One of these things is not like the others... - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

***Mithadan*** · 11-18-2006, 06:00 PM

Readers have many reasons for becoming enthralled with Tolkien's works. A common reason is that his writing is infused with a sense of realism and the various and many threads of his storylines are coherent and consistent. Everything seems correct and right. Everything has a place into which it seems to fit. This is, in part, because his stories were always top of mind to Tolkien. He was forever fiddling, tweaking and rewriting, even taking years to do so. His focus upon detail is what makes everything fit into place.

Everything in Tolkien's subcreated world seems conistent and neat. Everything fits..except when it doesn't. Some of these elements that don't fit are minor but many are obvious. They fascinate us and are the focus of extended discussion. You see, the Silmarillion and LoTR make things very clear. There are the Ainur and their people; the "speaking peoples", the Elves, Men, Ents and Dwarves; the kelvar and the olvar, the animals and plants. All very neat and clean. Which is why we are fixated upon and fascinated by the likes of Bombadil, the Stone Giants, the speaking thrush, Beorn, even Orcs/Goblins, Trolls and Dragons, Werewolves, Vampires and Wargs. These all don't fit and there are many other the examples. The latter examples, the "corrupted ones" are easy to explain, with the exception of Dragons. They were Men/Elves/Ents/Dwarves twisted to serve as thralls to Morgoth and Sauron. But the others do not fit neatly into the Mythos and, in the case of Bombadil in particular, seem to intentionally not fit.

We all know the "what". We could generate a list of misfits and proceed to argue whther they fit or not and what they are in order to stuff them into recognized and proper slots. We have done so many times. The "what" is not the subject of this thread. This thread is intended to delve into the "why". Tolkine rewrote, edited and reviewed his works countless times. He even went to the trouble to incororate edits and rewrites into new editions. The "misfits" are intentional. Tolkien knew they were there and wanted them to be there. It would have been too easy for him to excise them or clarify their status during his endless rewrites. Why are the misfits in Tolkien's mythos? Do they work or serve a purpose? Do they make his works better or worse?

11-18-2006, 06:00 PM	#1
*Mithadan* Spirit of Mist Join Date: Jul 2000 Location: Tol Eressea Posts: 3,383	One of these things is not like the others... Readers have many reasons for becoming enthralled with Tolkien's works. A common reason is that his writing is infused with a sense of realism and the various and many threads of his storylines are coherent and consistent. Everything seems correct and right. Everything has a place into which it seems to fit. This is, in part, because his stories were always top of mind to Tolkien. He was forever fiddling, tweaking and rewriting, even taking years to do so. His focus upon detail is what makes everything fit into place. Everything in Tolkien's subcreated world seems conistent and neat. Everything fits..except when it doesn't. Some of these elements that don't fit are minor but many are obvious. They fascinate us and are the focus of extended discussion. You see, the Silmarillion and LoTR make things very clear. There are the Ainur and their people; the "speaking peoples", the Elves, Men, Ents and Dwarves; the kelvar and the olvar, the animals and plants. All very neat and clean. Which is why we are fixated upon and fascinated by the likes of Bombadil, the Stone Giants, the speaking thrush, Beorn, even Orcs/Goblins, Trolls and Dragons, Werewolves, Vampires and Wargs. These all don't fit and there are many other the examples. The latter examples, the "corrupted ones" are easy to explain, with the exception of Dragons. They were Men/Elves/Ents/Dwarves twisted to serve as thralls to Morgoth and Sauron. But the others do not fit neatly into the Mythos and, in the case of Bombadil in particular, seem to intentionally not fit. We all know the "what". We could generate a list of misfits and proceed to argue whther they fit or not and what they are in order to stuff them into recognized and proper slots. We have done so many times. The "what" is not the subject of this thread. This thread is intended to delve into the "why". Tolkine rewrote, edited and reviewed his works countless times. He even went to the trouble to incororate edits and rewrites into new editions. The "misfits" are intentional. Tolkien knew they were there and wanted them to be there. It would have been too easy for him to excise them or clarify their status during his endless rewrites. Why are the misfits in Tolkien's mythos? Do they work or serve a purpose? Do they make his works better or worse? __________________ Beleriand, Beleriand, the borders of the Elven-land.