My name is Carly and I am a Speech Language Pathology major. Before this summer I had heard of the Lord of the Rings movies but I had only seen bits and pieces of them. My younger brother is a huge Lord of the Rings fan and he was excited for me to take this class. To be honest I was nervous about finding the time for the films and the movies this summer. I made it a point to read the books first and I was surprised by how fast the time went. The books were an easy read and they were hard to put it down. The movies were exceptionally long but they were very interesting. I was surprised by how similar the movies and the books were.
It is hard to pick one main event in the Lord of the Rings that was a favorite so I decided to choose my favorite characters. Legolas and Samwise were my favorite characters in both the books and the movies. Samwise was a favorite because of his ability to always look on the bright side. Sam never gave up hope and I believe he was the real reason their journey was a success. While reading the books I was amazed by the in depth descriptions of the elves and their history.
I was disappointed when I watched the final movie when they decided to cut the fight scene in the Shire. in the book the four hobbits fought bravely against the men and they proved that they had courage to fight their own battles. I believe this scene showed that the hobbits could stand up for themselves without the protection of men, elves, a dwarf, and a wizard.
I would really like to learn more about the power of the three elven rings and of the elvish culture. I loved the descriptions of Rivendell, Lorien and other elvish places that Legolas referred to. The elves seemed skilled in almost every aspect of life. They were skilled hunters, singers, healers, and craftsmen. It was ashame that the time of the elves ended with the destruction of Mordor.
I know little about computer animation and how the fight scenes in movies were created. That could be another interesting topic to discuss in class.
I really like the Harry Potter movies althought I have only read the first 4 books. I look forward to reading the other books when I have the opportunity.
