Position Paper: Reader-response
I read a book the other day. It was a wonderful book called The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien. I really enjoyed it; it gives the background information on the creation of Middle Earth. In it, Tolkien tells us of Illúvatar, Eä, the Valar and the birth of Elves, Dwarves and Men. But, you know, I don’t think it has anything at all to do with Elves, Dwarves, Men and some god named Illúvatar. I think Tolkien really wanted to write a Biblical allegory and a critique on ridiculous human nature really is. Illúvatar is a substitution for God, the Valar substitute the Angels and the three god made races are representative of human races. I think he didn’t use more races because that would be too obvious and he wanted to be more subtle.
As I see it, this is what reader-response theory is about. It is about finding meaning in a text based on the reader’s opinions, regardless of what the author may have wanted their novel to mean. By deciding that Tolkien’s novel, The Silmarillion, is a critique on the Bible and human nature completely goes against what Tolkien himself thought. He says in a letter to Milton Waldman,
But an equally basic passion of mine ab initio was for myth (not allegory!) and for fairy-story … Also … I was from early days grieved by the poverty of my own beloved country: it had no stories of its own … not of the quality that I sought, and found in legends of other lands … Of ...
The structure of stories, on which Campbell’s Hero’s Journey and Booker’s Seven Basic Plots elaborated, is actually only a portion of the field of study it is under. Comparative mythology not only studies the structure of hero stories, but also origins, themes, and characteristics of myths from various religions and cultures. They study the language, psychology, history, and anthropology in order to identify a common theme or beginning point. Even without delving into religion, many common elements have come to light. For instance, many cultures have tales of people with strange supernatural abilities, others speak of similar creatures that reside in water, air or land, while still others extol the importance of talisman and religious symbols. Despite cultures existing on different ends of the earth and having little contact for much of their existence, they share these common
Literature has always been an immensely helpful resource when discerning cultural values in societies past and present. Through the study of noteworthy historic fictional and factual, texts we are able to distinguish parallel characteristics present through many different cultures and time periods. These distinguishing characteristics are one of the main things that help us to determine when and how a society, or world culture as a whole changes as time moves forward. When similarities are identified throughout many cultures in the same time period academics are able attach general titles to that specific time expanse. The “Heroic Age” is an example of a labeled span of time that generally maintains societal sameness throughout the period. The epic texts of Beowulf and The Odyssey are examples of culture revealing novels created during the heroic age. The texts help to prove the idea that societies maintain a basic status quo for many years because there is a 1500 year separation in the creation of the books. Despite this time difference in authorship, similar cultural ideals can be recognized throughout each novel. Both Greek and Germanic cultures emphasized the power and importance of receiving and giving gifts as a means of displaying and achieving power. Beowulf and The Odyssey share the general theme of giving, and when comparing the two, it is easy to conclude that giving and receiving is an integral part of both the Germanic and Grecian cultures of that time.
Sandra Cisneros’s short story “Never Marry a Mexican” deals heavily with the concept of myth in literature, more specifically the myth La Malinche, which focuses on women, and how their lives are spun in the shadows on men (Fitts). Myths help power some of the beliefs of entire cultures or civilizations. She gives the reader the mind of a Mexican-American woman who seems traitorous to her friends, family and people she is close to. This causes destruction in her path in the form of love, power, heartbreak, hatred, and an intent to do harm to another, which are themes of myth in literature. The unreliable narrator of this story was created in this story with the purpose to show her confusion and what coming from two completely different cultures can do to a person, and what kind of confusion it can bring.
As one of the most well known ancient Roman love poets, Ovid has demonstrated bountiful talents within his writing. When reading myths from his book titled Metamorphoses, you gain an enlightening insight of how he viewed mythology. To Ovid, love was the origin of everything. Therefore, it should not come as a surprise that most of his poems relate to the theme of love. However, not all poets are the same and every re-telling of a myth has its own unique perspective. In this paper I will compare and contrast the myth of Medea in Euripides Medea and Ovid’s Metamorphoses Book 7. I will then explain how Ovid’s approach to love and loss correlate to his general approach to myth as a whole. I will support my belief with evidence from Ovid’s Metamorphoses Book 14.
R. W. Southern's 'From Epic to Romance' traces the shift of thoughts and feelings from the early to high medieval era. Not only does he paint the religious changes well, but also how these new ideas spilled over into the secular world. Once the twelfth century writers fueled the spark of romanticism, the epic was doomed. Southern show how the thoughts of God and a limited world made The Song of Roland a classical early medieval epic and that the new concepts in ecclesiastical and social circles illuminated the increasing romantic sentiment such as those found in Ywain.
· Urang, Gunnar. "J. R. R. Tolkien: Fantasy and the Phenomenology of Hope" Religion and Fantasy in the Writing of C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and J. R. R. Tolkien. United Church Press, 1971
Silko counsels that the story's potential for good or ill should not be easily discounted or dismissed. She seems to understand all too well that human beings house both virtuous and vicious impulses; our stories are infused with both the sinister and the sublime. There is a unifying, mythical or archetypal realm which exists just beyond the scope of individual consciousness. Stories are tethered to and wound around this insubstantial place, and the power of each story is firmly rooted in this connection.
...ase one's decisions, it is nevertheless interesting to see how they play out in Tolkien's novel. If there is anything that can be said of The Lord of the Rings in general, it is that it displays an amazing amount of consistency in every aspect of the tale. This consistency extends even to its ethics, a rare phenomenon in a book of "fantasy/sci-fi." One may not agree with Tolkien's view of technology or fellowship, but the ideas are well thought-out and well developed in the story. They make the book worth reading whether you consider it a fanciful children's tale as some do, or a masterpiece of its genre, as do I and many others.
Though not the focus of epic poetry, the female characters of this ancient genre play a central role, as they have a great influence on the male heroes they encounter. In a genre which idealizes manliness and heroism—that is, acts of courage, strength, and cunning— women are set in opposition to these ideals and therefore less respected. At the same time, women who attempt to take on more “masculine” roles are vilified. Here, antagonist is defined as anyone in opposition to the hero’s goals. Female agency—their free will and ability to wield power—is directly related to their role in epic poetry; that is, the more agency a female character has, the more antagonistic of a role she plays. This agency is often enacted through sexuality or supernatural
J.R.R Tolkien’s work of fiction The Lord of the Rings, have with the advent of Peter Jackson’s film adaptation brought the series to newfound heights of fame. As with many works of it’s kind, The Lord of the Rings depicts a battle between good and evil, with the main characters in the books striving to thwart evil’s plan. In many other works, the author’s personal belief system or worldview drives the narrative, with the message being paramount and the characters the vehicles of conveyance for the point of the story. C.S Lewis, a friend and contemporary of Tolkien’s, is a prime example of this. Lewis’ popular series The Chronicles of Narnia is an allegorical work, teaching Christian principles through the use of fiction. While raised as a Catholic himself, Tolkien does not explicitly promote his religious background, nor does he engage in allegory. However, Tolkien’s views of morality can be found throughout the work, specifically in the way in which evil is portrayed, the use of power and moral freedom of choice. Randel Helms writes in his book, Tolkien’s World, “Tolkien’s particular myth parallels his Christianity, … positioning a malevolent and corrupting outside influence, spiritual and probably eternal, against which man is doomed to fight, but which he has no hope of conquering” (67).
Beowulf is the conventional title of an Old English epic poem consisting of 3182 alliterative long lines, set in Scandinavia, commonly cited as one of the most important works of Anglo-Saxon literature due to the fact that it is the oldest surviving epic poem of Old English and also the earliest vernacular English literature. Tragedy and epic have been much discussed as separate genres, but critics have not hesitated to designate certain characters and events in epics as tragic. For the most part, they have assumed or asserted an identity between epic and dramatic tragedy. Even in The Odyssey, Penelope and Telemachus suffer enough to rouse their deep passions and to force them like the tragic sufferer to consider their own predicaments in the world they live in. C.L. Wrenn wrote on Beowulf, “A Germanic hero is a tragic hero, who shows his highest greatness not alone in winning glory by victory, but rather by finding his supremely noble qualities especially in the moment of death in battle” (Wrenn 91). Beowulfs hubris, the representation of wealth as a profiling characteristic for the villages, and Beowulf’s ability to find his might in his moment of “death,” all show the very nature of the poem which defines it as not only an epic poem, but also a tragic one.
In literature, the feats of a main character are defined by the sacrifices he/she makes with respect to those he/she holds dear. In this way, loved ones are woven into the story to give perspective; they multiply the joys as well as the sorrows, allowing the protagonist to experience a wide range of emotions. In Virgil’s Aeneid, an epic narrative about the legendary founding of Rome, Dido is present to strengthen the character of the protagonist, Aeneas. Many tragedies befall her throughout the work, especially in Book IV, which initially evoke sympathy in the reader. However, upon further inspection, the reader understands the importance of Dido for developing and defining Aeneas’ character, and therefore does not pity her. Nor does the reader condemn Virgil as treating Dido grossly, because he really does care about her as a character, so much so that he consents to allowing her to experience tragedy. Dido’s misfortunes, and the love she inspires in Aeneas, are necessary in order to create an honorable and revered hero as well as a powerful literary work.
The Epic of Gilgamesh and The Odyssey both are held in high respect by literature analysts and historians alike for the characterization of the hero and his companion, the imagery brought to mind when one of them is read, and the impressive length in relation to the time period it was written in. The similarities that these two epics share do not end with only those three; in fact, the comparability of these works extend to even the information on the author and the archetypes used. However, The Odyssey and The Epic of Gilgamesh contrast from one another in their writing styles, character details, and main ideas. Both epics weave together a story of a lost man who must find his way, but the path of their stories contrast from one another.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring is a 2001 epic fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson. The film is an adaptation of a volume of the same name by J.R.R. Tolkien published in 1954. This is the first film of Peter Jackson’s trilogy that adapted J.R.R. Tolkien’s entire Lord of the Rings series into screenplay.
In the foreword to the second edition, Tolkien affirmed The Lord of the Rings “was primarily linguistic in inspiration and was begun in order to provide the necessary background or ‘history’ for Elvish tongues” (Tolkien 2004:xxii). Without a doubt, language is the foundation upon which Tolkien defines cultures and individuals: Tolkien’s invented languages, particularly those wholly alien to the Westron or ‘Common Speech,’ vividly reveal and reflect cultural differences in Middle-earth, but it is the manner in which an individual utilizes language that sets him apart from his contemporaries. Complicating Tolkien’s process in the fiction of translation is the need to distinguish closely related language groups; nevertheless, Tolkien adeptly weaves his linguistic web by varying the kind of English used.