Well...it is finally official...the semester is ending and that means the official end of my college career! I will be graduating May 9th...I'm still in shock, it is one of those circumstances where you know that it will end eventually, but when the end finally arrives you are surprised that it is here...(no matter how long you've been in school!)
I was looking forward to the very last Tolkien class today. I was greatly anticipating the conversation about Beren and Luthien. (Awesome story) and to my shock, disappointment and uncertain happiness the class was cancelled. *sigh* I was happy just because it was a knee-jerk reaction for any senior to celebrate when they hear a class has been cancelled, even if it is a class that they enjoy! As soon as I expressed my happiness I was immediately ashamed and to be honest sad. It hit me that there would be know more awesome discussions about J.R.R. Tolkien and that my awesome class for the semester had actually come to a 'faster than the speed of light' end. It never fails that the classes you don't want to end, end way too soon and the ones you want to end, take forever to get everything finalized.
Now the only thing left for me to do with my Tolkien class is take the final (which is open book and online) and then finish up my 12 page paper on Gollum! I've thoroughly enjoyed the class and even if you can't tell it from my ramblings on this blog...I've learned a lot...
Until Next Time *My Precious*
XOXO,
Julia
Friday, April 15, 2011
Saturday, April 9, 2011
The Silmarillion
So it is Saturday! The topic for discussion in yesterday's class was The Silmarillion or as I like to call it, the Tolkien Bible...That is because the first 150 pages of this book really reads like the Bible...However, the subjcet matter is all about the creation of Middle-Earth and all of the beings that live there.
I have to admit that the content is very complex, because there is a lot of explanation regarding family lines and how different races were created, but it is still extremely fascinating to me...Once you get past the initial confusion and really start to focus on what the content is saying, it becomes pretty interesting.
I find it fascinating that Tolkien wrote this before the Hobbit or LOTR books. It shows just how detailed his thoughts and ideas about the world and characters were. As an aspiring writer I find his abilities and talents to create not only a mythical world that seems so really, but along with it languages that can really be spoken and a history that can really be traced, are truly remarkable. He is a genius in every sense of the word and I find myself so envious of him. And yet he seemed humble, telling in a letter that all stories end up in the same place eventually, lining the wastepaper basket! (I don't know if his comments were truthful or if he was being snarky, which he could've been...How could he NOT have known what kind of masterpiece he had compiled?) Whether he was being honest or not, I find myself in unending awe of him and I wish I could be like him...but who doesn't wish that??
Anyway, back to the Silmarillion...We will be discussing the second part of the book next week..Which should be more exciting, because this half reads more like a story or narrative. It also tells about Beren and Luthien (these are the names Tolkien had engraved on his and his wife's headstones...so romantic!) which is an epic love story, of the first human and elf couple..I'm really excited and can't wait to finish up with these stories!
Until Then..
XOXO,
Julia
I have to admit that the content is very complex, because there is a lot of explanation regarding family lines and how different races were created, but it is still extremely fascinating to me...Once you get past the initial confusion and really start to focus on what the content is saying, it becomes pretty interesting.
I find it fascinating that Tolkien wrote this before the Hobbit or LOTR books. It shows just how detailed his thoughts and ideas about the world and characters were. As an aspiring writer I find his abilities and talents to create not only a mythical world that seems so really, but along with it languages that can really be spoken and a history that can really be traced, are truly remarkable. He is a genius in every sense of the word and I find myself so envious of him. And yet he seemed humble, telling in a letter that all stories end up in the same place eventually, lining the wastepaper basket! (I don't know if his comments were truthful or if he was being snarky, which he could've been...How could he NOT have known what kind of masterpiece he had compiled?) Whether he was being honest or not, I find myself in unending awe of him and I wish I could be like him...but who doesn't wish that??
Anyway, back to the Silmarillion...We will be discussing the second part of the book next week..Which should be more exciting, because this half reads more like a story or narrative. It also tells about Beren and Luthien (these are the names Tolkien had engraved on his and his wife's headstones...so romantic!) which is an epic love story, of the first human and elf couple..I'm really excited and can't wait to finish up with these stories!
Until Then..
XOXO,
Julia
Monday, April 4, 2011
LOTR
I'm a little behind on that second blog for Friday, but got a little sidetracked...
The discussion on Friday covered all three books in the LOTR Trilogy. The biggest things discussed was the character of Gollum. Whether or not his tumble into the fires of Mount Doom was really an accident or him unconsciously knowing that he had to destroy himself and the Ring if he wanted to keep it forever. This discussion had some back and forths to it. Some believed that it was entirely accidental, (I was one of them) because in my mind without the "accident" of him falling it wouldn't have been a providential occurrence and Gollum would've been a martyr. Tolkien doesn't want Gollum to be seen as a martyr, or at least I don't think he does, because in Tolkien's mind Gollum was a damnable creature that made all of his decisions based on selfish reasons.
This dicussion led to another interesting question. Was Gollum redeemed in the end of the story for being the one to destory the Ring? I have to admit at first I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but the more I thought about how Tolkien felt about his own character, the more I decided that Gollum probably wasn't redeemed for his choices in the end, because he didn't want to be and because he wasn't really in a state of mind to be redeemed. He was happy because he had the Ring and he wasn't really thinking about anything else in that moment.
The third and final thing discussed was this...Who was the hero of the story? Was it Frodo, Sam, Gollum, Aragorn, Gandalf?? Who did you think the true hero was? And that question is what I leave for anyone out there reading this to ponder...Who do you think the hero is?
This Friday is the Silmarillion...should be interesting..
Until Then.
XOXO,
Julia
The discussion on Friday covered all three books in the LOTR Trilogy. The biggest things discussed was the character of Gollum. Whether or not his tumble into the fires of Mount Doom was really an accident or him unconsciously knowing that he had to destroy himself and the Ring if he wanted to keep it forever. This discussion had some back and forths to it. Some believed that it was entirely accidental, (I was one of them) because in my mind without the "accident" of him falling it wouldn't have been a providential occurrence and Gollum would've been a martyr. Tolkien doesn't want Gollum to be seen as a martyr, or at least I don't think he does, because in Tolkien's mind Gollum was a damnable creature that made all of his decisions based on selfish reasons.
This dicussion led to another interesting question. Was Gollum redeemed in the end of the story for being the one to destory the Ring? I have to admit at first I wasn't sure how I felt about that, but the more I thought about how Tolkien felt about his own character, the more I decided that Gollum probably wasn't redeemed for his choices in the end, because he didn't want to be and because he wasn't really in a state of mind to be redeemed. He was happy because he had the Ring and he wasn't really thinking about anything else in that moment.
The third and final thing discussed was this...Who was the hero of the story? Was it Frodo, Sam, Gollum, Aragorn, Gandalf?? Who did you think the true hero was? And that question is what I leave for anyone out there reading this to ponder...Who do you think the hero is?
This Friday is the Silmarillion...should be interesting..
Until Then.
XOXO,
Julia
Friday, April 1, 2011
A Little Tolkien Fun
Hello All...
I am going to be writing 2 blogs...This one is just for fun since I missed writing this past Friday. (It was Spring Break!) Anyway...I was recently sent a video that I thought was so funny and so much fun, that I had to share it with everyone else.
I hope it doesn't offend and major Tolkien fans, because I really like Tolkien too, but I just really liked this video also. I don't think it does any real harm, it just pokes fun at the Lord of the Rings.
With that said..I hope you get a laugh or at the very least a smile from this. I know I did!
--Julia
I am going to be writing 2 blogs...This one is just for fun since I missed writing this past Friday. (It was Spring Break!) Anyway...I was recently sent a video that I thought was so funny and so much fun, that I had to share it with everyone else.
I hope it doesn't offend and major Tolkien fans, because I really like Tolkien too, but I just really liked this video also. I don't think it does any real harm, it just pokes fun at the Lord of the Rings.
With that said..I hope you get a laugh or at the very least a smile from this. I know I did!
--Julia
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