Tolkien the Metafictionist

[Inziladun]

Originally Posted by jallanite

Well, I could say the same about yours. So what do you do about that?

Personally I take "religious nut" as a complement, but others could see it as an insult. If you aren't open to perhaps being a little less confrontational in your posting, then I will say nothing more.

Originally Posted by jallanite

Use of we in an article meant to persuade often does just the opposite to a critical reader. Use of we is often a trick by the writer to create a connection to the reader of the article. See how often it is used by Edmund Wilson in his notorious review of Tolkien at http://www.jrrvf.com/sda/critiques/The_Nation.html , when Wilson is not instead using the word one. Don’t use either word to persuade people.

I wasn't trying to "persuade" anyone. I was simply stating a thought about the matter.

Originally Posted by jallanite

I can think of fantasy novels that seem as real as Tolkien when I read them, and also some fantasy works that others like more. Others become a chore to read. But there is no fantasy novel or mythological text which seems as real as the real world.

And that is your opinion, to which you are welcome. Please respect those belonging to others.

I personally have sometimes felt LOTR, along with a handful of other books, to be at least as "real" as the corporal world I inhabit (since you dislike the use of "we"). Is it that way every time I read Tolkien? No. But when my mind is set the right way, and daily cares retreat temporarily, I can lose myself in the world he created so that it has as much emotional, intellectual, and even spiritual impact on me as whatever the "real" day has brought.