Recently I was riding a chairlift and the conversation turned to the Lord of the Rings (LOTR) because my chair mate had just watched one of the movies the night before. This was an easy topic for me because I am officially a “Tolkien nerd.” My fascination with the story began in Junior High and I have read the series 5 or 6 times since then. I also enjoy The Hobbit and how it lays the groundwork for LOTR.

In college, I took a “Philosophy of Tolkien” class which was a bit like “Underwater Basket-weaving” – a course designed to get those extra two or three credits I needed to graduate. Much of the professor’s focus was on how Tolkien laid the groundwork for the world he called Middle Earth in the Silmarillion which he started writing while in the hospital with “trench fever” during World War I. I cannot recommend the Silmarillion to you because it is hard reading, but it explains Tolkien’s universe being inhabited by an all-powerful god who sang Middle Earth and it’s creatures into being, a fallen angel and that the god created his sentient creatures with free will. Sound familiar?

Reading LOTR, one can sense the underpinnings of Tolkien’s Christian world view and his being a devout Catholic. C.S. Lewis was another writer in the Fantasy genre (The Narnia series) who also became a powerful apologist for the Christian faith. Lewis and Tolkien both fought in World War I, met in 1926 at a college faculty meeting and became fast friends. Lewis dedicated The Screwtape Letters to Tolkien because he had been an integral part of Lewis choosing to follow Jesus.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s writings caused me to delve deeper into the genre of Science Fiction/Fantasy and that category remains a favorite for me today with other favorites such Harry Potter , the Hunger Games series and several from authors. It’s also nerdy that I often listen to the music of Alan Parson’s Project while reading Fantasy books because the mystery of the songs goes along with the feeling of getting lost in another world. And perhaps that is why I like reading Fantasy stories so much, the ability to get lost in another world, even if just for a short time.

In all fiction writing, the author puts forth a cast of characters and a plot line. In Fantasy writing, the author builds an entire new world and culture in which characters live and the plot happens. Often this includes other races such as Elves, Dwarves, Orcs and Goblins. A couple funny family sayings along this line:

Kayli: “Dad, I’ve been thinking about it . . . and I have decided you are not an orc.”
Shirley: “If I was a dwarf, I would be called Gimp-li and if I was an elf, I would be called Lego-loss.”

I have three nephews who enjoy reading Fantasy and discussing the merits of each writer/series. My kids and spouses also are Tolkien lovers to some degree. We even had a Hobbit meal one night when the kids were younger with chicken pot pies, potatoes, and apple sauce on rudimentary plates. The kids loved it!

Something I look for in a book series is that the plot moves along and the author does not “write for the contract” of producing a certain number of books for their publisher. Tolkien did not drag it out or produce unneeded chapters/books because he did not have a big, fat contract dangling in front of him. He seems to have written just for the joy of the story, sitting in front of a typewriter. He was a Philologist or expert in languages so he even created his own Elvish language and a deep history of Middle Earth.

There is humor in the Lord of the Rings, mostly surrounding the race of Hobbits and their carefree attitude. It is this carefree, “let’s just enjoy today” attitude which allows Bilbo and Frodo to carry the Ring of Power without it taking control of them as it would take control of dwarves or men who were more concerned with wealth and power. A good example of humor is how Bilbo starts his speech at his hundred and eleventh birthday party.

“First of all, to tell you that I am immensely fond of you all, and that eleventy-one years is too short a time to live among such excellent and admirable hobbits. I don’t know half of you half as well as I should like; and I like less than half of you half as well as you deserve.”

The Lord of the Rings is also philosophical and one of my favorite examples is a conversation between Frodo and Gandalf.

“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo. “So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

This quote resonates with me these days as I struggle with the emotions and physical pains of cancer and chemotherapy. We try to control the circumstances of our lives but, like the Ring being thrust upon Frodo, my cancer was thrust upon me. The best I can do with the time given me is love people, trust God and finish well, whether I have 1 year or 10 years left.

A favorite verse on running this race of life and finishing well is Hebrews 12:1-2:

“. . . let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”

Another favorite quote comes from the maiden of the horse people of Rohan, Eowyn, during a conversation with Aragorn:

Eowyn : “The women of this country learned long ago, those without swords can still die upon them. I fear neither death nor pain.” Aragorn : “What do you fear, my lady?” Eowyn : “A cage. To stay behind bars, until use and old age accept them, and all chance of doing great deeds is gone beyond recall or desire.”

Most of us want to and can make a difference in the world. Like Eowyn, we may fear being irrelevant or getting lost along the way in trivial matters. I really like the song “Difference Maker” by Need to Breathe that fits with this topic.

The Movies

Peter Jackson did us a favor in how he and his crew took the three LOTR books and turned them into a cinematic treat of three movies. The cinematography was excellent for its day, Jackson followed the plot line closely and succeeds in capturing the magic of the books. The success of the LOTR trilogy is evidenced by the $3 billion of worldwide revenue they have generated since the release of the Fellowship of the Rings movie in 2001.

I remember being entranced watching the Fellowship of the Rings with Shirley while we were on a getaway weekend in San Diego. I also remember the young child who was crying when Uruk-Hai orcs filled Boromir with arrows as he fought valiantly to defend Merry and Pippen. Who brings a 5 year old to a movie with war scenes such as that!?

The Hobbit trilogy, released later, is less a favorite of mine because Jackson took a relatively short, delightful book and dragged it out to a movie trilogy. New characters and plot lines were added and some of the scenes are dragged out just to fill the trilogy format. One of the new plot lines is a romance between an Elf and a Dwarf. Yuck! Gimli and Legolas would never have imagined that!

Thanks for taking the time to listen to me pontificate about LOTR. I understand if you do not love the books or even the movies. As I mentioned at the beginning of this blog, it’s kind of a nerd thing and many family and friends do not “get” my deep love for the writings and movies of J.R.R. Tolkien. As the old saying goes “different strokes for different folks!”