Lyta,
I think your points are well taken about the depiction of "loss" in the desecration of the land, the felling of the trees, and the imposition of modern mechanized methods despite the hobbits' dislike and resistence. I came to Lord of the Rings while I was at college in the late 60s and it was this aspect of the book, the rape of the land and the rejection of the excesses of industrialization, that initially intrigued many of us.
And these points tie in very nicely with the wider argument you make later:
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One could argue the flaws until doomsday, but I'll leave off soon! I would only say that your views of the novels being flawed, Eurytus seem to issue from expectations that Tolkien's work does not address, a sort of modern mentality that Tolkien was running from as fast as his legs could carry him. Certainly there is massive loss in the War of the Ring that he admits he does not address.
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I think I was hinting in my post at what you've said much more clearly here. Tolkien chose to write a certain book in a certain way with a certain mindset: on the one hand focusing on individual loss and change, and on the other depicting the passing of an age, the widest canvas anyone could ask for. And laced throughout that book is an underlying sense of sadness, and a rejection of certain attitudes and modes of thought that are generally part of the modern mentality.
If that message of bittersweet change from one era to the next resonates with you, if the wide canvas Tolkien paints evokes a response, then the book will strike a cord. Yes, you may have specific characters and scenes to criticize but your overall assessment will remain postive. But if your own expectations are widely divergent from these, if you're looking for an author to give you scenes of gritty realism in the depiction of battle scenes and widespread images of suffering, such as is true in much literature that speaks with the voice of modernity, then I believe it's prudent to seek your meaning and enjoyment in another work. You're asking for something the author never intended to deliver.
[ October 25, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]