I was just reading some stuff on wikipedia. Tolkien was saying he sort of represents pacificism, and I’m like he’s the Swiss!, only to find bchad already wrote it.
Some people surmise that TB is one of the great gods (whoever that is in MIddle-Earth. The Valar, I think? Or the Einar?)
In order to be fair, a Hobbit movie (or trilogy) that mirrored the book would really suck. There would be no plot, no continuity, no real “bad guy”, and just a bunch of Gimlis running around (which wouldn’t be very aesthetically pleasing).
It would just be, “We started a quest. Then this happened. Then this happened. Then this happened. Then this happened. Roll credits.”
^You’re inferring (or your source is) a lot from what Tolkien actually said about TB, which was very little. He’s most definitive response was saying he didn’t rightly know what TB was nor was he ever going to answer the question.
TB is most certainly not a neutral party, he’s a good dude. There aren’t many characters in Tolkien’s universe that don’t align themselves to one side or the other (in contrast to George RR Martin who doesn’t believe in black or white characters). TB helps Frodo and friends, kicks some barrow-wright ass, is one of the only living creatures Treebeard is interested in, and has Gandalf’s respect (after the ring is destroyed, Gandalf says he has to have a long talk with TB).
The reason he wasn’t more proactive during the war is because it didn’t concern him. He set his boundaries and within them his rule is absolute. He would not venture outside of them unless, perhaps, all the free folk of Middle-Earth asked him to do so, and even them he wouldn’t be happy about it. Not because he’s not on the side of good…he’s just that far removed from everyone else. Which supports the theory he’s actually one of the Valar or even Eru himself.
Edit: That was for jmh.
To be fair, the Hobbit (book) did kind of suck. For people like me that take this shit too seriously, The Hobbit messes up some of the mythos.
the silmarillion was boring as heck. personally never finished. but itd prolly be better as a movie.
^The rights to the Silmarillion is owned by Christopher Tolkien (who is still alive), and he did not like Peter Jackson’s LOTR movies. So he said that he will not allow the Silmarillion to be made into a movie.
FTR–I’ve never read the Silmarillion. I did not like the LOTR books. The Hobbit book was okay.
lotr books was really good. hobbit i couldnt finish.
I hear this often I really don’t understand it. Sure, the first 20 pages read like the Book of Genesis, but after that it contains the best stories in Tolkien’s legendarium. Fingolfin going 1x1 with Morgoth is probably the best part of anything Tolkien’s done.
Still, not an easy read for sure. I think a movie would be a train wreck though. The Sil is comprised of several short stories that are only tangentially related. I mean, there wouldn’t be a lot or reasoning behind a movie that had both the story of Beren and Luthien and the Children of Hurin in it. I’d be a tough, tough job.
SIL wasn’t easy to read, and it didn’t get interesting until maybe 1/3 into the book because hte first few chapters are like reading how the universe was created. They’re more like short novels and don’t have much bearing on the later stories except to build the mythos. My favourite story in the book was Turin Turumbar and Glorfindel and the fall of Gondolin
It seems like it is more efficient to just read all the Wiki pages for this stuff.
^Cliff Notes are always more efficient. Less rewarding though.
It’s something to read before reaching full adulthood. You won’t have time to read it later on. It’s worth reading because the prose is great, and for completeness sake.
^That’s not true at all. The Sil isn’t that hard to read. It’s not an engineering textbook after all. It just represents a huge universe that one can easily get lost in. Same can be said for The Song of Ice and Fire books. They can be tough to follow, but that’s part of the appeal.
i read song of ice and fire. the first one at least. it was a really good read. i stopped after the first one cuz well my time is better spent watching the hbo series. and lol yea. wiki for everything. i remember a professor who told me not to use wikipedia as a reference. so i used the footnote on wikipedia as the reference. today before i read a 10-k. i go to wikipedia or investor relations presentation first. lol
You have to appreciate his prose. Most people don’t.
I stopped reading Song of Ice and Fire after they started talking about all those Island guys. You already spend so much time learning who everyone else is. Then, the books are like, oh by the way, there is this whole new bunch of people that have nothing to do with the 1000 pages you just read. I don’t have the patience to go through all that again.
^That’s too bad. Euron/Benjen/Daario/Coldhands/Syrio is a great character.
Bump. Anybody else care to chime in before Friday?
I thought LOTR was boring, dense, verbose, and childish. There I said it.