tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5076308692811460989.post1767694273626824676..comments2023-05-27T05:31:01.955-07:00Comments on The Story Girl: LOTR Read-along: The Return of the King (September Post)LLhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11194834748090369779noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5076308692811460989.post-89370683616802152792011-10-06T15:23:23.024-07:002011-10-06T15:23:23.024-07:00@ Pepca - I'm excited to see what you think ab...@ Pepca - I'm excited to see what you think about the Silmarillion! I am really loving it so far. i read it a long time ago but have forgotten almost everything, so it should be a good little revisit. <br /><br />@ Christopher - Thank you! I have really been wanting to read the Eddas because I know that they were a huge inspiration to both Lewis and Tolkien. I haven't taken the initiative to start yet, but I'm looking forward to the day that I do. And I actually have a copy of both books you mention, so I will hopefully add those to my reading stack pretty soon as well.<br /><br />@ Laura - I like what you say about the many endings - it is so true that real life is like that. We don't just get to kiss the hero and then glide by in life.LLhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11194834748090369779noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5076308692811460989.post-20240083178899563372011-09-30T16:38:26.443-07:002011-09-30T16:38:26.443-07:00The one complaint I hear about Return of the King,...The one complaint I hear about Return of the King, over and over again, is this: <b>It has so many endings.</b> People mostly say this about the movie, but the point is the same. And my response? Yes, it has so many endings. It's like real life, that way. No one <i>wants</i> to scour the Shire, or deal with Saruman, or watch Frodo leave the Havens. But Tolkien doesn't deal out simple happy endings. He doesn't give us what we want. He gives us what is. It doesn't all end on Mount Doom, or in Gondor, or even in the Shire. Things aren't neat and tidy and happy. They take time, and they hurt deeply. And Tolkien believes that having been through the whole journey, we deserve to know what really happens at the end. <br /><br />Or, as Frodo put it, "I tried to save the Shire, and it has been saved, but not for me. It must often be so, Sam, when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them."Laurahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04627042093021540440noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5076308692811460989.post-14545374709970983132011-09-30T09:56:03.580-07:002011-09-30T09:56:03.580-07:00Lorren, this is a wonderful review of a wonderfull...Lorren, this is a wonderful review of a wonderfully complex and amazingly timeless trilogy of novels. I think you've really captured the essence of "The Return of the King" with your character assessments. This was Tolkien's great retelling of elements of the Heroic Myths from antiquity (especially the Norse myths as told in both the "Prose" and "Poetic Eddas").<br /><br />Finally, I would strongly recommend that, at some point in time, you pick up and read Tolkien's "The Children of Hurin" and "The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun". Personally, I love both of them as much as I love the LotR trilogy. Great review and posting, and have a wonderful weekend. Cheers! ChrisChristopherhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00428150254760548485noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5076308692811460989.post-88135534328946498912011-09-30T07:20:30.664-07:002011-09-30T07:20:30.664-07:00Great post! It is true that The Return of the King...Great post! It is true that The Return of the King includes a lot of winding down, however it is delightful to observe how everything turns out. Sam's development is incredible as he becomes one of the crucial figures in the War. Faramir is one of my favorite characters and I was so happy for his and Eowyn's happy ending. <br /><br />You are right about allegory, Tolkien himself says in the foreword to the second edition of the LOTR that he rejects allegory in every form. Yet, the complexity of the issues treated in his work make the LOTR timeless and therefore easily for people to relate to <br /><br />It does seem it's just the two of us now, and we apparently think alike, as I decided to read The Silmarillion as the elective book, too:)<br /><br />I can't see the linky, so here is the link to my post: http://beyondstrangenewwords.blogspot.com/2011/09/journeyends-once-more-this-is-my.htmlJo Khttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00917704326736252690noreply@blogger.com