#aspa reads tolkien

[la-pheacienne]

I'm reading the lord of the rings and I'm once again amazed at how... good most characters are. Like, they are genuinely good people. They are a bunch of kindhearted, gracious, caring people, coming together under adverse circumstances and trying to figure things out and find a solution and support each other through it all. Like Frodo and Sam meet Faramir and Faramir is a bit suspicious at first and kind of implies Frodo may be a spy, and then when he hears his story and he's like Frodo, I pressed you so hard at first. Forgive me! It was unwise in such an hour and place. And this blows.my.mind. He wasn't even particularly mean or threatening to him in the beginning, he's just such a kind, considerate man, recognizing the kindness and honesty of another man. And they're all like that. Even Gollum starts slowly changing (for a short while) when he encounters Frodo because that's the thing about kindness and humility and grace, they are contagious. They transform people, even a creature like Gollum cannot be immune to that. Like, you may consider all this simple and basic and I get it but, hear me out. It is quite rare to see that in modern media and it is also pretty difficult to pull off in a way that is not corny and simplistic. It is mind blowing that you actually don't have to present the entire palette of human cruelty and vice in order to tell a compelling story, contrary to popular belief. Lotr does the exact opposite, and it is just beautiful and it warms my heart. Especially taking into consideration tolkien's pretty grim growing-up experience, him being a double orphan without a home, raised between an orphanage and a priest and having no family apart from his brother and then the war and then he almost dies and then he's poor as hell and then a second war and it all makes sense somehow. He writes to his wife who is also an orphan two days before the marriage "the next few years will bring us joy and content and love and sweetness such as could not be if we hadn't first been two homeless children and had found one another after long waiting" and, yes, yes! The love and sweetness just radiate from his work, the entire lotr series is a little radiant bubble of hope and love and grace that he imagined in his head to deal with a dismal reality and then he just gave that to the world, and isn't that what imagination and art is all about after all?

#i literally wrote this because faramir said 'forgive me' #like that was the inspiration here #terminal brain damage don't mind me #BUT #i have a point #i do! #i am cringe but i am free #i love these books so much #i love this man so much #lotr #the two towers #frodo baggins #faramir #gollum #the lord of the rings #aspa rambles #tolkien #aspa reads tolkien

[la-pheacienne]

George Martin, 2013: "In a very basic level winter is coming for all of us. I think that’s one of the things that art is concerned with: the awareness of our own mortality. “Valar morghulis” – “All men must die”. That shadow lies over our world and will until medical science gives us all immortality… but I don’t think it makes it necessarily a pessimistic world. Not any more pessimistic than the real world we live in. We’re here for a short time and we should be conscious of our own mortality, but the important thing is that love, compassion and empathy with other human beings is still possible. Laughter is still possible! Even laughter in the face of death… The struggle to make the world a better place… We have things like war, murder and rape… horrible things that still exist, but we don’t have to accept them, we can fight the good fight. The fight to eliminate those things.There is darkness in the world, but I don’t think we necessarily need to give way to despair. One of the great things that Tolkien says in Lord of The Rings is “despair is the ultimate crime”. That’s the ultimate failing of Denethor, the Steward of Gondor, that he despairs of ever being able to defeat Sauron. We should not despair. We should not go gentle into that good night".

JRR Tolkien, 1962 : "One reviewer once said, this is a jolly jolly book, all the right boys come home [...]- this isn't true of course, he can't have read the story. [...] Human stories are practically always about one thing, really, aren't they? Death. The inevitability of death. . . . . . (He quotes Simone de Beauvoir) 'There is no such thing as a natural death. Nothing that ever happens to man is natural, since his presence calls the whole world into question. All men must die, but for every man his death is an accident, and even if he knows it he would sense to it an unjustifiable violation.' Well, you may agree with the words or not, but those are the key spring of The Lord Of The Rings".

"Lotr is all rainbows and unicorns and Asoiaf is nihilistic and grimdark". Wrong, and wrong. In all its hope and radiance, lotr often gets very dark, and despite all the death and suffering, the hopeful moments in asoiaf shine bright. The meeting point of these two is this: having hope while in despair, and even better, refusing to give up because you have to go on despite not having any hope left.

#the fact that in possibly his most famous interview tolkien literally quotes 'all men must die' LIKE #GEORGE #I SEE U #you have studied the Professor really hard grandpa just speak your truth free urself! #don't get me wrong for me the Professor will always and forever take precedence there is absolutely no question about it BUT ALSO #stop pitting two bad bitches against eachother!! #i think about all of these a normal amount #and this is why i'll never lead a normal life #ridiculously long post #but i couldn't leave anything out #i must say i cried a little when i read them all back to back #especially the last sam quote #lotr #valyrianscrolls #tolkien #tolkien quotes #asoiaf quotes #lord of the rings #the hobbit #aspa reads tolkien #aragorn #frodo baggins #sam gamgee #bilbo baggins #brienne of tarth #jon snow #jaime lannister #bran stark #daenerys targaryen

[la-pheacienne]

i love them so much

#lord of the rings #lotr #the two towers #tolkien #peregrin took #meriadoc brandybuck #theoden king #aspa reads tolkien

[la-pheacienne]

reading the two towers and i Feel Things

#friend of friends #FRIEND OF FRIENDS #are we ever likely to need bread again #he did not kiss it #f u c k #frodo baggins #samwise gamgee #the lord of the rings #the passage of the marshes #the two towers #lotr #tolkien #quotes #aspa reads tolkien

[la-pheacienne]

Frodo and Sam lay eyes on Mordor for the first time

Lord of the Rings, The Two Towers, Book 4, Chapter 2, The passage of the Marshes.

Two things I will never get:

Why some people say Tolkien's descriptions are boring/excessive

Why Frodo and Sam's parts of the books are considered the most boring/most tiring parts.

I'm reading TT in english this time and so far, Frodo and Sam's parts are my favorite. The passage of the Marshes is a stellar chapter, a truly unforgettable reading experience. The very first description of the mountains surrounding Mordor left me speachless and when Sam, (Sam!!! Cheerful, optimistic, joyful bubble of happiness Sam!) said "I feel sick", I felt it too.

#lotr #the lord of the rings #the two towers #tolkien #frodo baggins #sam gamgee #mordor #tolkien quotes #i love this part so so so much #TT 4.2 #The passage of the Marshes #aspa reads tolkien

[la-pheacienne]

i got this from the diary i kept at 13 yo, this is how i imagined the first meeting between me and my crush (we hadn't met obviously)

#lotr #the two towers #eowyn #aragorn #aragorn x eowyn #éowyn #tolkien #the king of the golden hall #TT 3.6 #aspa talks tolkien #lord of the rings #aspa reads tolkien

[la-pheacienne]

Can someone who understands the text better than me tell me what Sam means at the end? "He's like that", meaning? Like what exactly?" And what shines through"? Is it about Frodo's inner light shining through (I guess)? Also where does this inner light come from exactly?

#beautiful moment #but i love him whether or no #unreal #sam my baby boy #tt 4.4 #of herbs and stewed rabbit #the two towers #tolkien #jrr tolkien #tolkien quotes #lotr #lord of the rings #sam gamgee #frodo baggins #frodo x sam #aspa reads tolkien

[la-pheacienne]

"A fox passing through the wood on business of his own stopped several minutes and sniffed. "Hobbits!" he thought. "Well, what next? I have heard of strange doings in this land, but I have seldom heard of a hobbit sleeping out of doors under a tree. Three of them! There's something might queer behind this." He was quite right, but he never found out more about this".

#that's it #that's the post #this quote is insane #fellowship of the ring #lotr #tolkien #aspa reads tolkien

[la-pheacienne]

all timer quote

#tolkien's descriptions are boring #RIGHT #lord of the rings #the two towers #peregrin took #gandalf #lotr #tolkien #tolkien quotes #aspa reads tolkien

[la-pheacienne]

why are they like this

#stop obsessing over my boy sam both of you it's embarrassing you have WORK to do #i'm glad tolkien has his priorities straight tho this was a piece of vital information in the middle of a fatal quest to save the world #and during a heartbreaking epic farewell between all these people after their mind altering and life changing encounter #that made them reevaluate their entire existence #gardeners appreciation post #frodo baggins #faramir #faramir of gondor #lotr #lord of the rings #the two towers #aspa reads tolkien #the window on the west

[la-pheacienne]

On a scale of 1 to

how petty are you

#treebeard my bestest boi #treebeard #lord of the rings #the two towers #tolkien #tolkien quotes #lotr #saruman #aspa reads tolkien

[la-pheacienne]

The Hobbit cures cancer, depression and diabetes. You learned it from me.

#jrr tolkien #tolkien #the hobbit #i'm talking about the BOOK #the movie causes cancer depression and diabetes #aspa rambles #aspa reads tolkien

[la-pheacienne]

Sooo I'm currently rereading lotr in english and I have noticed that despite the obvious differences in style, structure and themes, asoiaf is still heavily influenced by tolkien's work. I've seen in asoiaf certain themes, moments, or even turns of phrase that I'm now seeing in lotr and I think that's interesting so I'm about to go on a rampage with a series of parallel quotes for purely self indulgent purposes. I'm naming them self indulgent because for the most part it is just about having Similar Vibes, but this is enough for me.

#asoiaf #lotr #lotr x asoiaf parallels #aspa rambles #aspa reads tolkien

[la-pheacienne]

#casual tolkien quote of the day #lord of the rings #the two towers #shadowfax #gandalf #lotr #tolkien #i love this book so much #aspa reads tolkien