Wednesday, August 29, 2018
A Dichotomy
I find that in the "Children" section of the essay the two most important concepts are that of the role of the child as well as the role of the adult. While being mundane concepts, they carry an exceptional amount of weight in the presented argument. These two concepts are discussed almost as a prearranged dichotomy, in terms of their relations with "fairy stories." Children are allowed to hear, read, and watch "fairy stories" as entertainment. While Adults are not, being that "fairy stories" are perceived as juvenile. In the discussion surrounding this fracture, it does not seem apparent that there is a substantial amount of over lap. However, it is also discussed that there is much more to be had from "fairy stories" than the novelty presented to children. This dichotomy is presented in an effort to accomplish two things. One of which being: an attempt to sway adults to give "fairy stories" their rightful place as important parts of literature. The second, an attempt to show case the fact that "fairy stories" are changed and convoluted to be interpreted as children's stories.
2 comments:
I truly enjoy your assessment of the dichotomy between children and adults. When reading the "Children" section of Tolkien's lecture, I focused a lot on the rift between adults and children as seen through fantasy and Tolkein's eyes as well. However, something that I noticed, and would love to hear what you think, is the relationship between age and mindset when reading fantasy. One of the quotes that stuck out in this section was "'He who would enter into the Kingdom of Faërie should have the heart of a little child" (pg.66), and my interpretation of it was that one must put themselves into the mindset of a child to appreciate Fairy-stories. Now, this quote is from Lang, but I thought that it was interesting how Tolkien gave the audience another facet of the dichotomy you illustrated. I understood this quote to mean that people thought one could not get full enjoyment out of fantasy unless they were listening or reading it under an aura of nostalgia. Tolkien did not take kindly to this notion at all, but I thought it was an interesting feature to the dichotomy.
I totally agree with your review and interpretation of Tolkien's meaning in "Children". However, as a critique of Tolkien, and as was intensively discussed in class, it seems unfair to totally limit the capacity a child has at imagination and the understanding of complicated material. It seemed as though more than one of our peers used "Faerie" or "Fantasy" as a means of escape, of learning about or understanding of complicated, yet distant material. I also happen to believe that perhaps children are more akin to understanding and appreciating a non-adulterated fantasy in comparison to adults who may tell themselves they are too grown up for such things. Perhaps adults are the ones who lack an appreciation of Faerie, regardless of their potential to perhaps understand it better.
In general, I do appreciate Tolkien's logic, but someone has to play the devils advocate. Thank you for your post.
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