Hello all!
I have been wrestling with one of the topics we discussed in class on Tuesday and I would love to hear what everyone has to say to see if it might help me clear up my thoughts a bit more.
On Tuesday, we discussed how we all eventually end up in the same place regardless of the choices or path we make. We switched topics before I got my thoughts together to add to the conversation, but I remember someone mentioning How I Met Your Mother (which I recently just watched an episode of and remembered this topic in class) and how had they known the ending they would not have watched it. I thought this was an interesting idea because we do know how all the characters in Lord of the Rings turns out before we even get into the book, yet we still choose to read it. So, if you already know the ending and know how all of the characters end up, what is the point of learning about how they got there? Does the path one takes actually matter? Why or why not?
I'm not quite sure where I stand just yet, but I'm interested to hear everyone's thoughts!
I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving!
Uinen
2 comments:
Uinen,
I tend to think that the path is more important than the end point for anything. For instance, if we find out someone is rich or famous, the most important thing we tend to ask first is "how did they get rich and famous?" Likewise, when we see someone begging for food on the side of the road, we tend to wonder how it was that that individual ended up on the streets, and it changes how we interact with them and respond to them.
This is why it hardly seems to matter that we know where characters end up after the journey. We need to know why it is important that they are where they ended up. Typically, the answer to why its important is in how they got there.
Even if you think about things like job applications or our resumes/CV's...We check a box that says we got a high school diploma, that we got a degree, we tell them of the charities we have participated in, perhaps in the scholarships we have won. The reason this is important is not necessarily the end goal or the depressingly tiny piece of paper we get at graduation, but it is important because it speaks to our ability to persevere and to stick to something for a prolonged period of time. We show the world we have been trained by time, that we plan ahead, that we can commit to something. That's the important part, not the end goal.
Finally, consider what people talk about at funerals. We know how that story ended, that they are where they are. But nobody wants to hear about that. Instead, they want to hear about that loved one's journey.
Who cares about the ending? Our choices are the interesting part.
Hi Uinen,
I find your ideas extremely interesting. Personally, I do find the path to be very important in Tolkien's works. Largely, this is because I believe that Tolkien's Middle-earth and the characters in it are meant to transcend time, as their stories existed before what was recorded by Tolkien and exist after what was recorded by Tolkien. We often count the end of one's stories as their death, but characters are so dynamic in the Lord of the Rings that many of the characters personalities as we know them "die" in the stories as they develop. I think that the story or path is so important in general, and especially in Tolkien's works.
-Melian
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