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[Will Layman]

Thanks to the various folks who tried to explain to me the magic of Tolkien.
I'm fascinated by the notion of the book(s) as an amalgamation of myths from
all over the world.  However, I have to confess that I still find the
writing turgid and style-less.

Here is an observation:

Apparently LORD OF THE RINGS very popular on college campuses in the 50s.  I
know it was very popular among nerdier high schoolers in my day -- the 70s.
Today it is all the rage among my son's elementary school set.

Perhaps forty years from now, fifth graders will be playing with Slothrop
action figures?

-- Will

On 9/18/04 1:48 AM, "Bekah" <bekah0176 at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> There is no metaphor or allegory. The only theme is "good vs evil"  Think Star
> Wars.
> 
> And maybe you should let your son tell you what it's about. The kids sometimes
> see more clearly.
> 
> Bekah
> 
> 
> 
> 
> At 11:07 PM -0400 9/16/04, Will Layman wrote:
>> I'm not carping or attempting to flame here, just asking a sincere question.
>> 
>> I've seen LORD OF THE RINGS on a couple of lists now, and I'm wondering how
>> folks on the list approach this work.  I've been reading the books (first
>> THE HOBBIT, then LOTR -- now on the last book) aloud to my ten year-old son
>> for the better part of a year (in small, bedtime increments), and I just
>> want to kill myself just about every night -- with the endless allusions to
>> other parts of the history of Middle Earth, long numbing asides exploring
>> characters we'll never see again, etc.
>> 
>> Surely it's all an elaborate and brilliant metaphor for World War One or
>> something, right?
>> 
>> How can I look at this differently to improve the coming months I will be
>> spending, between 9:30 and 10:00 PM Eastern, in places like "Minus Morgel"?
>> 
>> He'p me!
>> 
>> Will "The Tolkien Wary" Layman