(no subject)
I don't remember the first time I read The Lord of the Rings.
Actually, I do remember that I first read it in sixth grade of > elementary school, but I remember nothing of how I came across it or > even what happened in the books.
I can be sure that I read it in elementary school because in junior > high school my class's English teacher had us read The Hobbit (and > now that I think about it, she must have been a nerd because she > also had us design castles (mine was directly lifted from Conquests > of Camelot, an old Sierra game for DOS)). Our English teacher asked > us if we had ever read The Lord of the Rings, and I distinctly > remember raising my hand.
So the timeframe is squared away, but what about how? I'm pretty > sure my family didn't have the Internet then, so I couldn't have > read about it there. My parents didn't recommend the book to me > since they gave me almost exclusively coming-of-age stories like > Catcher in the Rye and $B$\$C$A$c$s(B. Perhaps what happened is I > saw a feature in Nintendo Power magazine of the Lord of the Rings ga> me for the SNES, but that came out in 1994 so that wouldn't fit the > time frame. I guess I'll never know, I throw my hands up.
What I *do* remember is buying the book, and that was in the little > bookstore next to the Arby's I never once entered. They were > probably the ugliest editions imaginable: it would have been enough > that they were fat, squat, thick books with repulsive color schemes > involving plum and teal, but this edition was rendered truly > unforgettable by the romance-novel-esque character portaits on the > front. I wish I could find an image of the covers online, but I > can't (perhaps for the better), so I'll do my best to describe them.
The Two Towers in particular stands out in my memory. The portrait > is of Legolas and Gimli and they are both holding their weapons. > What makes this one creepier than the rest is their body language. > They're standing next to each other, but turned inwards, almost like > a wedding photograph. Their faces top it off, however: they have > dazed, grinning expressions that betray no intelligence whatsoever, > like they had both undergone lobotomies. The image was so different > from what I saw when I read the book that I would have torn the > cover off the book if it hadn't fallen off by itself first, cheap > edition that it was.
Although not part of the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit had a similar > treatment. Bilbo and Gollum were underground matching wits, but > again the body language is disturbing: Gollum, a black amphibian-> looking thing with pupil-less eyes, is crouched ready to pounce > while Bilbo is looking back over his shoulder as he twiddles his > fingertips like a nubile young maiden. What's most offensive is that > Biblo is a big heavy pile of flesh in this portrait; he's chunky. > Bilbo wasn't an Olympic athlete, but then he wasn't Fredegar Bolger > either, come on, at least pretend you've read the books before you > render the characters.
I said I didn't remember anything from my first read-through, but > that isn't completely true. Although as a whole the book was just > too rich and too grandiose for my 12-yo mind to completely process, > certain events stuck out in my mind, like when Frodo gets stabbed on > Weather-top, when Sam is left alone after the battle with Shelob, > and when Eowyn reveals herself on the Pelennor Fields (gee, those > are all really hopeless moments, I wonder what that says/said about > me?). I was particularly moved by that last one, it stands as one of > my favorite events in literature.
My favorite characters are Frodo and Boromir (and the Mouth of > Sauron, but he's a very minor character). I like them best because > they fall to The Ring, fully showcasing their humanity. Aragorn and > Gandalf are cool, but their characters hardly ever waver or develop. > Initially I thought Sam was a weak, whiny drag on the story (he > "bursts into tears" like eighty times), but it was only much later > that I realized he was the strongest ring-bearer of all, even > stronger than Bilbo.
Anyways, I'm reading though the book again and I'm enjoying it > immensely. The films, while great, are ultimately just an > intepretation, and one I don't completely agree with. I think what > bothers me most is that the films are so bright and colorful; the > book strikes me as much more muted and somber, both in coloration > and overall mood. Sadness pervades the story throughout because the > Third Age is over, elves are over, magic is over, and many > friendships, between characters and between us, are over. Any beauty > that exists, like the bittersweet romance between Faramir and Eowyn, > only shines as a white beam of light though a silver, clouded sky. > As a work that inspires such feeling in me, The Lord of the Rings is > maybe my most favorite book ever.
That's it!
Actually, I do remember that I first read it in sixth grade of > elementary school, but I remember nothing of how I came across it or > even what happened in the books.
I can be sure that I read it in elementary school because in junior > high school my class's English teacher had us read The Hobbit (and > now that I think about it, she must have been a nerd because she > also had us design castles (mine was directly lifted from Conquests > of Camelot, an old Sierra game for DOS)). Our English teacher asked > us if we had ever read The Lord of the Rings, and I distinctly > remember raising my hand.
So the timeframe is squared away, but what about how? I'm pretty > sure my family didn't have the Internet then, so I couldn't have > read about it there. My parents didn't recommend the book to me > since they gave me almost exclusively coming-of-age stories like > Catcher in the Rye and $B$\$C$A$c$s(B. Perhaps what happened is I > saw a feature in Nintendo Power magazine of the Lord of the Rings ga> me for the SNES, but that came out in 1994 so that wouldn't fit the > time frame. I guess I'll never know, I throw my hands up.
What I *do* remember is buying the book, and that was in the little > bookstore next to the Arby's I never once entered. They were > probably the ugliest editions imaginable: it would have been enough > that they were fat, squat, thick books with repulsive color schemes > involving plum and teal, but this edition was rendered truly > unforgettable by the romance-novel-esque character portaits on the > front. I wish I could find an image of the covers online, but I > can't (perhaps for the better), so I'll do my best to describe them.
The Two Towers in particular stands out in my memory. The portrait > is of Legolas and Gimli and they are both holding their weapons. > What makes this one creepier than the rest is their body language. > They're standing next to each other, but turned inwards, almost like > a wedding photograph. Their faces top it off, however: they have > dazed, grinning expressions that betray no intelligence whatsoever, > like they had both undergone lobotomies. The image was so different > from what I saw when I read the book that I would have torn the > cover off the book if it hadn't fallen off by itself first, cheap > edition that it was.
Although not part of the Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit had a similar > treatment. Bilbo and Gollum were underground matching wits, but > again the body language is disturbing: Gollum, a black amphibian-> looking thing with pupil-less eyes, is crouched ready to pounce > while Bilbo is looking back over his shoulder as he twiddles his > fingertips like a nubile young maiden. What's most offensive is that > Biblo is a big heavy pile of flesh in this portrait; he's chunky. > Bilbo wasn't an Olympic athlete, but then he wasn't Fredegar Bolger > either, come on, at least pretend you've read the books before you > render the characters.
I said I didn't remember anything from my first read-through, but > that isn't completely true. Although as a whole the book was just > too rich and too grandiose for my 12-yo mind to completely process, > certain events stuck out in my mind, like when Frodo gets stabbed on > Weather-top, when Sam is left alone after the battle with Shelob, > and when Eowyn reveals herself on the Pelennor Fields (gee, those > are all really hopeless moments, I wonder what that says/said about > me?). I was particularly moved by that last one, it stands as one of > my favorite events in literature.
My favorite characters are Frodo and Boromir (and the Mouth of > Sauron, but he's a very minor character). I like them best because > they fall to The Ring, fully showcasing their humanity. Aragorn and > Gandalf are cool, but their characters hardly ever waver or develop. > Initially I thought Sam was a weak, whiny drag on the story (he > "bursts into tears" like eighty times), but it was only much later > that I realized he was the strongest ring-bearer of all, even > stronger than Bilbo.
Anyways, I'm reading though the book again and I'm enjoying it > immensely. The films, while great, are ultimately just an > intepretation, and one I don't completely agree with. I think what > bothers me most is that the films are so bright and colorful; the > book strikes me as much more muted and somber, both in coloration > and overall mood. Sadness pervades the story throughout because the > Third Age is over, elves are over, magic is over, and many > friendships, between characters and between us, are over. Any beauty > that exists, like the bittersweet romance between Faramir and Eowyn, > only shines as a white beam of light though a silver, clouded sky. > As a work that inspires such feeling in me, The Lord of the Rings is > maybe my most favorite book ever.
That's it!