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The Nature of Courage
Defeat seems inevitable. The forces of evil are strong. And, the quest isn't really a quest at all. Rather, it's an anti-quest, the attempt to destroy the representation of evil. The road is long and difficult; there are many obstacles; and many die along the way... Then, why do they even attempt the journey?
Shippey explains: "The truly courageous answer — Tolkien called it a "potent but terrible solution" is to say that victory or defeat has nothing to do with right and wrong, and that even if the universe is controlled beyond redemption by hostile and evil forces, that is not enough to make a hero change sides."
For many of the characters, there never really seemed much hope of success.
As Sam thinks, "he had not needed hope, as long as despair could be postponed." And Frodo later tells Sam, "It must often be so... when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them."
Courage is not always of a very outwardly brash sort. Sometimes it's as simple as Bilbo's courage in "The Hobbit." Shippey explains that Bilbo's courage is "internalized, solitary, dutiful — and distinctively modern, for there is nothing like it in 'Beowulf' or the Eddic poem or Norse saga. Just the same, it is a courage of a sort, and even heroes and warriors ought to come to respect it."
Endings or Beginnings
When Tolkien began to write about Middle Earth, he created something that will not soon be forgotten. Shippey writes that "what Tolkien certainly did was introduce a new, or possibly re-introduce an old and forgotten taste into the literary world." Although "The Lord of the Rings" is "rarely if ever set as a text in schools or universities," millions of readers have shown that Tokien's books offered a taste they are craving for...
As Shippey says, "Tolkien left a legacy as rich as any of his predecessors."
The Nature of Courage
Defeat seems inevitable. The forces of evil are strong. And, the quest isn't really a quest at all. Rather, it's an anti-quest, the attempt to destroy the representation of evil. The road is long and difficult; there are many obstacles; and many die along the way... Then, why do they even attempt the journey?
Shippey explains: "The truly courageous answer — Tolkien called it a "potent but terrible solution" is to say that victory or defeat has nothing to do with right and wrong, and that even if the universe is controlled beyond redemption by hostile and evil forces, that is not enough to make a hero change sides."
For many of the characters, there never really seemed much hope of success.
As Sam thinks, "he had not needed hope, as long as despair could be postponed." And Frodo later tells Sam, "It must often be so... when things are in danger: some one has to give them up, lose them, so that others may keep them."
Courage is not always of a very outwardly brash sort. Sometimes it's as simple as Bilbo's courage in "The Hobbit." Shippey explains that Bilbo's courage is "internalized, solitary, dutiful — and distinctively modern, for there is nothing like it in 'Beowulf' or the Eddic poem or Norse saga. Just the same, it is a courage of a sort, and even heroes and warriors ought to come to respect it."
Endings or Beginnings
When Tolkien began to write about Middle Earth, he created something that will not soon be forgotten. Shippey writes that "what Tolkien certainly did was introduce a new, or possibly re-introduce an old and forgotten taste into the literary world." Although "The Lord of the Rings" is "rarely if ever set as a text in schools or universities," millions of readers have shown that Tokien's books offered a taste they are craving for...
As Shippey says, "Tolkien left a legacy as rich as any of his predecessors."
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