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.

Blog thoughts aka bloghts

I like the idea of having a casual blog for people in the class to use to discuss ideas from the course outside of class. I think its a fun activity because personally I don't get a lot of opportunities to just write out mostly raw opinions. I also think its really nice to be able to determine for yourself which part of the text interests you and bring in your own analysis. I like in class discussions but they're guided by the intent of the teacher and by the consensus of the other students. I think a blog is a really good way for people to express opinions they might not share during a class. I did have some technical issues that I've seen other people bring up. It would be nice to be able to see your own posts and comments somewhere so they're easy to find and review. Or at least it would be better to be told at the beginning of the semester that we should tag all our posts. I'm pretty ambivalent on the anonymity. I think in a small class its not really that hard to puzzle out who everyone is but also I think the real relief is just not having to see people when your thinking through the books. I think being alone and having plenty of time are the factors that make the blog really productive. I think its cool to have the pseudonyms be characters from the lord of the rings. It would be interesting to try to incorporate the identities into the blog posts but I just don't see a practical way to do that.

Thoughts on the Blog and Pseudonyms

I think that the blog is a wonderful way for all of us to interact as students.  Especially with the changes due to COVID-19, it was a good way for us to share our ideas and see what fellow students are thinking about.  I think that the one post and one comment system worked well, since it helps us all interact with each others' posts.  The posts made all of us reflect on what stood out to us during the week or what sparked a reaction to part of the story.  Concerning pseudonyms, I think that they are a great idea.  I think it makes everyone much more comfortable with sharing their own thoughts and critiquing others' posts.  This class in particular may have not needed the pseudonyms since we all got along so well, but I think that we still heard ideas that we would not have heard otherwise.  Overall the blog functions great and I would not add much.  It would be nice to have a function of the blog that allows you to search by keyword, so that you don't have to remember to add labels or tags. 

Favorite or Least Helpful Works

If you had to pick one text from our syllabus this term as your favorite, what would it be and why did you pick that one? What does it mean to you? How will you carry that text with you beyond this course?

In a different vein, what text did you find the most thought-provoking and enlightening about our topic, whether or not it was your favorite? Why this text?

Conversely, which text did you find least helpful or interesting in thinking about Tolkien's work? What forms the basis for your reaction to this text? Personal analysis or bias, lack of time spent on it in class or in your own study, difficulty of text?

Recovery After the Story

Calista brought up an interesting point in class the other day about how most times in books we don’t get a “recovery period” at the end of the book where we see the aftermath of the big battle.

We don’t usually get to see how the characters we followed through their story mentally or physically deal with the aftermath of their quest. Like in superhero movies - we see them save the day (woohoo!) but we also see that they’ve destroyed half the city. Then, in the next scene, or the after-credits scene, or the beginning of the next movie, everything has miraculously gone back to where it was before. New York is rebuilt, people have moved on with their lives, and the scene is set for the next adventure to begin.

If we do get a “what happens later”, it is usually in the form of an epilogue – glossing over the recovery period to tell us what happened later. We see that they’ve recovered, but not how. (See Harry Potter: “Nineteen years later…”)

It could be that authors feel the recovery period might be boring. The story was about the quest at large after all, not about the therapy sessions that should probably be necessary afterwards, or the long and arduous rebuilding of the city. Authors could want us to imagine how things go from here back to normal, giving us the space to make up our own ending. Or they may just not want to dig into the difficulties of portraying the aftermath of the battle.

Tolkien, however, gives us not only the aftermath of the Fellowship’s quest but also the “what has been happening at home,” and “what is the overall impact on the characters of the quest”. We talked in class a bit about what this gives us as readers, so I don’t need to rehash that here, but honestly, I’d enjoy seeing that kind of attention to detail in more of the fiction that I read. It could serve as a reminder that even happy endings are not fully happy, or not fully happy to begin with (we must work our way to happiness).

My Thoughts on the Blog and Pseudonyms

Personally, this blog has been one of my favorite parts of this course. Although there were some weeks where I had a more difficult time coming up with an idea for a post, in general, I really enjoyed writing and reading posts during the week. I think this blog was a really useful space for continuing discussions from class or sharing ideas, thoughts, and opinions that people had about each week's reading or anything else Tolkien-related. I especially appreciated this blog when we transitioned from live class to Zoom meetings because I know, at least for me, inserting your own thoughts into class discussion over a virtual platform is a bit more difficult. Thus, this blog provided me with an outlet to mention whatever ideas occurred to me in class (or after class).

My only gripe with this blog would be in regard to the mechanics of Blogger itself, more specifically how you can't tag (or "label") your own comments and whenever you click on a Blogger profile, it doesn't show all posts/comments from that specific person. Perhaps using a different blogging platform would solve this issue since Blogger doesn't seem to be in any hurry to fix this issue.

As for the anonymity, I think this was another great aspect of the blog because it allowed people to share thoughts and opinions without fear of being judged (although everyone in this class has proven to be very cordial and open to new ideas).

On the Blog

I personally really loved the blog and the pseudonymity. For someone who is more shy, this felt like a really safe space for me to share my ideas.

This blog, I think we can all agree, has lead to some really interesting discussions that I'm so glad I could be a part of. I loved that we had prompts we could speak to but also we could talk about something that interested us from the reading. That kind of freedom is a big reason why I like taking honors courses. I think this blog format was the best way to hold these kinds of discussions because it makes it easy to comment on someone's thoughts.

The pseudonymity was really beneficial to me because it gave me the freedom to share my ideas without my social anxiety creeping in. I felt that I could be more open and honest about what I thought than if I had to post under my own name.