tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1991002223678957734.post6221513187589224721..comments2024-03-28T10:23:11.232+02:00Comments on Freodom: Let's Read Tolkien 19: The Last StageMichael Halilahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00813965292738048095noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1991002223678957734.post-25525716577750657502016-04-08T02:08:17.573+03:002016-04-08T02:08:17.573+03:00Thank you! I'm happy you've enjoyed readin...Thank you! I'm happy you've enjoyed reading these; I've had a lot of fun writing them, and even more with the Lord of the Rings ones.<br /><br />I have to be honest, having read Tolkien's letters, most of his fiction and even a bunch of the non-fiction, I still can't quite work out what he thought about racism. Certainly he didn't like Hitler and the Nazis, but I'm actually not entirely sure why. On the one hand, he did condemn anti-Semitism, but on the other he regards Thorin going berserk over gold as a meditation on the Jewish character, so, you know. I'm not sure that he made any real effort to rise above the racism of his time, but rather, to me, fairly faithfully reflects both that and the sexism. I'll try to talk some more about this with the Lord of the Rings posts!Michael Halilahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00813965292738048095noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1991002223678957734.post-12139304384726012322016-04-04T21:36:20.409+03:002016-04-04T21:36:20.409+03:00I'm definitely reading your Hobbit posts and e...I'm definitely reading your Hobbit posts and enjoying the analysis. I'm very much looking forward to your analysis of LOTR (and about to re-read them for the umpteenth time myself).<br /><br />I see Tolkien as a man of his time, imbued with a male-centric and racist tones, yet he seems to try to rise above it (certainly in his condemnation of antisemitism). He's like that grandfather who's staunchly against racism but occasionally blurts out embarrassing racist statements at family gatherings. Leonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15715768191516712688noreply@blogger.com