Flaws in Lord of the Rings... Yes in the book.

[The Saucepan Man]

Woe betide anyone who dares to point up flaws in Tolkien's works here. [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img] [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

Actually, I think that Tolkien was pretty flawless when it comes to cohesive story-telling. There are ambiguities - most, if not all, of them deliberate. But there is nothing that I have come across from reading the books, or in my time here, that I would describe as a "plot hole" - that is not explicable in some way.

There are what some may consider flaws in Tolkien's narrative style and characterisation. But these, to my mind, are largely matters of personal taste. Some people (most here) will defend Tolkien's style to the hilt. Others may find fault with some aspects of it.

The characterisation issue has been discussed in detail in the "Psychological Depth" thread linked to early on in this topic (and you are welcome to revive the discussion there, if you wish [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] ). I agree that Sauron is depicted, in LotR at least, as a "flatly evil" character, lacking in any real personality. I happen to think that this works well, in the context of the book. To me, the utter and unremitting evil that he represents is far more chilling than would have been the case had we been given some rationale (however unacceptable) for his actions. When I first read the book, I found this nebulous, but uncompromisingly evil, presence in Mordor truly horrifying, all the more so because its precise nature is left undefined.

There are, in my view, a good many other one-dimensional characters in LotR (and I would include Aragorn here, and certainly Legolas and Gimli). The fact that there are does not concern me, since I consider that these characters are sufficiently defined for the purposes of the story that Tolkien is telling. Others might, quite understandably, prefer more depth to their characters. As I have said, that, really, is a matter of personal preference. At the same time, I do think that there are characters in the story that are incredibly multi-layered - Denethor, Boromir and Eowyn to name but three.

Do I consider LotR to be flawless? Well, from my perspective, I think that it is pretty much there. But that is my personal opinion. There are, quite clearly aspects of it which will not resonate with everyone. And, while it is manifestly an extremely popular book, it can by no means be said to be universally popular.

It may be trite to say it, but it is nevertheless true: it would be a pretty dull world if everyone's tastes where the same and everyone held the same view.

Which, I suppose, is a very long-winded way of saying that, while discussion is healthy and can be extremely stimulating, let's all be tolerant of other people's views.