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The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
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The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien
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I agree. I used to have a fairly shallow vision about what a book, or play had to offer. Now, I'd tell you I thought I could really get deep into things. I've found that the older I get, the easier it is to understand the meaning in things or that crazy symbology my teachers talked about. I don't have to give the glassy eyed head nod and repeat back as often as I used to. I may not have gotten smarter (actually, sometimes I feel dumber than ever) but I guess I did got a little deeper.
Or just crazier.
I think a little bit of both! I went to see Hamlet at The Lowry in Manchester last year and I thought it was awful. It could possibly have been the modern take on it, the really far away seats or maybe the fact I was so tired and boiling (my head was nodding, I got nudged by my friend more than once). This was the first play I have ever been to and I felt so dissapointed with it.
It's also dependent upon the type of mind you have. Some people are naturally artistically minded and can understand abstract concepts more easily than others whereas some people think in more linear, logical patterns. Amongst my friends I'm one of a few more abstract thinkers.Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: The more books you read from a period, the more it makes sense to your brain.
Yes and no for me I guess. I mean having read Narnia and Tolkien really early on did make me used to their styles but then I read so many styles so words in general make sense to me. When words make sense then stories make sense. So its more the words that people use which I understand then books like The Hobbit are easily understood.
I just have to add a little story re symbolism in literature. I went to an author event some years back. She had had one of her books picked for the Oprah book club some years BEFORE the event when I saw her. She talked about all the secrecy surrounding that; she wasn't allowed to tell ANYONE - except her husband (IF she knew he could keep a secret). Anyway, before the show she gets a call from Oprah herself, who wants to ask some questions in prep for the show.
Bear in mind that the publication process means that a writer may not see the book in print for a year or more after finishing it. And she's deep into writing her next book already.
So, Oprah calls and starts asking question of Author. One of the questions is "what was the meaning of the white cat?" Author says, without thinking, "There was a cat in my book?!"
So sometimes symbolism is just in the eye/mind of the reader, and not at all intended by the author. (Not to say our high school English teacher was wrong ... but ... )
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Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "I find reading books very subjective to the particular reader. That's what I love about them."I totally agree.
Lady Danielle "The Book Huntress" wrote: "I find reading books very subjective to the particular reader. That's what I love about them."True enough. Although in reference to the symbolism every author will write things in that may be a result of their subconscious thoughts. So that white cat could be because they saw one earlier at the time, or they like white cats, or they were thinking about white cats or because it suited the story. All stories are still constructs put together and I love how you can look at a novel and enjoy the fun of it and also delve deeper too.
Yes, it also means that in most cases there can be tons of different interpretation so when studying works - I studied Wide Sargaso Sea, and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time lst year and Hamlet and Rosencrantz and Guildenstein are Dead - there aren't really any wrong answers aslong as you back it up with evidence and it isn't too ambiguous!
True, I studied Literature the past two years and hope to continue at University level next year. The one thing I've learnt is how books can be viewed through post-modernist, modernist, religious, secularist, Freudian, Jungian, feminist, Marxist and other various philosophical and theoretical perspectives. In many cases I haven't necessarily agreed with the theories but I still can convincingly write about how they're present in the text...
Yes, I would say I steer towards modernism, religion and feminism myself (though it can't be said I am a great feminist or highly religious). What is Jungian?My friend is also going on to read literature at uni next year. She has an interview for Cambridge next week. (I on the other hand haven't had any offers yet!)
Jungian is another psychological theoretical perspective. Basically it's named after Carl Jung who discussed a lot about the darkness within humanity, believed in basically a sort of collective consciousness and discussed a lot about conflict. He is considered the sort of father of analytical psychology. Speaking about Literature have you gone on to read other Tolkien novels? They're each very different. A lot of authors I've read tend to write similarly for each novel but with Tolkien the tone and language used changes for each tale.
Thanks for that description of Jungian.No, I haven't read any other works from Tolkien. I bought the Lord of the Rings trilogy last year from my local book shop but haven't started yet. I agree that alot of authors have their own syle which distinguishes them from other authors. I think the fact that Tolkien changes his style may mean he was as you say more comfortable with his novels after The Hobbit, or something altogether different?
I am looking forward to reading that now, though being in one book, the LotR trilogy seemed quite daunting to me before. Which of his works would you rank as his best?
I would rank them differently for different audiences. I would have to say that the Hobbit has a wider appeal as it is easier to read through while The Lord of the Rings sits between it and The Silmarillion. Personally I'd say The Silmarillion is his greatest work (it was his life's work) but it's not a novel everyone can read and enjoy as it's more mythical. I do however love The Lord of the Rings for its sweeping storyline, its darker themes and for being such a defining novel. It's brilliant and although its difficult to get into at first I find that once the adventure begins the story picks up pace.
It is odd how The Silmarillion which you say is Tolkien's life work and your favourite is (as I personally have never heard of it) his least famous work. Do you think this is possibly to do with LotR films, and The Hobbit being more accessable?
Actually The Silmarillion is not his least famous work, he's written a whole heap more that was published. But yes I think the Lord of the Rings films, the upcoming The Hobbit film and the intake of the books into popular culture influence the favoritism of his work. The Silmarillion was worked on through his life and only published after he died (in 1970).
That is such a shame. That is one commonality with the 'arts', that many aren't recognised until the author is deceased. Do you write or just study English?
Which ones are you attempting? Is it tricky to read?
You don't need too great a knowledge of the Norse background however to understand The Silmarillion, it's just nice to look at it and go so that's where the information came from. Nicolle wrote: "That is such a shame. That is one commonality with the 'arts', that many aren't recognised until the author is deceased. Do you write or just study English?"
Well as part of my study of books and so forth I do write various essays. I currently have a draw full of essays from the past year. I love to both write and read, the English language fascinates me.
And Michael I'd suggest reading Tolkien's The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun, it's also been published after his death and focussed on the epic poetry which fueled his work. It was his own attempt at writing a version of the epic.
I listened to this on audio. I tried reading it and couldn't stick with it, but I enjoyed the audio. I read it because I am determined to read "Lord of the Rings" and everyone told me to read this one first.
A childhood favourite. :) This is an amazing book, and I am really excited to read it to my children one day!
I really need to re-read this. Haven't opened it for years.
Classics for Beginners
Books mentioned in this topic
The Silmarillion (other topics)The Book of Lost Tales 1 (other topics)
There and Back Again: The Map of the Hobbit (other topics)
There and Back Again: The Map of the Hobbit (other topics)
There and Back Again: The Map of the Hobbit (other topics)
I never liked reading Shakespeare's plays (or any other playwright's plays, for that matter). The works are intended to be performed. I LOVE to go to the theater to see a Shakespeare play!