[Jessica Jade]

Part of the fun and joy in reading Tolkien is being able to read a passage that you read just a few minutes ago and finding many things there that you didn't notice the first time around. Everytime i reread a passage, it's like the first time. I just finished LOTR about a week and a half ago, and already i feel the need to read the entire story again. I cannot get enough of Tolkien! I just read Ainunidale(sp?) and it's very interesting....extremely mythological style. I can't wait to get through the rest of The Sil so i can have much better understanding of Tolkien's world.After that, i might re read LOTR and maybe see it in a whole new light.

One of the things i love most about Tolkien is his ambiguity. He describes things in such minute detail,and has excellent imagery, yet it is all somewhat vague. For example, it's very hard to imagine what Frodo looked like. And the Dead Marshes as well. Remember the tricksey lights and candles of corpses? Those marshes continue to haunt my imagination all the time...what are they like, i wonder? In a way i think of him as a sort of impressionist, he paints the whole picture, yet leaves room for the reader's imagination and interpretation. He doesnt' want to imagine everything for us, and wants us to think and come up with our own ideas. That, i think, is one of the reasons TOlkien is such a genius-to be able to write the way he does is beyond my comprehension.

When i first came here to the 'Downs i was a bit overwhelmed too. There was so much going on that i had missed in my reading. It's great to be able to read and participate in these discussions, because i've coem to understand the books better, as well as view different interpretations and meanings. I know that 20 and 40 years from now i'll still love reading Tolkien's works. They are true masterpieces and you can never read them enough times. Some people read the books and just like it for the epic story that it is, some find symbolism and "deep" meaning in almost everything that happened. I believe there are no right or wrong answers...everyone's own interpretation is just as valid. Ultimately, what matters is what Tolkien's writing means to you- you personally, that is...how it touches your heart, how it moves you, and how meaningful it is to you--how does it make you feel and what does it mean in your life? That is what counts.