Poor Folk, October 11, 2001

_Poor Folk_ is written in the form of letters between a middle aged man and
a girl/young woman (no ages are ever given). Both are very poor, simple folk.
The high degree of pathos, poverty and suffering make this a heart wrenching

read. Add to that Dost. high literary skill and you have a real classic. There
is a high degree of genuineness and hard hitting simplicity so characteristic
of Dost. But it goes beyond a mere tear jerker. The great themes of
forgiveness, human respect and dignity and relation to God are important
components of the novel. The relationship between the man and young
woman is exemplary in its love and devotion and pure chasteness (and a
testimony to the high morality of Dost., a real breath of fresh air in our
oversexed culture). It is truly that of a father and only daughter (though they
were not related at all; though never stated it was probably poverty which
prevented marriage).

Here are a few quotes to whet your appetite:

"How we wept together, he and I. We thought about you. He's a very nice
man, a good, kind man with deep feelings. I am sensitive to it all myself,
dearest, that's why all this happens to me - because I am so sensitive to it
all. I know my debt to you, my pet. Once I had got to know you, I began, first
of all, to know myself better and to love you. Before I knew you, my angel, I
was lonely and spent my life asleep, as it were. These villians of mine said
that even my very person was repulsive, and held me in disdain and I began
to hold myself in disdain, they said I was stupid and I really thought I was
stupid, but when you appeared you lit up my whole dark life and my heart
and soul were lit up, and peace of mind was mine and I realized that I was no
worse than others, it was just that I didn't shine in any way, there was
nothing outstanding about me, no style, but I was still a man, my heart and
thoughts were a man's. Now that I feel persecuted and humiliated by fate, I
have given myself over to the denial of my own dignity, and weighed down by
my misfortunes I have lost heart. Now that you know everything, dearest, I
humbly beg you to take no further interest in these affairs, because my heart
is breaking, and I feel sorrowful and burdened."

"You and your sad thoughts make me so despondent, my dearest. I pray to
God for you, dearest, how I pray to him!"

"Yesterday I repented before the Lord God with tears in my eyes, begging
his forgiveness for all my sins during this unhappy time"

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Enter Tolkien's Amazing Fantasy World!, October 10, 2001

The Lord of the Rings is a literary epic and masterpiece which I deeply love. Indeed I must confess that at various points throughout and especially at the very end of The Lord of the Rings it has the power to move me to tears every time I reread it (which I've now done 4 times; for me that beats any other novel except Potok's The Chosen and The Promise but they're much shorter). Although the work never mentions God or Christ, is not about a world which exists and is not allegorical in any way (Tolkien himself strenuously maintained that), it is nevertheless a profoundly Christian novel. This is the case because of its high moral character shown in many ways and its true depiction of the pattern of the struggle between good and evil as this expresses itself in individuals and more widely in cities, nations and nature as well. Because of this, I find it is a truly wholesome experience to read it. In a very vivid way made possible only when writing about a fantasy world, Tolkien's book encourages one to fight sin and to delight in all things good, beautiful and worthy of praise because of the many concrete examples of this kind of activity in the novel. Though these considerations may be enough, the book is also very well-written in a simple though elegant (almost biblical) prose style. Tolkien is a master at describing journeys with incredible "accurate" detail in his geographical descriptions. He is also able to keep up the suspense over more than a 1000 pages, no mean feat. The incredible detail with which he describes his created world (with its imaginary beings, though there are also men like us) and the tremendous depth which he gives to the story by referring to a lot of history in passing makes one forget that it is fantasy. The wide scope of the story encompassing the involvement and the future of various nations and peoples and indeed of the survival of good itself on Middle-Earth makes The Lord of the Rings a true epic. To end with a simple remark: if you like action and adventure, you'll love this book.

What I have written in the above two paragraphs is, needless to say, merely my own opinion, though a strong one. I say this especially with Tolkien since views on him are almost always very forceful. Either one loves his books or hates them. I have a few books with articles on Tolkien by literary critics. Some praise him to the skies and others find him to be rubbish. I truly cannot fathom how the later can be true.

C.S. Lewis, a good friend and Oxford colleague of Tolkien, upon finishing The Lord of the Rings wrote Tolkien, "My dear Tollers, ... I have drained the rich cup and satisfied a long thirst. Once it really gets under weigh the steady upward slope of grandeur and terror (not unrelieved by green dells, without which it would indeed be intolerable) is almost unequalled in the whole range of narrative art known to me. In two virtues I think it excels: sheer sub-creation - Bombadil, Barrow Wights, Elves, Ents - as if from inexhaustible resources, and construction. Also in gravitas. No romance can repel the charge of `escapism' with such confidence. If it errs, it errs in precisely the opposite direction: all victories of hope deferred and the merciless piling up of odds against the heroes are near to being too painful. And the long coda after the eucatastrophe, whether you intended it or no, has the effect of reminding us that victory is as transitory as conflict, that (as Byron says) `there's no sterner moralist than pleasure', and so leaving a final impression of profound melancholy. ... I congratulate you. All the long years you have spent on it are justified." (From Humphrey Carpenter's J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography).

The Lord of the Rings is set at the end of the Third Age of Middle-Earth. For tales about the First and Second Age (referred to in songs and poems in The Lord of the Rings), read The Silmarillion. These three books are Tolkien's best.