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So basically Tolkien said that the LOTR saga doesn't have any deeper
meanings implied by him, but that many of the events can be applied to
the lives of individual readers.

Do you think this is true? Many of the Tolkien experts disagree.

Well anything can have a meaning, maybe he didn't intend to have a deeper one then what was written, but that doesn't mean there isn't one

mmm......so he says it has no meaning?

I disagree along with it as well, there is a meaning, the lord of th erings showed us a meaning of "fellowship" and standing up against evil when most definetly outnumbered

most of all, it meaning should have been to set our minds free to weird and different creatures,places,people,weaponary

I think Galadrial said it best when she was telling Frodo that even the smallest person can make a difference


*waits for shadowy's 4000 word reply*

lol, well we might not be seeing shadowy much remember, but lol anyways

but you said it best buddy.......oh wait Galadrial said it best..not you

when i read the books, most that comes to my mind is that it's a great story filled with hope and despair, courage, and bravery. all the ingredients of an epic story.

subconciously, tolkien may have written some metaphors and similes to what was happening in his time: that the smallest can make a difference and that if enough people gather to fight for a cause worthy to change the world for the better, then maybe.

but does a writer who wants to write a great story inject it also with his thoughts and feelings, hopes and dreams INTO the story? if so, is he trying to reach a mass of readers in the hopes that they will see what's written between the lines for a message? that life can be better if you fight for it, that no matter how small or insignificant you are, you can do something about it by making your voice heard?

then yes, tolkien did input a deeper meaning into lotr, how we interpret that is up to the individual...and i think i just did, for the most part.

oh, Storm, u used the wrong 'their'. It should be ''Is there a deeper meaning?''

and THAT, is why english is the hardest language to master...even for us english speakers.

and THAT, is why english is the hardest language to master...even for us english speakers.

i suspouse it is how people read it and take it in .... some people would look at it as 'just another story ' and others would take it more to heart for some reason ... that some how think they can relate to some one destroying a ring with a creepy dude .... but other people look and see the meanings and how they reflect modern day ???

*cough*

Can't resist.

Tolkien said:

In this lovely sentence, Tolkien admits that his own personal experiences are imbued into what he writes, as it is with everyone who takes up a pen. He also says that it is impossible to find where and how a specific bit in the story correlates with the specific bit in the memory, be it him or anyone else trying.

It is here that he gives us, the readers, free reign over what we make of the story. We don't read this book, this book reads us. It touches the parts in our mind, the thoughts and emotions and memories that are unique to everyone, and gives everyone a different perception on what things mean that are read, even though we read the same words.