of the sea seemed so strong to Legolas, but his ties to his companions were enough to keep him in Middle-earth until one no longer was in Middle-earth anymore. Inviting Gimli to go West with him when he left also shows his incredibly tight friendship to the Dwarf, that he didn’t want to go without him.  

And third, Arwen’s determination that there was no way for her to go West and yet Legolas and Gimli are said to have. This was perhaps some disparity in the story, that these two pieces of this storyline do not match up, but it was kind of a glaring, hold on, wait up moment for me that really struck me. Not entirely sure what to make of it, but it caught my attention.  

It’s interesting how the departure of all these characters hinge on Aragorn, as if he’s the glue that held it all together. Tolkien gave these characters the ability to decide when it was finally their time. Very wondersome, given a lot of the events that take place in his stories are hinted at being based on fate. Yet this seems to be a decision not tied to fate.  

The Return of the King, Book VI, Chapters 4-9

Having finished The Lord of the Rings, I feel kind of sad. I'm not sure if anyone else can relate to what I'm about to say but, whenever I finish reading the books or watching the movies, I'm left feeling kind of empty, because it's over, and wanting because I wish there was more to the story. That being said, its really amazing how J.R.R. Tolkien was able to bring his story full-circle, cover all his bases so that, despite our sadness over the story's end, we are left feeling satisfied. In my opinion, that is why he chose to have such a long ending. A point was made during our meeting that a story only ends when you decide it does, or at least something to that effect was said. The idea that no story is truly over really intrigues me, especially because I never want the stories I love to end.