TOLKIEN

I picked up a new book the other
day, Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings: A guide to Middle
Earth. It's one of dozens of books that give plot summaries,
chronology, and dictionary of terms for understanding thewriting of J.
R. R. Tolkien. Believe me, you need some kind of guide for this. I've
read the Lord of the Rings at least a dozen times,
but it always takes work to plow through it. Tolkien created a complex
plot in an even more complex world with its own mythology and an
assortment of languages. It must have been a shock to people who had
read the children's book The Hobbit (1937) when they
picked up the The Fellowship of the Ring (1954),
the first book in the Lord of the Rings. Instead of
another fantasy adventure in Middle Earth, readers discovered the
beginning of a great, involved saga. And behind the story there was yet
another saga, TheSimarillion, (1977) that would be published by Tolkien's
son after his father's death. Since then even more material has
appeared–earlier drafts and unfinished items–comprising The
History of Middle Earth.

I wouldn't attempt to sketch the plots
of any of these writings. It's far beyond me to grasp it all. What
amazes me is thatTolkien's fertile mind could create this elaborate
world while all the time working as a professor at Oxford. For some
reason this strikes me as akin model railroaders who create their own
worlds in impressive detail. I envy the ability to create such a world.
Little children can do it with their tremendous imaginations, but it's
lost by many adults–including me despite my lame attempt at a fantasy
book.

One of the
things I discovered about fantasy writing is the necessity for rules
about how the imaginary world operates. This sounds really peculiar.
Can't you make up just about anything for you fantasy world? Well, yes,
but there has to be rules so that there is consistency. If there is to
be magic, you have to decide who can do magic and how it works and what
the limitations are. Think about the related genre of science fiction,
in particular Superman. Now Superman has all sorts of super powers.
That's all well and good, but there isn't much to work with if Superman
spots all crimes, stops them in the nick of time and is impervious to
any sort of attack. There has to be super rivals, the dangers ofkryptonite, the secret identity to maintain. That's how the rules work.

In Tolkien's
writings we see the rules at work in the natures of the various types
of peoples. The Hobbits are sort of human-like, without any magical
powers, unlikely to seek adventure, preferring comfort and well-being
to excitement. The elves are also human-like, but with some ability
limited to work magic, masters of every kind of knowledge, and almost
immortal. In general they only die by accident or by being killed.
Tolkien worked at length to develop a mythology that explains the
different peoples and their natures. There is a supernatural hierarchy
that has caused the world to be–Iluvatar, The Father of All, the One. In short, God. Then there are the powerful spiritual beings, the Valar, something like angels. Indeed one of the Valar, Melkor
is the equivalent of the fallen angel Lucifer. The there are lesser
spiritual beings, the Maia, sort of angelic assistants who sometimes
take on human form, most notably the wizards likeGandalf and the evil Sauron.

I am so impressed by this creative
ability. Somewhere I read that such creativity is not really creativity
at all, at least not the kind of exnihilo creation
of God, but a kind of rearrangement of what already exists. Maybe so,
but that rearrangement can be pretty impressive. Thomas Edison
rearrange an assortment of gears and wheels and a needle and a few
other parts and out came the phonograph. That's rather amazing in my
book. So, too, the artist rearranges things and out comes stories,
pictures, plays, songs and a host of other things that enrich our lives.

Experiencing these creative works are an
act of discovery. I read Tolkien and discover this world of
Middle-Earth, its people, its myths, the way it works. Like any good
work of art, I keep coming back to it. There's more to see, more to
discover.

I've seen
little children who play with the same toys again and again. I guess
it's part creativity and part discovery, but it intrigues them. I think
the best toys are those that require the most investment by the child
in making it entertaining. A set of blocks, for example, the basic
doll's house. Those sorts of things call for creativity and discovery.

I wish education was more like
that–calling for creativity and discovery. I have a sense that the
present emphasis on learning for objective tests works against real
learning and suppresses the desire for both discovery and creativity.
That leads to a fairly dull life. I hope young people get to live lives
as a journey. There may be some tough going at times, but it's better
to keep trying than to become stuck in the mud. Keep on dreaming and
thinking and creating. That's the way you find new paths to travel.

May the Lord God bless you on your way and greet you on your arrival.


Wayne