book of the century

[CyrusGeo at netscape.net]

Doug Millison wrote:

>  Although its popularity is unparalleled, intellectuals dismiss "The Lord of
>  the Rings" as boyish fantasy.

I dare say this is not surprising. "Intellectuals" have also dismissed Sci-Fi as childish and unworthy of serious discussion. I think the reason may be that they find it quite difficult to accept the fact that myth-making is such an integral part of human civilization. Each culture --perhaps each community, however small-- has constructed its own myths, in order to convey basic "truths" (i.e. beliefs of the community) to its younger members. Therefore, myths are never "lies". They are an effective way of helping the members of the community or culture acquire knowledge and tradition that has to be passed on.
How does this relate to Tolkien and Sci-Fi?
Well, myth construction (if nicely done) has a peculiar way of exposing fundamental aspects of human nature, thus becoming extremely interesting. Good Sci-Fi novels invariably do this. Tolkien goes one step further, in the sense that he also includes in his trilogy the fundamental religious (well... Christian, anyway) concept of the perennial battle between Good and Evil. In the end, of course, Good must triumph.
To put it more plainly, people need a mythology of their own time, something they can relate to and identify with. And The Lord Of The Rings surely qualifies, moreover providing a whole new universe one can build upon. This is no small feat.

I don't really know how clear all this is, but I had to try.

Cyrus

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