tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post5709860443498524126..comments2023-11-07T06:20:12.181-08:00Comments on Tolkien: Medieval and Modern: When the Value of Myth and History Lies in Action – For the Farmer Giles in All of Us"Tolkien: Medieval and Modern"http://www.blogger.com/profile/04348913969813157482noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post-40215981654466181152014-06-05T03:49:30.278-07:002014-06-05T03:49:30.278-07:00I am also still pondering the moral of Farmer Gile...I am also still pondering the moral of Farmer Giles, even weeks after we read it. As we discussed in class, and as Tolkien writes in the text of the story—place names are important! But that almost seems like a distraction from the many other threads of story and commentary occurring in Farmer Giles. For me, one of the most interesting, yet at the same time disconcerting morals of the story comes from the fact that Giles becomes a king in the end, and he builds a palace just as lavish as the one that the king he rebelled from had. Although kings and kingdoms change (as do place names), these vicious cycles remain. ~ERGG"Tolkien: Medieval and Modern"https://www.blogger.com/profile/04348913969813157482noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5746173806126403959.post-54274218022079756302014-04-25T08:05:11.727-07:002014-04-25T08:05:11.727-07:00Why shouldn't literary analysis be as fun (and...Why shouldn't literary analysis be as fun (and dangerous!) as dragon taming? I very much like how you have identified key moments in which “myth” forces the characters into very real action. I agree that the tone of Farmer Giles is a wonderful blend of absurd, and earnest. My favorite line has to be when the blacksmith thinks that “Hilarius” and “Felix” are inauspicious names (beyond being the names of saints and popes, they both mean some shade of “cheerful” or “happy”!).<br /><br />I'm still not clear as to what you think that the “theme” or “moral” here is—what does it mean, exactly, for the “words of history and myth [to] become action”? Do you mean, as you seem to conclude, that Tolkien's goal with this piece is to get us to talk about it? This seems an unsatisfying conclusion to the complexity of the humor and history/myth mixing. Or is there something about the nature of myth and history (when does one become the other?) that you want us to be thinking about when it comes to taking action? What is it about this particular pastiche of legends and myths about blunderbusses and dragons that you think points to the roots of human being?<br /><br />--Jenna"Tolkien: Medieval and Modern"https://www.blogger.com/profile/04348913969813157482noreply@blogger.com