Since I had little background with the Lord of the Rings before taking this class I decide to read The Hobbit first. Of the four books, I definitely enjoyed The Hobbit the most. This may be because it was short in nature and each chapter was filled with a new adventure. The Hobbit: Re-inventing Middle Earth chapter was a very interesting read and I was amazed at some of the topics Shippey mentioned. By breaking the The Hobbit down chapter by chapter, Shippey was able to apply each of his arguements specifically to each scene in the book. This strengthened the overall chapter and made it easier to read, especially for someone who has already read and enjoyed The Hobbit.
The opening part of this chapter was a flashback of when I read The Hobbit. It is unreal to think that Tolkien had middle earth mapped out in his mind since 1914. I think using this book as precursor to the Lord of the Rings trilogy was a great idea. It gave a background the imaginary hobbit people and drew the audience in. In Shippey’s recollection and critique of The Hobbit, he made some interesting remarks about the little creatures. He referred to hobbits as being “pig-headedly earthbound,” which I think is a bit of a stretch. I think this description was harsh for characters who are so cheerful and loyal in nature.
It is widely known that although Tolkien did note create fairy tales, it was one of his major accomplishments. After reading the section on fairy tales I realized how much of an impact Tolkien had on fairy tales. He brought fairy tales to life in the Lord of the Rings by giving his imaginary creatures an intricate history and background. Shippey’s comments on how Tolkien brought the real world and fantasy worlds together were enlightening. I have always though that fairy tales are just that, fairy tales and nothing more. With the genius mind of J.R.R. Tolkien fairy tales were transformed. Something new can always be learned. For example, Tolkien has been impacting fairy tales for decades and I am only now learning about his importance on our society today.
Overall, I enjoyed the recap on Thorin and his company and the first adventure of Bilbo Baggins. Tolkien used this opening book to successfully introduce his views on middle-earth and Shippey was his advocate to bring this information to readers today.
I thought it was interesting how Tolkien had so many references for his creation of Middle-Earth. I knew that for certain names and places he had references, but there is a reference to almost every major part of the book. At first I thought that this use of referencing took away from Tolkien’s creativity because many of the ideas he used were not originally his to start with. After pondering this thought for a while my opinion shifted. It takes an incredibly creative and imaginative person to incorporate so many different references into one magnificent story. It seems to me like Tolkien’s creation of Middle-Earth was like a rubik’s cube or an intricate puzzle. To put a puzzle together requires more thought and effort then it does to create one. Tolkien used all of these references and past experiences to assist him with the re-invention of Middle-Earth. These factors combined with his ingenious mind created the middle-earth that will be discussed and debated for years to come.
