Well now, the fact that you would take the time to respond on a weekend and often in ALL CAPS clearly shows your dedication as a Tolkien fan. (ALL CAPS being, in my experience, something of a signature characteristic among die-hard Frodophiles.) So, let's begin...
Have you ever read such things as Beowulf
Yes, indeed.
Have you ever been interested in mythology?!
Correct again.
So you must know that Tolkien studied mythology and folklore, that his books are inspired by such things.
Wow, you're on a roll.
If see you say that Tolkien wrote for money, not for the writing itself you damn wrong!
Oh, well then, it's a good thing I never made such a claim. I'd hate to think of myself as "me damn wrong!"
In the time "The Lord of the Rings" was published there was no such successful genre called fantasy.
Well, the genre may not have been called fantasy but, call it what you will, it's been around as long as literature has been around. Orcs, elves, and hobbits may be fairly recent creations as far as literature is concerned but, the idea of supernaturally endowed heroes going on epic quests for the purpose of fighting monsters and destroying ultimate evil goes back well beyond Beowulf, beyond the Iliad, and probably far beyond Gilgamesh. Even that hack, Joseph Campbell, recognized this in his theory of the "Journey of the Epic Hero."
You try to compare Tolkien and Twain (for example) when you don't understand that they wrote about fully different things!
Correction, I was suggesting that Tolkien should not be compared to authors like Twain. They were very different authors that wrote about very different things. But that has little to do with why one is a much better author than the other.
You said that its characters aren't affected by the events? LOOK AT FRODO AT THE STARTING OF THE JOURNEY AND ON ITS END!
At the beginning Frodo was happy and carefree. At the end, a little more worn and world-weary. I go through the same transition every day at work. It doesn't really give me much insight in to the greater meaning of life. What did Frodo learn about himself; about life from his journeys?
DON'T JUDGE A BOOK BY A LACK OR A PRESENCE OF DEEP PHILOSOPHYC IDEAS!
Then, what should a book be judged by?
READ THE BOOK, LOOK AT THE WRITERS' STYLE, LOOK WHAT THE BOOK ABOUT, AND FINALLY LOOK IF YOU LIKE IT OR NOT.
That's exactly what I did. And, as I've said, I did enjoy the books. But they weren’t great books. Clearly, you thought they were. But then, there's no accounting for taste, or rather lack of taste, is there?
-Phil.
P.S. And one more thing: READ BEOWULF!!!!!!!!!
Re:P.S. Consider it done.
