The Lord of the Rings
trilogy is one of the best stories ever told, in my ever so humble opinion.
I’ve spoken to a lot of people about it – people who have read it, those who
have tried and those who have never even managed to get to page one – but there
are some things that they all agree on; they’d rather watch the film. I could
easily create pages after pages as to why I disagree, but why make something
just to cause arguments (they’re more fun in person) when I can focus closely
on why I think the story and books as a whole are fantastic?
Hence, this post. I hope you enjoy it!
How would you describe The
Lord of the Rings, and the Middle-earth world created by Tolkien in
general? Some might say traditional fantasy, others high fantasy while many
would simply say fantasy – these would more likely be people who don’t mind a
bit of the genre but don’t really understand why there is a ‘high’ fantasy at
all. In theory, they’re all right but I would stick with high fantasy. It
follows more rules and conventions of that sub-genre than any other.
A grand and epic world, supplemented by main characters that
fill that world well and leave the reader in awe in almost every scene are just
one of these conventions. The quest that spans the entire story without getting
old, and continues despite every problem and obstacle and a villain, who in
this story we don’t see much of directly, all combine together in a fantastic
way that many other writers cannot even get close to.
We are drawn to certain characters more than others, with
Strider/Aragorn being one of the most obvious. While he starts out cold and
distant, he quickly becomes the champion for most readers and could easily have
been the main protagonist if it wasn’t for the Ring – how easy it would have
been to alter the beginning and background to focus on men rather than Hobbits,
and full respect for not taking that road. I like Aragorn, but he was a bit
predictable at times. That was one of his redeeming and annoying qualities.
Almost every character can be summarised this way but don’t
worry, I won’t go through all nine members of the Fellowship.
A lot of people who have read the trilogy, and beyond, have
told me there are elements they didn’t like – Tom Bombadil in The Fellowship of
the Ring being one of the most ovious. Granted, he probably wasn’t suited to
film, and as such wasn’t included, but I am glad characters and events such as
his existed. It provided more depth to a world where the entire focus was on
one little band of gold.
Tolkien’s writing style may also have been difficult for
some readers. I don’t think it’s as hard as Shakespeare, but it can be
longwinded and slow at times but the change of pace is something I welcome and
enjoy. It shows the world and events move differently for everyone at different
times – as it is for us in the real world. Things slow down – the quest doesn’t
happen over a couple of days and running at such a high pace and level of
stress and tension would destroy our heroes in a matter of days, maybe weeks. While
this is a fantasy world and a fantasy story, everything that relates back to
our real lives forges a stronger bond between story and reader, don’t you
think?
One of the most impressive things about The Lord of the Rings trilogy and world is the scenery, settings
and descriptions. There is simply no other way to describe the success Tolkien
has at really drawing the reader into a scene or area of Middle-earth. If you
had to pick a flaw, it’s that it does slow the flow of the story (which I
normally hate) but it gives you a chance to breathe and really take in this
glorious world. Without such vivid imagination and descriptions, the films
could look quite different and it proves that a dark story or scene can take
place in the brightest setting. There are hundreds of other examples out there,
but this story is one of my favourites.
As I said, I could easily go into a lot more detail about
this – and maybe one day I will! A critical and reasonably academic paper could
come from me at some point, but for now, this will have to do. Hopefully, I’ve
explored some things to grab your interest in these epic books or inspired you
to try again, read them again or if nothing else, watching the films once more.
The ending though, well not the ending-ending, but the bit
before it? Oh boy…
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