For my own, I've always been interested in how Tolkien was able to create a sense of nostalgia for a world I'd never actually known. Never have I seen Middle-earth, nor have I taken part in an Ent moot or wielded a sword, and yet I feel the same sort of nostalgia I feel for the simpler times in middle school when all I had to worry about was forgetting to feed my Tamagotchi and eating Lunchables. What I get from Tolkien is a beautiful dream of the past. In many ways it is pleasant and I am pleased to reflect upon it, but it is in many ways sad and bittersweet, just like the regrettable deaths of my many Tamagotchis.
I wonder now that we've covered one of Tolkien's works entirely and begun delving into his influences what others may think. Why is it that we've chosen to study this man for an entire semester? What is it aside from the depth of the material that keeps us all coming back to Middle-earth time and time again? What, in your mind, makes Middle-earth and Tolkien special?
-Varda*
1 comment:
I love this question!
For me, Tolkien's work is a place of escape (which, at this point, is a really cliché thing to say, since so many have said it in class). It's a world that puts all of my favorite things together: peace, home, adventure, discovery, victory, lessons through defeat, friendship, hope, etc. But it's not so much of an escape that it seems unreal. I can feel like I'm there, because I could be there (in a utopian world?). But it's also applicable when I come back to my own reality.
Maybe we still study this "dead author" because we can apply what he wrote to our lives. We can step out of our comfort zone, make new friends, and find adventure even in the little things of life. Life doesn't have to be monotonous if we choose to see its beauty (like the Hobbits do).
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