The Hall of Fire

That was a really interesting post (and certainly less confused than mine!), Hobby, and it's nice to see you, too. :) None of which really answers the question of the thread, I guess, which I think boils down to: is it hope or despair that gives courage to the characters in LOTR? I think it's neithe...

Excellent post Mossy. The thing I'd be most interested in is the difference between Túrin and your other examples. Where each of the others met or embraced their despair/destiny, Túrin fought, ran and hid from his, to his eventual undoing and the loss of all he held dear. It appears that Tolkien wo...

This topic has been bubbling in my mind for ages and ages but it hasn't gotten any clearer really so I'm just going to throw it all in and hope it makes some sort of sense. And of course, you all have probably discussed this before but it's going to bother me if it just keeps percolating in my brain...

I think these roles are far more realistic than the expectations some readers apparently have of this 'growth' thing - I must say that I find the concept of 'growth' a completely articifial one, and one that may be found in novel heroes (particularly in novels that try to be clever), but not in rea...

So then why does that travelogue work in the books? Do we need some outright heroism to contrast with Sam and Frodo's quiet resolve? Do we require the presence of some archetypal story elements to give the tale some scope, some sweep? Aragorn may not change much, but he is revealed throughout the t...

Does anyone else read at the dinner table? It's awfully rude, I know, but when my daughters are both here for dinner, all three of us are to be seen reading books while we eat. I always bring a book with me to dinner, but then I almost always eat alone. Hobby, there's a bookstore near me that has a...

That is quite a lucky find, Jn. A Tolkien collection like that is clearly more important. tinwë, that is such a beautiful bookcase and it looks even finer with all of those nice, solid books in it. I still can't believe you made it. I, not suprisingly, have the same problem with books. I've gotten m...

Hobby, Johanna is Sweeney's long lost daughter. She's been locked up in a mental institute at this point, IIRC.

I replied over on B77, but I'll add my for the Johanna quartet again. And you doubted you'd be able to pull off Sweeney. To that I say: Pfffft.

Mahima!!

Ditto what Voronwë said (and also hoping for clips soon).

Oo, love the Epiphany photo! :D That one looks like what people tend to envision when I mention my "Internet friends." At first I thought you were talking about the photo from the newspaper and was wondering if we were the throat slitters or the throat slittees. And honestly, I'm still not...

I am very suprised that LOTR topped To Kill a Mockingbird. It's been a long time since I read the latter, but that was a brilliant movie and it has Gregory Peck. LOTR was great and I won't argue that it wasn't well adapted, but I do think it could have been better. I'm also suprised to see Princess ...

Mea culpa. I really can read.

And -- oh no! Who dumps Tom Stoppard? That's just crazy.

Pullman damns Tom Stoppard’s initial script with faint praise: ”I thoroughly enjoyed reading [it]. However, it wasn’t what the studio wanted, so the process began again.” Probably too intelligent and literate for a Hollywood studio! So is pretty much everything Tom Stoppard as written. However, so ...

Nifty! I watched all three the other night and really enjoyed all of them. Looks like a terrific production and you have a very nice voice.

Vidal was the most chilling portrait of evil I've ever seen on screen, I think. The other one would be Ralph Fienne's vapid, vicious Amon Goth in 'Schindler's List'. Goth, however, is more of a believable, three-dimensional human being ... just the kind of petty, small-minded person capable of enor...

That makes me feel so much better. Thank you.

I suspect I may be alone in this, but I found it to be an intensely beautiful film. Not at all! Oh, good! :) It is beautiful, even lyrical at times, especially if one averts one's gaze from the torture and brutality (which I had to do too in some cases). The sylvan setting accounts for part of that...

I'm jumping on the boat a bit late here, but I just saw this movie and I would really like to discuss it. Spoilers galore contained below. I suspect I may be alone in this, but I found it to be an intensely beautiful film. The more I think about it, the more I love it. Aesthetically, it was just ama...

Frelga, I agree with ax and with the serious part of your previous post. Being humourless is no fun at all. To get back on topic, if we're looking for 'autobiographical' characters in Tolkien's work, what about Faramir? Although his story may bear little resemblance to Tolkien's own (except for the ...

But I stand by my assertion that of all of Tolkien characters, Túrin best reflects Tolkien's life experiences and his outlook on the world. Better than the hobbits? Especially Frodo or Sam? To put it another way--the horror of Beleg's death feels real because JRRT understood the emotion. The yearni...