Posted on 11/27/2001 8:56:31 PM PST by sourcery
I don't disagree with most of what you wrote, but I think it has to do with humility, not wisdom. Aragorn was so humble that he actually entered Minas Tirith in secret to heal those he could, but then left again and didn't claim his crown until he could do so without harming the alliance.
Denothor was not humble, and neither was Boromir. Both were full of themselves and their own power, as well as the power of Gondor. Farimir, on the other hand, was humble. Farimir also told Frodo that he would never handle "the thing" and then kept his promise once he discovered what "the thing" was.
Keep in mind that while most of our discussion touches on whether the men would use powerful objects, there is also the issue that Boromir had with the Stewards of Gondor continuing to wait for the King after so many generations. We are lead to believe that, had Boromir succeeded his father, he would have proclaimed himself king. That has nothing to do with objects of power.
So, was it wisdom or humility? Then again, can the two be completely divorced?
Shalom.
Hmmm, I daresay my younger sister loved the works more than I did and I loved them. After all, when I gave her Bored of the Rings to read she almost hit me. I still laugh about that book and I haven't seen a copy in over 20 years.
I sit on the floor and pick my nose
And think of wonderous things
Of deviant dwarves with a thing for toes
And elves who drub their dings.
Ahhh. Nothing like fine poetry to really spice up a story.
Yes, and that was nothing like fine poetry.
Go play with your Narcs, Sorehead! ;)
Shalom.
IMO Tom and Goldberry are two of the most important characters in the story, both for what they are and for what they are not. True, they refuse to get involved in things outside their own forest and that's not exactly admirable, but Tom, who is Master and the River's Daughter teach us all some very valuable lessons that are touched nowhere else in the books.
Shalom.
Not in my mind.
Methinks you and Tolkein would have been of one mind on this subject.
Hoom HRUM. I hope I am not being hasty.
Shalom.
I'm camping out.
No, I was asking if gays were going to boycott the actor because he appears in a movie based on a story written by a devout christian.
Another theme from the books is that "the great" might not have the greatest roles, and stupendous deeds may have to be done by the least great of the creatures, like soft, complacent Hobbits. In fact, when the greatest of The Great get too big for their britches, it's only "the little" than can take them down.
Yet another theme expounded in the books is that of passing, loss, and diminishment. And even the destruction of Sauron brings about the slow fading of all the creatures except Men themselves. Yet all the free creatures of Middle Earth realize that they have to pay that price, in order to free the universe from Sauron's evil. It takes a special kind of courage to fight a war where the only outcomes are your eternal enslavement to evil, or the slow fading of your kind, while the far less noble Man gradually ascends. There is a strong theme of sadness and loss, even in victory, present in the work.
I've read these books many times, but manage to notice different themes each time I read them. This time around, I'm noticing the feeling of cold, misery, fear, and doubt that dogs the characters when they're not resting in some blessed oasis like Rivendell, or up to their armpits in orcs. It's a common feeling for anyone who's been in the military, and something Tolkien remembers from WW1, while he writes to his son, in WW2.
Eowyn was a strong character, I've always thought higher of women like her than like "Charlie's Angels". For a young girl (I was sixth grade when I read the books), what better role model?
Ican'twaitIcan'twaitIcan'twait!!!!
His first action as a proclaimed heir was to go to the Stone of Erech and claim the fealty that the dead owed Elendil.
Isildur instead of Elendil
That's true. To me, it was a tease. I thought they would come back later in the series. To introduce such powerful characters only to have them drift away wasn't what I wanted to see.
Will Fangorn and the Ents be in The Two Towers? I don't seen them listed in the The Two Towers credits.
I thought that Elendil called them to fight by his side at the last alliance of Men and Elves. When did Isildur in his short reign call on them?
The key is in understanding Tom as master. Tom is master of himself, not of Middle Earth. That's why the ring has no impact on him. The ring can't master him because Tom is master.
Tom is a person who is totally at home with who he is and his place in the world. He does not desire adventure for its own sake, nor fame, nor glory, nor wealth. All he desires is to love his lady and be loved by her. He has his part and doesn't try to go playing someone else's. In Christian terms, he doesn't see every opportunity as a calling, but waits patiently until he is called. Because he so thoroughly trusts in G-d for who he is, he can resist the opportunity to try to step outside of his calling.
Shalom.
Bev? What are you doing on Free Republic?
Oh, sorry Ma'am. Easy mistake.
Outstanding.
Is it the little, or the humble?
BTW: One of my Sunday School teachers was talking about the passage where Jesus said, "You must enter the Kingdom like a little child" (blew the quote but got the sense). He was asking, "What are some of the characteristics of children that Jesus might have been talking about." The answer he was looking for (but never got out of us) is that they're little.
Worth a lot of thinking.
Shalom.
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