I enjoy the movies; it's good to get them out and follow all the parts thru as a DVD Pigout. Jeff and I did that recently.

I think I'll just hang around for the discussion - don't think I'll get as far as opening a book.

Hi everyone.

I'm new to the forum so I don't know how you usually do these things, but I noticed a book I have actually read was being discussed, so I figoured I could write something.
It's many years since I read this book though, I read it some time after the LOTR film triology was finished, when Tolkien was quite "the thing" within my then very young social circle =)

Since I was just a child then, it wasn't that hard for me to imagine it being true.. a way I've thought when I read fantasy recently, which is kinda silly, is imagining it happens in a paralell universe with slightly different laws of physics that we don't know about.. =P

Looking forward to the Hobbit film adaption!

MushyMushroom, books allow us to forever remain children. When I read fantasy genre books like "The Hobbit" or any of the Lord of the Rings books I feel as if what I'm reading is real and I'm a part of it. No other genre captivates me as fantasy does.

Suzanne wrote:Hollywood has transformed the fairy by way of Tinkerbell into this sweet smiling creature that little girls around the world love. However, the truth about fairies would make the girls of the United States quiver with fear. Fairies are creatures to be afraid of, terrified of, and many countries still believe in the fairy faith. Many people in England and Wales still place saucers of milk outside their doors to keep the fairies happy.

One of the ways Tolkien addressed this issue was in the way he spelled the word. According to tolkiengateway.net,

J.R.R. Tolkien's concept of Faërie uses a deliberate variant spelling of fairy. While both spellings derive from Middle English faie ("possessing magical powers"), the name fairy carries connotations of 'prettiness'. Tolkien wanted to distance himself from this modern sense, and by using Faërie (variants included Faery and Fayery) he sought "connotations older and considerably darker".

As you say, Suzanne.

I'm new here, and am pleased to see the interest in The Hobbit and the LOTR series. Several years ago I read The Hobbit, followed by the 3 LOTR books. I read them as an adult, and thought they were pure magic. Tolkien is a brilliant wordsmith, and some of his text is almost poetic. I've seen the 3 LOTR movies, and am currently re-reading The Hobbit because next months I'll be seeing the movie with my son and grandson.

Tolkien was a devout Catholic and his novels, especially The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit abound with Catholic and Christian symbolism and meaning. That being said, The Hobbit is not an allegory. But The Hobbit can be a religious work without being an allegory. Remember that Tolkien is on record as saying that the Lord of the Rings was “a fundamentally religious and Catholic work." So, we must still believe that the work is religious in nature without strict allegory.

"The Lord of the Rings is of course a fundamentally religious and Catholic work; unconsciously so at first, but consciously in the revision. That is why I have not put in, or have cut out, practically all references to anything like 'religion', to cults or practices, in the imaginary world. For the religious element is absorbed into the story and the symbolism."
Carpenter, Humphrey (1995). The Letters of J. R. R. Tolkien, Houghton Mifflin. ISBN 0-618-05699-8, Letter no. 142, page 172.

Checkout the appendices for TLOTR: The fellowship of the ring begin their mission on December 25 (Christmas), and their story climaxes exactly three months later, on March 25 (in the traditional English calendar, the date of the Fall of Man, the Annunciation, and the Crucifixion).

While The Hobbit is not exactly a prequel to TLOTR, it fulfills that role and the images and story elements which form the foundation for TLOTR are present. Tolkien was a devout Catholic all his life and to excise religion from the fabric of The Hobbit and TLOTR does a disservice to him, and to those studying the works since you cannot understand the books with one eye closed.

Interesting. I had no idea that Tolkien purposely and consciously connected this amazing series to his religion. Thanks for sharing this.

If you're interested in finding out more about the context the Hobbit was written in, Humphrey Carpenter has a book called The Inklings, which is the group of writers that Tolkein interacted with, and which included fellow fantasy writers C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams. It's interesting to read the books they produced and see how they're dealing with religious themes in very different ways.

I'm primarily interested in reading and enjoying the story. To me the thrill is in being immersed in the fantasy world of Middle-earth. The symbolism and religious undertones are trivial to me and I certainly am not interested in studying them. I think it is wonderful that there are people that do enjoy this sort of research (and summarize and share their findings with me) but for me the fantasy world is what intrigues me.

I'm with Chris on this issue; I personally just read the story as a fantasy, and enjoy it.