Why do we read all these books about Middle Earth

[Prevail in my Oblivion]

I've got an assignment of my school about my 'fascination'.
of course the first thing that came to my head was 'Lord of the Rings', but when i said it the teacher asked me "why do you like LOTR so much?" so i said: "because of the history Tolkien made for it, the legends within the book, tales and information about the elves, dwarves etc." And the she said: "but why do you like that so much?" I have thought about this a lot for the past week, and found out that i like it so much because: "i always want to know everything about stuff i'm involved with".

My question to you guys is: why do you like LOTR and all the books around it so much? do you also just want to know everything, or do you have another reason?

[EG]

why do i like it ?  because at first it was escapism... escaping into Middle Earth, recognising and living with different races in a time that was basic... free of modern traumas

Now, I like to beleive that Middle Earth existed so that perhaps one day I could live there.  Modern life isnt always that hot, its nice to think of a time when if there were feuds everyone fought their cause, and everyone could if they wanted to

[Lessa]

I agreee with you EG but would add that things were black and white then as well you knew where you stood in the world and got on with your role without all the stress we have today.

It a world that is so real and how I would like things to be despite the fight between good and bad.

Lessa

[Taurendil]

However plain it may seem it is difficult to answer (for me at least). First I was gripped by Harry Potter books (and still gripped), obsessed so to say. Then a few years after (that is rather recently) I got acquainted with TLotR and Hobbit. This was like an opening a new world, very real and … much more interesting if not to say better than our ‘real world’. I agree with EG about escapism to new reality. After reading the Silmarillion and realising the whole volume of this reality I began to believe in the existence of ME in the past, after all no one can disprove it. This world is cleared of all our fusses and troubles, represents things so pure and beautiful that are impossible to describe.     

[Beleriel]

You know, that is such a hard question to answer.

When I first read the book way back in the 70's it just gripped me and transported me into a whole new world in which I felt most comfortable.  I found myself immersed in that world.... so much so that when I finished the book I was devastated and cried and cried at the loss of it.  The only way to cope was to go back and read the book again. I did that for many years. 

Eventually life took over and the books became neglected.  But if ever I needed to I could pick them up and immerse myself in them all over again.  So I guess escape from this life to a life that (I believe) once was, into simpler happier times when the rat race did not dominate everything and one could stop to breathe once in a while, would be the reason why I love these books so much.  I felt (and still feel)  that I belonged there not here.  What the hell was I doing living in this hell hole of an existence?

Middle Earth re-emerged into my life when I heard the rumours of the films being produced.  It made me pick up the books again and their effect on me has never changed.   

I know that some people would call me crazy, but that's OK perhaps I am.  I just know I would rather live in the Shire than here.  I would rather live a simple life than live in the slavery of the modern world.  If that is crazy then so be it.   

[Taurendil]

I felt (and still feel)  that I belonged there not here.  What the hell was I doing living in this hell hole of an existence?

How it is familiar to me!

I know that some people would call me crazy, but that's OK perhaps I am.  I just know I would rather live in the Shire than here.  I would rather live a simple life than live in the slavery of the modern world.  If that is crazy then so be it.

Not at all! Absolutely share your points of view.
 

[GG]

I never was brought up around fantasy literature. The books I read or had read to me as a child were "classics", fables and fairytales. Later on I was exposed to the Arthurian legends though the theatre at the school my dad taught at.  I learned an appreciation for classical storytelling, especially spoken-word storytelling.

I never read any Tolkien until about ten years ago, when my husband got the brilliant idea to read a chapter of The Hobbit aloud every night at bedtime. (I STILL love bedtime stories.)  The first-person narrative grabbed me right away, and the thorough descriptions of setting kept me hooked. Of course I fell right in love with Gollum..but that's beside the point. 

While I realise Tolkien did not "invent" fantasy literature, and most certainly borrowed from many older sources when he created his Middle Earth, it's probably safe to say he was the first to try to bond his fantasy setting with the world we know; to effectively write a new mythology.

[Shadowfax]

I was about to answer with.....because since I was small I was obsessed with myths and legends, Egyptian, Greek, Norse, Celtic....you name it, i had a book on it.  I also read Lord of the Rings when i was really small which sparked everything - but i realise now that thats not really an answer, because i still am not sure why i'm facinated by any of these things.  I guess i just liked the feel of being in a different place and time, where nothing really relies on modern technology and people are more respectful of the earth (god i sound like a hippy, i swear to god, i hate hippys).  Also the stories are exciting and i love the personifications of things.....the way there is a god/goddess to represent each element of life and the earth.  It still goes on to now i suppose, i'm obsessed with the sandman comics which have death, delerium, destiny, dream, despair desire and destruction as the endless

[Mithrandir]

Wow, a really deep topic - I like it.

Ever since I was young I have been fascinated by fantasy stories. Other boys would be playing with Action Man while I would be conjuring spells to fight of dragons. This is what got me hooked on The Hobbit and made me continue on this road.

For me, Tolkien fills a void in my life. I know it sounds weird, but before I came across The Lord of the Rings etc. there was a hole in my life - a hole which I didn't know I had until I read Tolkien's works. You can lose yourself in Middle-earth.

I agree with the points about escapism. It's just nice to turn off the real world, forget about terrorists, wars, coursework, jobs, and all the unsavoury parts of real life and just emerse yourself in Middle-earth. You can just be in Middle-earth and feel as if you are a part of it - you do belong there - preferring to live in say Rivendell than a semi-detached house in Swindon working as an accountant.

I also find that it amazing how an entire world, history and languages can be created by one man, and as I have a thirst for knowledge, I have a thirst for knowledge of Middle-earth too. So much so I probably know Middle-earth's history better than I know our own (which is a little sad I must confess).

Tolkien's work are a literary form of how I feel, what I love, and what I would like the world to be. Also, for me, what is important about his works is that they are epics - a struggle from beginning to end in which good always prevails over evil. Tolkien's works just make me happy; they just engross me like nothing's ever done; they have helped to shape me as a person, and continue to influence everything I do to this day.

Tolkien's works are an escapable part of my life, and I think to remove it would be very very sad indeed. Tolkien didn't create Middle-earth - he just wrote down what was in our hearts.

[Taurendil]

I feel quite the same. I can’t imagine my life without Middle Earth. It drastically turned over my life. The evil in our life is more indistinguishable but in Arda there is a clean-cut conflict between good and evil. The world of Tolkien is universal because every one can find himself there. In my opinion Tolkien describes a perfect way of life, like some utopia.
Why do we read the books?  Because they give us what we are unable to find and feel in our real imperfect world. Pure feelings, adventures, and just something different. As a matter of fact Tolkien’s world is not as complex as ours. Maybe that’s another reason why it is so attractive.

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