Posted: December 14, 1999 at 23:31:22: by Jesse
: People already have "wrong ideas" about the book, and I'm not referring to the Medieval/Balrog Wings/Who Spoke on Mount Doom/Bombadil issues. I'm referring to the allegations of allegory and racism, to the perceptions of otherworldliness, to the shallow or casual knowledge that some people develop without delving deeply into the stories and backgrounds (and I don't consider that to be a requirement for personal enjoyment -- I mean nothing condescending or pejorative in this, but not everyone tries to figure out where Aragorn lived).If this "wrong idea" of "perceptions of otherworldliness" is an indirect reference to my post below concerning S&S, I should say then, that CS Lewis had the "wrong idea" about Tolkiens' work for it was indeed Lewis who brought this "otherworldliness" aspect to my attention (see Of Other Worlds pages 70-71). I am not ready to concede that Lewis was wrong--especially within the context of what I said. It may not be the "entire idea" of the book, but as I said it is a very important aspect--certainly a huge part. I am very interested in what you may consider the "correct idea" of the book.
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