XPost: rec.arts.books.tolkien, alt.fan.tolkien   
   From: hayesstw@telkomsa.net   
      
   On Fri, 6 Aug 2010 11:11:25 +0200, Öjevind Lång    
   wrote:   
      
   >"Steve Hayes"  skrev i meddelandet   
   >news:ikqm5696gn18br1apd16a8coqnlpt4gufp@4ax.com...   
   >   
   >[snip]   
   >   
   >> Please remind me -- what did letter 183 say?   
      
      
   >concludes that "I feel that the fiddle-faddle in reviews, and correspondence   
   >about them, as to whether my 'good people' were kind and merciful and gave   
   >quarter (in fact they do)**, is quite beside the point"; states that what he   
   >perceives as a determination in some critics to depict him as imbued with "a   
   >flag-to-Pretoria spirit"*** is disproved by his creation of the figure of   
   >Denethor; says that "I have not made any of the peoples on the 'right' side,   
   >Hobbits. Rohirrim, Men of Dale or of Gondor, any better than men have been   
   >or are, or can be"; and ends with the words: "Mine is not an 'imaginary'   
   >world, but an imaginary historical moment on 'Middle-earth' - which is our   
   >habitation."   
      
    "flag to Pretoria spirit" refers for British Imperialism circa 1884-1914 --   
   the 30 years of the "New Imperialism" and the "Scramble for Africa" (of which   
   planting the British flag in Pretoria was part).   
      
   >*C. S. Lewis said the same thing: that if one removed everything good, such   
   >as strength, intelligence, courage, life itself, then nothing whatever was   
   >left.   
   >**I find his claim here doubtful. We never hear of pardon being given to an   
   >orc. But then, orcs were absolutely evil, a circumstance which troubled   
   >Tolkien later on in life since the idea of irredeemably evil beings   
   >contradicts the concept of free will.   
   >***I'm not sure what this means.   
      
   True, pardon was never given to an Orc, but then there is also no instance of   
   an Orc repenting. Like Tony Blair, the servant of Sauron-over-the-sea,   
   perhaps. Or was he just Faramir?   
      
      
      
      
   --   
   Steve Hayes   
   Web: http://hayesfam.bravehost.com/litmain.htm   
        http://www.goodreads.com/hayesstw   
        http://www.bookcrossing.com/mybookshelf/Methodius   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)