Tuesday, December 4, 2018
Tolkien's Legacy
Think about our class discussions over this semester and choose one theme that you think is important to Tolkien's legacy today. What aspects of this legacy or theme contribute to the staying power of Tolkien's writing? How is this theme relevant to you personally or to society in the twenty-first century? Why does Tolkien choose to include this theme, and how does he build his own legacy (or build on previous legacies) with it?
1 comment:
I believe the significance of the insignificant is a theme that important in Tolkien's legacy today. With the modern ability to see just how big the world is and how many different people live in it, it can be the case that we feel meaningless and insignificant. Tolkien not only showed that people from small beginnings can do great things, but more importantly, that people from small beginnings can remain in their small and insignificant little worlds and be meaningful in just doing that. "If more of us valued food and cheer and song above hoarded gold, it would be a merrier world." This is a very relevant theme in the 21st century and one which Tolkien used to build his lasting legacy. His legacy lives on because themes like this are enduring and speak directly to human nature. I believe Tolkien said through The LOTR and The Hobbit that ordinary folk do not become important through some big adventure. Rather, ordinary folk are all ready important and being ordinary allows them to have a big adventure without letting the adventure sweep them too far away.
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