Are you a better person?

[Lhunardawen]

Originally Posted by HerenIstarion

Say, I may not say I'm better person for reading Tolkien, for I do not know what would have come out of me if I haven't - I have only one 'me' to judge, the one who've read it, and I am what I am, if you follow my meaning, kind sirs and ladies.

*nods head in agreement* There is no way we can know what would have happened...there is only what is happening for us to deal with. Can we then really say that we are "better" now that we have read the books? That the changes brought upon by our knowledge of Middle Earth are more acceptable than how life would have been without it?

Then again, I for one am glad I have heard my schoolmates talking about this "Lord of the Rings" book that will be rendered in the silverscreen. Because of this, I have a more passionate love of reading. I have somehow learned to put my thoughts into words. And I have realized that deep inside, I am a true geek, and that I should be proud of it.

Another thing, I have somehow gained insight on how to deal with certain situations. One character that comes swiftly to mind when I think about my life is Eowyn. Maybe in some way the fact that we have dealt with a more-or-less similar "problem" has strengthened me...silly as it might sound, I have realized that I am not the only person in the world going through that experience. (That's how real LotR has been to me.) It does not mean, though, that I look to the books for the proper way to live life or turn it into my personal guidebook. It just somehow feels good that you read something reflective of yourself in a work of fiction.

So am I a "better" person because of the books? I do not know, but they have been so integrated in me that taking them away might tear me into pieces, if taking them away is ever possible.