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Why did Tolkein write his books?

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at99
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Post by at99 »

Originally posted by Mr Sleep:
<STRONG>Just a small question for intersts sake, how much do you actually know about English heritage and history?
.</STRONG>

aah you said something

I have read Norman Davies Hostory of Britain to name a few. This could be another topic.
It is a good book and a popular one.
Have I said something really historically wrong?

[ 01-04-2002: Message edited by: at99 ]
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Post by Vivien »

England is not Britain!! (Americans dont seem to clear on this point VIV)
At99,
Is the 'VIV' here supposed to make me feel ashamed that I don't know WHAT YOU THINK I SHOULD? It must be because I tried to add humor...or wait ! It's because I asked you to STOP BEING NEGATIVE!! That must be it.

You are not nice and I say this now. If I get kicked off of GameBanshee for saying this I DON'T CARE.

Viv
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Post by average joe »

@ at99

Perhaps you haven't figured out that you've gone past a point of offensiveness, and, as a result, no one is going to take you very seriously. Stop being so obnoxious and condescending with your posts....no one appreciates it. :rolleyes:
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Post by at99 »

Originally posted by average joe:
<STRONG>@ at99

Perhaps you haven't figured out that you've gone past a point of offensiveness, and, as a result, no one is going to take you very seriously. Stop being so obnoxious and condescending with your posts....no one appreciates it. :rolleyes: </STRONG>
Dont you think my topics are more entertaining than SPAM ?

[ 01-04-2002: Message edited by: at99 ]
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Post by at99 »

Originally posted by Vivien:
<STRONG>
England is not Britain!! (Americans dont seem to clear on this point VIV)
At99,
Is the 'VIV' here supposed to make me feel ashamed that I don't know WHAT YOU THINK I SHOULD? It must be because I tried to add humor...or wait ! It's because I asked you to STOP BEING NEGATIVE!! That must be it.

You are not nice and I say this now. If I get kicked off of GameBanshee for saying this I DON'T CARE.

Viv</STRONG>

I did not mean this to make you feel small. I said it with a smirk on my face as a friendly 'cmon get with it'

Sorry I made you upset
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Post by average joe »

Originally posted by at99:
<STRONG>I said it with a smirk on my face as a friendly 'cmon get with it'</STRONG>

That's my point....you're overall attitude throughout this entire thread has left people with no desire to "get with it." They don't want to discuss it with you because you come off as a jerk...whether you mean to or not.

I enjoy lurking through a decent conversation as much as the next guy, and spam does get tiring at times, but you shouldn't put others down....it's immature.
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Post by Georgi »

Ok, firstly
Originally posted by at99:
<STRONG>A lot of responses seem fixed on the idea that Britain and England are the same . I could not convinve people that the 2 are different. How would Americans like if we said Canadians and Mexicans are exactly the same as Americans?</STRONG>
I think a fairer comparison would be <insert name of any random American state here> and America. My point being that England and Britain are not, as you seem to imply, entirely separate countries. England is part of Britain.
<STRONG>You seem to have a thing with King Arthur. What is your point that he was English? English culture is rich in mythology? Britain is really England?</STRONG>
If I may venture to attempt an explanation... What you are saying is that Celtic mythology is plentiful, but English mythology is not. What Ysh is pointing out (I think - correct me if I'm wrong Ysh) is that "Celtic" mythology is partly English - as demonstrated by the situation of parts of Arthurian (Celtic) legend in areas of modern-day England. (Incidentally, since most of this mythology is older than England as a country, it would be anachronistic to describe the mythology as English. England didn't even exist at the time that the mythology originated, although it did cover the area that would later become England.)
<STRONG>Tolkein saw shotcomings in his own culture and I (and many other people outside England) see the same , why is it offensive?</STRONG>
I haven't read anything implying that anyone posting here has found this implied lack of English mythology offensive. What I see is that some people have tried to show that there was not as much of a lack as you state.

All this is vaguely irrelevant anyway - back on the topic of Tolkien, it's not really important whether or not there was a lack of English mythology, but rather that Tolkien himself perceived that there was. ;)

@Gandalfgal I just finished reading Tolkien's essay On Fairy-Stories this morning, as it happens - I found it very interesting, and one does get a sense of his disgust at all things industrial... As well as the idea that he would really hate LotR being turned into a movie ;)

[ 01-05-2002: Message edited by: Georgi ]
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Post by GandalfgalTTV »

I agree, it really shows that the man had a very own way of looking at things. :D
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Post by Yshania »

Posted by Omar -

LMAO, why Tolkien ever bothered to write his books when England already has so much
LMAO!! - Well....England has me, Georgi, Gruntboy and Nippy for starters (off the top of my head) :D and as we all know - Gruntboy is a stand alone legend :D ;)
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Post by Yshania »

Posted by at99 -

As for Yshania's arguments I dont understand you (except for maybe history naive Americans)
I am not sure I understand what you are saying here at99, did I make any reference to Americans?
England is a great rational minded country which has done many good things but it does appear English ego's are hurt by its history.
And from where do you draw this conclusion? Do English people generally get defensive in your experience, or do you consider that your harping on about England, generally finds people defensive in your company?
English mythology is not very vast and its history of a country is relatively short . I cant help these facts. People want to believe the culture is complete in every respect.
This is a generalisation.
You seem to have a thing with King Arthur. What is your point that he was English? English culture is rich in mythology? Britain is really England?
*laughs* :D I have a thing about King Arthur :D :rolleyes: I was not the one who originally brought up the subject of King Arthur in other threads as an example of what is considered to be English legend not being. My post in this thread pointed out - in detail - that the King Arthur we hear of is actually the tales of many King Arthurs of Breton, Wales, Scotland AND England.

Thanks Georgi ;)

I am not the one arguing that England is rich in mythology, I am merely questioning why you believe it has none, and why you continue to push purity of heritage...

England is England. Britain includes England, Scotland and Wales, The United Kingdom further includes Northern Ireland.
Would you like to explain yourself clearly on these points.
I didn't ralise I was being unclear - did you read my posts? as you demand we read yours?
Posted by Mr Sleep -

we can only speculate through works written by others and letters by him, which are all centered around interpretation.
Exactly! :)
Posted by GTTV -

The "of the quality" bit is a lot more important then the "none" bit.
Hmmm...I noticed this too - and posted it ;)
I haven't read anything implying that anyone posting here has found this implied lack of English mythology offensive. What I see is that some people have tried to show that there was not as much of a lack as you state.
Hear hear! :)

*sigh* what is offensive, regardless of the discussion, is the fact that we seem to have - yet again - descended into...dare I say it? Cultural Racism. If you need reminding of the definition we can bump the thread where you asked the question.

In here you asked a simple question - why did Tolkien write his books, and you offered YOUR interpretation of a quotation declaring that the reason was because there was no mythology in England. You do not seem to understand that if you start a debate, on such a speculative subject, your answer is not necessarily either the right answer, or indeed the only answer...and I just sensed that this thread was another excuse to raise hackles...

A debate is not a debate if you have no intention of fairly considering others' opinion...
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Post by fable »

If posts are meant to be light-hearted, the "wink" or "grin" emoticons ;) :D can help convey that. When in doubt, use 'em.

And as a general rule of thumb, when in doubt whether something you're going to post is tactful or not, it probably isn't.
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Post by der Moench »

Look! it's a fable!

Only in moderator mode, though ...

Hi to average joe and Georgi - haven't seen you for some time (maybe that's my fault, though :o ).
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Post by dragon wench »

Originally posted by @99:
Look at it from my point of view. A lot of responses seem fixed on the idea that Britain and England are the same . I could not convinve people that the 2 are different. How would Americans like if we said Canadians and Mexicans are exactly the same as Americans? Would you argue back?

Georgi is right, this is an invalid comparison......
To refresh your knowledge of geography, Canada, the United States, and Mexico are separate countries. In order to pass from one into the other you are required to cross a border, each nation has its own currency, and (at least in theory.... :rolleyes: .....)the three countries have autonomous national governments.....

None of the above is true in the case of Scotland, Ireland, and Wales. Indeed, Canada's French-speaking province (similar to a state) of Quebec actually possesses more autonomy than do the various parts of the United Kingdom.

Sorry, to go so far off topic, but.....

note: regarding currency, I am speaking from a somewhat historical perspective, that is, prior to the introduction of the integrated European currency.

[ 01-05-2002: Message edited by: dragon wench ]
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Post by Sailor Saturn »

Originally posted by at99:
<STRONG>Dont you think my topics are more entertaining than SPAM ?</STRONG>
In a word, no.
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Post by Sailor Saturn »

Originally posted by @99:
[/QB]Look at it from my point of view. A lot of responses seem fixed on the idea that Britain and England are the same . I could not convinve people that the 2 are different. How would Americans like if we said Canadians and Mexicans are exactly the same as Americans? Would you argue back?[/QB]
Originally posted by dragon wench:
<STRONG>Georgi is right, this is an invalid comparison......
To refresh your knowledge of geography, Canada, the United States, and Mexico are separate countries. In order to pass from one into the other you are required to cross a border, each nation has its own currency, and (at least in theory.... :rolleyes: .....)the three countries have autonomous national governments.....</STRONG>
Another invalidity in what @99 said is that, in all technicallity, anyone from North America, Central America, or South America could be accurately called an American. :rolleyes:

Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Britain the island that England is on?
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Post by Yshania »

Posted by Dragon Wench:
note: regarding currency, I am speaking from a somewhat historical perspective, that is, prior to the introduction of the integrated European currency.
Though some businesses/places in the UK do accept the Euro, we have yet to transfer. So in the UK we still spend Sterling. Hmmm...wonders whether this will draw criticism... ;)
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Post by GandalfgalTTV »

Originally posted by Sailor Saturn:
<STRONG>Another invalidity in what @99 said is that, in all technicallity, anyone from North America, Central America, or South America could be accurately called an American. :rolleyes: </STRONG>
Yeah but USAn doesn't sound right. :D
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Post by ThorinOakensfield »

Originally posted by dragon wench:
<STRONG>There is also a body of evidence that suggests Tolkien, like numerous other writers, was lashing out against the effects of the Industrial Revolution. The pastoral idyll represented by the Shire certainly supports this view, and as somebody else pointed out in another thread, anything mechanized in LOTR is depicted as intrinsically evil....</STRONG>
Yeah i said something like that. Mordor represented these mines that were located somewhere near where Tolkein lived, or so.
Nothing grew at the mines. The air was poisonous(underground vapors). Mordor is based on that.
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[ 01-05-2002: Message edited by: ThorinOakensfield ]
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Post by Dottie »

Hmm... i actually think these topics are more entertaining then your average spam.

It would be nice if things could be debated without patronizing or personal insults though.
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