Blood Posted June 26, 2014 Share Posted June 26, 2014 I think its also interesting to point out that the person who helped him convert was none other than JRR Tolkien, a devout Catholic who wrote another book you may have heard of. As far as I know, JRR never wrote a book about his religion, though, did he? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubtingNate Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Not that I know of, Blood, but he is on record saying that LOTR is a 'fundamentally Catholic' work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gall Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Not that I know of, Blood, but he is on record saying that LOTR is a 'fundamentally Catholic' work. Great and I have no problem at all taking simple pleasure from a fictional story while completely ignoring anything outside of my entertainment. Those that want to read into the other aspects of his work can. I choose to just see it as any other scifi/fantasy book I have read by secular authors and they really are not any different unless you want them to be. There is always a hero and villian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubtingNate Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Of course. That was not meant as a slam. I am a huge fan of Tolkien, and Catholicism is a rich and deep well for mythical archetypes, and there is plenty of great literature written by Catholics; flannery O'Conner for instance. To me the symbolism, theology, etc. In Tolkien makes it more interesting. But it is not a requirement to enjoy a good story. Middle Earth is a product of Tolkiens religion, his experiences as a soldier in world war 1, and his desire to create a his own mythology for Britain and to play with some of the languages and poetry he made up. I wouldn't say LOTR is 'just another' fantasy though. It is really the first of its kind and hugely influential to subsequent fantasy/sci-fi authors that followed. Sorry for the detail. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gall Posted June 27, 2014 Share Posted June 27, 2014 Of course. That was not meant as a slam. I am a huge fan of Tolkien, and Catholicism is a rich and deep well for mythical archetypes, and there is plenty of great literature written by Catholics; flannery O'Conner for instance. To me the symbolism, theology, etc. In Tolkien makes it more interesting. But it is not a requirement to enjoy a good story. Middle Earth is a product of Tolkiens religion, his experiences as a soldier in world war 1, and his desire to create a his own mythology for Britain and to play with some of the languages and poetry he made up. I wouldn't say LOTR is 'just another' fantasy though. It is really the first of its kind and hugely influential to subsequent fantasy/sci-fi authors that followed. Sorry for the detail. maybe not what we are use to in the modern era but I think that Homer or whoever wrote gilgamesh were the first fantasy writers. at least I read that stuff the same way I read modern day epics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubtingNate Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 Yes, naturally 'fantasy' goes back further than Tolkien; however for fantasy worldbuilding in the context of a modern English novel, Tolkien's work is groundbreaking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator TheRedneckProfessor Posted July 1, 2014 Super Moderator Share Posted July 1, 2014 Yes, naturally 'fantasy' goes back further than Tolkien; however for fantasy worldbuilding in the context of a modern English novel, Tolkien's work is groundbreaking. I'm not sure I would use the term "groundbreaking" given that Tolkien, as well as Lewis, were both heavily influenced by the fantasy novels of George MacDonald. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Castiel233 Posted July 1, 2014 Share Posted July 1, 2014 As a kid, I loved The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. I had no clue it had anything to do with xianity until I was much older and someone told me. I always loved the idea of going through the back of a dusty old wardrobe into another world. And Edmund is fed Turkish Delight, which sounded awesome, and as an adult I absolutely LOVE it! Especially rose-flavored Turkish Delight. Mmmm. Rose and pistachio. I never read the rest of the series as a kid. I never knew they existed, sadly enough (I love libraries and books, so I don't know how that happened). In high school, I found out there was a whole series and I had friends that had liked them, so I tried reading them and found them horrible and tedious. I still liked The Lion, The Witch, etc. After I found out it was some xian allegory, it smacked me on the head with its obviousness and I didn't enjoy it as much. I tried reading some of his "adult" stuff, but never enjoyed it. Tedious, obvious, etc. And too much blahblahblah. I thought all the sons of Adam and daughters stuff, in the Lion , the witch and the wardrobe was a bit suspect, even prior to hearing "the good news" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DoubtingNate Posted July 2, 2014 Share Posted July 2, 2014 Yes, naturally 'fantasy' goes back further than Tolkien; however for fantasy worldbuilding in the context of a modern English novel, Tolkien's work is groundbreaking. I'm not sure I would use the term "groundbreaking" given that Tolkien, as well as Lewis, were both heavily influenced by the fantasy novels of George MacDonald. It goes back and back. The Beatles were groundbreaking and heavily influenced by Elvis, etc. nobody just creates something out of thin air with no influences. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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