My name is Annika Laughlin and I am in my second year at Buffalo State. I am currently an exceptional education major but I am switching to English Education because I find analyzing texts fascinating.
I was first exposed to The Lord of the Rings through the movies. I didn’t see the first movie in the theaters, but my family rented it and after watching it I became a fan. I read the Hobbit in the eighth grade for summer reading, but I never followed through with the Lord of the Rings. This summer was my first time reading the book. I wish now that I had read it sooner. I usually don’t like theatrical versions of novels and there were several changes from the book to the movie that angered me. In the text Merry, Pippin, Sam, and that fourth hobbit whose name I can’t quite remember plan Frodo’s departure from the shire and aide in his escape. I thought this really helped to characterize the hobbits and show their devotion to one another. Unfortunately in the movie Merry and Pippin just sort of run into Sam and Frodo. The other change I didn’t approve of was the presentation of Lord Faramir. In the novel he didn’t want to bring the ring into Gondor, but in the movie he does. That act, to me, always made him seem more like Aragorn than his brother Boromir. Other than those two changes, I liked the movies, but I still prefer the book.
There are many things I’d like to do in this class. I hope we can have a lot of group discussions. There is so much material in the book and I’d like to hear other peoples opinions and interpretations on the text. I’d also like to study a little closer the the geography of Middle Earth. I tried for a while to follow the maps but I didn’t always know where the characters were in relation to each other when the fellowship was broken. I found Tom Bombadil to be one of the most interesting characters and I’d really like to study him and learn more of what he is and does. I developed a bit of a literary crush on Sam Gamgee and I’d also like to focus on him. His mannerisms and quotes would always make me laugh, providing some much needed comic relief. I also thought there was a strange connection between Gollum and Sam, especially in the way that they both referred to Frodo as master. If there are more similarities between these two characters I’d like to discover them. I’d also like to explore the role of women in the Lord of the Rings. In my interpretation of the text, there are only two main female characters, the Lady Galadriel and Eowyn, and both are very powerful characters.
I am most definately a Harry Potter fan. I usually read the books in one sitting and then have to go back and re-read them because I read through them too quickly. The dementors in Harry Potter seemed almost like distant relatives of the ring wraiths, and Shelob and Hargid’s giant spider also share many characteristics. I would really like study the influence Tolkien had on Rowling as well.Annika Laughlin ? August 28, 2008, at 08:10 PM
