Author
|
Topic: The Roles of Hobbits and Men (Read 302 times)
|
|
Storyteller ~RSF~
Resident Sean Fan
*
 Offline
Gender: 
Posts: 1763
Little One
 
|
 |
The Roles of Hobbits and Men
« on: July 02, 2007, 05:17:09 pm »
|
|
When I first started studying LOTR, long ago..really...long ago.. I found a quote about the way Tolkien uses certain races that has always been a favorite of mine. I'd love to hear what you think of it, if you agree or disagree and why, etc. Wish I could remember who wrote it,. It wasn't me.
The quote is this:
"In LOTR, hobbits represent Man as he is, and Men represent Man as he COULD be."
Do you think this is plausible and why?
Hugs,
Rach
|
|
|
|
m
Be yourself. Let who you are, what you are, what you believe, shine through every sentence you write, every piece you finish.
*
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 3707
Going against the grain of society
|
|
Re:The Roles of Hobbits and Men
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2007, 04:19:25 am »
|
|
Erm...hmm. In LOTR, hobbits have imperfections - ie. Frodo could not destroy the ring, his human-ness held him back. Mybe the author of the quote meant that the Men in LOTR are very brave and almost unnaturally strong-willed, so this is what men aspire to be rather than what they are? Obviously Boromir with his weakness for the Ring is an exception. Sorry, I don't know if all that made much sense, I haven't studied LOTR!
|
|
|
|
miss sixty
I float away into the clouds as I am a born daydreamer.
*
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 6383
|
|
Re:The Roles of Hobbits and Men
« Reply #2 on: July 03, 2007, 05:26:48 am »
|
|
Quote from: Storyteller ~RSF~ on July 02, 2007, 05:17:09 pm
When I first started studying LOTR, long ago..really...long ago.. I found a quote about the way Tolkien uses certain races that has always been a favorite of mine. I'd love to hear what you think of it, if you agree or disagree and why, etc. Wish I could remember who wrote it,. It wasn't me.
The quote is this:
"In LOTR, hobbits represent Man as he is, and Men represent Man as he COULD be."
Do you think this is plausible and why?
Hugs,
Rach
|
Well I think the first part means the race of Men are like Hobbits..A friendly and loving race who will only go to battle if needed, the second part means the Man could be like the race of Men in that they will go to battle without fear or time to reason why. Man COULD be heroic..Does that sound correct, It's my view on it anyway
|
|
|
|
|
|
Storyteller ~RSF~
Resident Sean Fan
*
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 1763
Little One
|
|
Re:The Roles of Hobbits and Men
« Reply #4 on: July 03, 2007, 07:33:29 am »
|
|
I think every one of you has a good interpretation.
Quote:| Mybe the author of the quote meant that the Men in LOTR are very brave and almost unnaturally strong-willed, so this is what men aspire to be rather than what they are? |
First good point! I think you're right, that the race of Men is very much an idealized version of mankind, what Man COULD be rather than what he is. I like to add to the quote a line of my own,
"...Man is Man as he COULD be"..both good AND evil.
In other words, that Man in LOTR represents Man's POTENTIAL, his power for both good and evil.
Quote:Well I think the first part means the race of Men are like Hobbits..A friendly and loving race who will only go to battle if needed, the second part means the Man could be like the race of Men in that they will go to battle without fear or time to reason why. Man COULD be heroic..Does that sound correct, It's my view on it anyway
|
And you have another good point. And it's related to this one.
Quote:I think hobbits represent the ideal way of living to Tolkien. They love the peace and nature, are allright with simple living, often make big families and smoke pipeweed ( )... They are very british, like Tolkien was.
|
Tolkien always said that he was, essentially, a hobbit (even though his tombstone has "Beren" on it.) He liked gardening (which is why one of his main heroes is a gardener. To him that was a profession of great honor), smoking, eating, and peace. Hobbits, I think, represented the people he loved best, the common people of rural England. Men were the types of which people expect heroes to rise. Hobbits are the race from whom you DON'T expect heroes to spring, but who often forced to be heroes because the mighty can't manageto solve the problem.
DOes that make any sense at all?
Hugs,
Rach
|
|
|
|
|
|
Storyteller ~RSF~
Resident Sean Fan
*
Offline
Gender:
Posts: 1763
Little One
|
|
Re:The Roles of Hobbits and Men
« Reply #6 on: July 04, 2007, 03:38:04 pm »
|
|
AH, the ancestors of the Woses. They were very different from hobbits of course with stumpy bodies and rather aboriginal habits and culture.
It's very interesting that Tolkien tells us only that hobbits are a "sub-branch of Men, and never how they came to be. We DO know that hobbits once inhabited lands very close to Rohan, because their languages were so similar.
Hugs,
Rach
|
|
|
|
Always & Forever // Messageboard | Powered by YaBB SE
© 2001-2002, YaBB SE Dev Team. All Rights Reserved.
hosting & support by ejwsites.net
|
|
Logged
)... They are very british, like Tolkien was.