“Fantasy is hardly an escape from reality. It's a way of understanding it” said Lloyd Alexander. And in that magical, fantastic world, which existed on Middle Earth, we find ourselves lost and absorbed whenever we read those masterpieces by one of our favorite authors J.R.R. Tolkien, or watch one of the movies based on those. This behavior really isn’t that hard to explain, since clearly Tolkien’s works – most notably The Hobbit, and The Lord of the Rings, even though woven into the fabric of fantasy, actually help us in understanding reality.
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| Image courtesy: FilmThrasher.com |
Timelessness is a quality which is rare, and especially in the age where a great volume of new content is being generated every passing day, it becomes almost a special trait. Tolkien’s works are some of the older pieces of high-fantasy literature out there, but they seem to have this timeless appeal about them that makes them seem fresh and relevant even today. The tales themselves aren’t based in a real setting; well, not unless you are a believer that the Middle Earth legendarium isn’t fantasy and the Elves are still out there somewhere! And it’s not just the Elves, Tolkien created a whole bunch of fantasy characters, creatures, and even constructed different languages for them (how cool is this guy!). You come across the immortal Elves, the industrious Dwarves, the powerful Wizards, the mystical Dragons, the dim-witted Trolls, the experienced Ents, the ugly Goblins, the scary Orcs, the brave Hobbits, and the power-hungry Men, and you get fascinated. You get to know of their adventures, and you get inspired. But, impressive as these features are, they don’t even begin to explain what’s really timeless about Tolkien’s tales.
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Beneath all of this epic-fantasy and stories of adventure, Tolkien has laid a foundation of the very basic elements of life. It definitely does build upon the realities of human life. It builds upon those experiences and emotions that we undergo every single day, and even though at times they may get hidden by a blind spot, but in the back of our minds we are aware of their existence. And even if those blind spots are the size of Jupiter at times, we still are conscious of some sense of morality. It is all of those basic realities and emotions of life - like avarice, fear, courage, love, friendship, hope, and honesty that his tales build upon and are thus in a sense more holistic than others. They are stories about human relationships and personal character, stories about what makes each of us special even though we may feel ourselves insignificant in the overall scheme of things, but howsoever little, our efforts do have an impact. And that it is our intentions that matter and even all of the world’s evil can’t prevail over the goodness of a few determined and noble souls. They remind us of those human values which would never go out of fashion, and which truly are eternal. Those are the things which an everyday person lives through, can relate to, and eventually believes in, and that’s what renders that timelessness to his tales. He makes it all very elemental and quintessential, there’s nothing complex there.
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| Image courtesy: Lucia Whittaker via photopin cc |
Here are some of my favorite (and timeless) Tolkien quotes:
“It's a dangerous business Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.”
“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 to us.”
“The world is indeed full of peril and in it there are many dark places. But still there is much that is fair. And though in all lands, love is now mingled with grief, it still grows, perhaps, the greater.”
“Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love”, said Gandalf.
“Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgement. For even the very wise cannot see all ends.”
“I made a promise, Mr Frodo. A promise! 'Don't you leave him Samwise Gamgee.' And I don't mean to! I don't mean to.”
“There is some good in this world, and it's worth fighting for.”
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© Jayant Rana, 2013
© Jayant Rana 2013-Present? Relax :)Well, where I see beauty in the written fantasy world is the beauty with which these writers guide your imagination to construct these world. That is why often movies don't live up to the texts, except some like LOTR. Tolkien is a master, no doubt.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that bringing that copyright thing to my notice, just corrected it...was continuing from the last year.
ReplyDeleteAnyway! Well, I agree that Tolkien had this great imagination with which he used to "construct" these fantasy worlds and languages. In fact he was so much into the imaginative construction thing that he has been quoted as saying: "The ‘stories’ were made rather to provide a world for the languages than the reverse", where he is obviously referring to his multiple constructed languages (see here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_constructed_by_J._R._R._Tolkien).
So yes, Tolkien sure is a master :)
@jayantrana:disqus Not that these lines are bad, but the description of Faramir, when Peregrin Took sees him in Gondor for the first time, is beyond comparison: "It was the face of a man who has lived under the Shadow of Death, but has mastered it and is now quiet....". That entire paragraph, describing how Peregrin felt for Faramir, in essence, captured the beauty of Tolkein's writing. And if The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings is not enough, you should check out The Silmarillion, which is where how Middle Earth and all the species in it are created is described with even more grace.
ReplyDeleteThose are some really exquisite lines undoubtedly, and just one of the many examples where Tolkien has surpassed the extraordinary. And yes, I absolutely do intend to read up 'The Silmarillion'...thanks for mentioning it :)
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