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09-01-2007, 06:09 PM | #1 |
Loremaster of Annúminas
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,300
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Well, however much Tolkien may have benefited from the NHS, he was outraged by income tax, complaining that until his retirement it "took all my literary earnings."* Notwithstanding his Green opinions, Tolkien's politics have been aptly described as "Telegraph-reading Tory."
As an aside, everybody's political definitions vary; but I think 'state control of the means of production' is a decent working definition of Socialism, which thereby would certainly include Atlee's nationalisation of mining, steel, autos etc, and a health system where the State actually owns and operates the hospitals, rather than just paying the bills. Besides, Atlee used to close his letters "Workers of the world unite!" *It seems that a large tax bill plus a lack of ready cash underlay his sale of the LR film rights!
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The entire plot of The Lord of the Rings could be said to turn on what Sauron didn’t know, and when he didn’t know it. |
09-02-2007, 01:53 AM | #2 | |
Illustrious Ulair
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Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties
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09-02-2007, 05:44 AM | #3 |
Loremaster of Annúminas
Join Date: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,300
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Ah, but the Ace affair didn't occcur until after his retirement in 1959.
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The entire plot of The Lord of the Rings could be said to turn on what Sauron didn’t know, and when he didn’t know it. |
09-02-2007, 07:35 AM | #4 |
Itinerant Songster
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: The Edge of Faerie
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The "gathering and sharing" in the chapter was used by the corrupt weilders of power as an excuse that the hobbits couldn't very well disagree with on the face of it; which is why they didn't have a ready answer for it until it was too late. The Hobbits are all about community and "gathering and sharing" is a great community ideal. That the weilders of power cheated the ruled by selling to a foreign entity and making a huge profit at the expense of the local ruled, resulting in shabby living conditions, does not in itself undermine the ideal of "gathering and sharing".
So is Tolkien writing a critique of socialist ideals, or of greed amongst rulers, or that a simple market economy in an agrarian society is to be preferred over a socialist? Or is it about how a community needs leaders with vast experience and wisdom beyond their immediate situation so they can see through the shallow lies of the corrupt weilders of power in order to lead their people to freedom? He's writing a story that may (or may not) have such applications but those are not what the story is about. It's about four hobbits who grew into their roles within the community by means of adventures none of them chose for themselves, but went willingly, and came back the better for them. |
09-02-2007, 09:21 AM | #5 | ||
A Mere Boggart
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Of course, The Shire was already a wonderful, utopian place to begin with - we don't see starving Hobbits - and the real world is quite different.
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09-16-2007, 08:22 PM | #6 |
Wight
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 101
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I like this chapter, and I remember my brother (now deceased) who introduced me to Tolkien back in 1974 telling me that it was his favorite chapter in the series when I specifically asked him what was his favorite chapter? He did not go into much detail as to why, probably because he was 7 years older than I.
My favorite portion back then, and still to this day, is the first book in which the four hobbits begin their journey by themselves. My favorite cahpter has always been At The Sign Of The Prancing Pony, but my all time favorite scene is when Gandalf is confronting the Captain of the Nazgul with Pippin cowering in terror as the horns of Rohan blow in the distance. Merry
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09-17-2007, 07:09 PM | #7 |
Wight
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 101
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I have also felt that Tolkien was influenced by Charles Dickens, especially with the Pickwick Papers. Has anyone else noticed any similarities between LotR and Pickwick Papers?
Merry
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"If I yawn again, I shall split at the ears!" |
09-18-2007, 03:28 AM | #8 |
Itinerant Songster
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: The Edge of Faerie
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No, but I always felt that I ought to read The Pickwick Papers, and given this encouragement, I think I shall.
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09-18-2007, 07:46 AM | #9 |
Wight
Join Date: Dec 2001
Posts: 101
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The Pickwick Papers, altough it is not a work of fantasy, influenced LotR somewhat in the servant/master relationship between Frodo and Samwise. I see the very same type of relationship between Pickwick and his servant, Samivel. Samivel reminds me in many ways of Samwise Gamgee.
By the way, be prepared to laugh out loud through parts of The Pickwick Papers.
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"If I yawn again, I shall split at the ears!" |
05-19-2016, 05:02 PM | #10 |
Itinerant Songster
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: The Edge of Faerie
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I'm drawn to this thread again because I'm reading "The Scouring of the Shire" for the 6th time.
I'm struck by the modern feel of it compared to the rest of the book. It has a similar feel, to my mind, as "The Grapes of Wrath," "Animal Farm," and other works of the period. Something in the air, I suppose... |
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