Books2Movies Club discussion

That is very interesting point. I have never thought of the elves and dwarves representing different aspects and characteristics of humanity. What aspects, or characteristics does each race represent?

@Blueturtles, lol, that really made me smile!

@Joseph, I think the elves are for the most part the things that we think are ideal and that we wish to achieve, even though they still fall short of perfection. They are immortal, like our ideals; they love beauty and see it in the natural world around them and celebrate and work WITH it to create their technologies and beauty, rather than destroy it; they love learning and strive to KNOW thing, on a deep level. They do have imperfections though, such as shutting themselves off from the rest of the world to try to protect themselves, and thus miss out on some of the beauty of blending with and learning from others and the valuable lessons that can be gained from doing so.

The dwarves are kind of our more "earthy" selves. They love all things shiny and well-worked, appreciate well-crafted things from weapons to art, but are much more competitive about it, whereas the elves do it for the sake of utter craftsmanship and because they love the beauty of it...and because such things are a necessary evil. The dwarves see the beauty in the hidden things, the gems underground or the different kinds of beauty of different people (I believe dwarf women are said to have beards, for example?). They are more likely to work something out with aggression and their hands than sit around and talk about it forever. They are also fiercely loyal, to a fault, not allowing a slight against them or their friends and neighbors to go unnoticed.

The orcs/goblins, then are the most depraved parts of man. Our greed, desire to "look out for number one" and conquer, destroying the creations of others instead of admiring and absorbing them into our own worlds. They wreak havoc with no thought to future consequences.

Lol, this is making me sound like a total tree-hugger, which I'm not, but this is what I see in these races on a bigger level, when you move out from the individuals and their personalities.

I liked your analysis and insight. Thanks!

I am half way through thr hobbit. Loving it. I am also finding it good escapism. Carol

Very interesting thoughts on dwarves and the hobbit and diferent parts of humanity. I will keep this in mind as I finish the book.

That's just what I think after having read and re-read The Hobbit and LOTR many times. I don't know that it's really representational or intended that way, that's just how I've kind of come to view them.

You guys are realy confusing me.

I read it when I was a kid. When I was learning to read my parents helped me out by telling me to pick books from the shelf and we'd read them together, taking turns. It's how I first read the sequel too. I read A Christmas Carol first and then some book about Isaac Newton. But then I saw the red dragon on the cover and went, oh cool I'm picking that up.

I basically fell in love with the story from the first line. It's 'escapist fun' in one sense because it has so many fun elements. It's also a story with morals and deep themes when you delve into it. A story about the greed of dwarves, the courage of people who have difficult choices to make and a tale full of magical characters and situations. I plan on sharing it with future generations (whether my own kids if I have any or any kids I teach!).

Just finishing up the book. Falling in love with it all over again. Looking forward to seeing the movie when I can.

Joseph wrote: "No! I love that book. I thought LOTR dragged in some areas, but not this one. I don't understand how they are turning this book into three movies."

I totally agree with you josph

A few days ago I tried to do something different, so I tried to listen to BBC radio adaptation of The Hobbit. Unfortunately I couldn't. Maybe it is just my copy of the tape? The background noise and sound effects were so loud and some voices so strange that it was difficult to enjoy the story, so I eventually gave up. Has anybody else listened to it?

I've listened to it, but it's been awhile. I can't remember if the background was too loud, but I do remember some of it being rather distracting. I liked it well enough, though, was nice to do something different. Some of the songs got incredibly tedious, though...

Read the book again, for the Tolkien Project!

Absolutely loved it! I've read it so many times and it still does not bore me. Even songs were entertaining, which in LotR I didn't like as much.

The tone of The Hobbit is definitely different from the LotR. The book was much lighter in tone and less descriptive, more like an oral storytelling. Distances and timelines are way off, so very not like LotR! Elves were also more extrovert and cheerier, however that may be due to the time period, before Sauron's reappearance. The magic is, well, just that, not so imbued with meaning like in LotR (e.g. the use of the ring has no effect whatsoever besides making people invisible). Basically this was a quest tale with tasks and rewards, and a reluctant hero in its midst, who learned something about himself and earned respect of the others along the way. LotR has a quest too, but it's more a world-affecting quest than a personal one.