Halloween night, we watched a "scary" (as in a LOT of tension in the plot) movie. Lord of the Rings: Two Towers. I've read the books almost ten years ago, but had forgotten the majority of the plot. As far as movies go, it wasn't the best rendition. If you haven't read the books, it meant absolutely nothing to the viewer.
One thing that did take me by surprise, was how many things portrayed in the movies (and also in the books) also occur in sundry forms in the writings of JKRowling.
I shouldn't be surprised. People have always commented on how well-read she is, how her writings reflect various cultures and their important literatures, as well as historical references and facts. But it made me a tad uneasy. As a teenager I used to feel as if, like a certain teacher I had angrily proclaimed to our class, I truly did live in a pocket of ignorance. I sometimes feared there was a whole world at the end of our street, which I would never see nor experience. And the reality is, there is. But recognizing that a well-known author replicated characters or monsters or events from a previously well-known work made me wonder if I've totally missed the boat on a whole genre of literature or if I'm still woefully hidden in my pocket of ignorance.
This won't be the year that I re-read Tolkien's works. But I will, if for nothing else than to satisfy my curiosity of similarities and to reaffirm that there is truly nothing new under the sun.
1 comment:
There really isn't anything new under the sun. I am a huge reader of fantast fiction and nearly every monster or fantasy creature is a repeat of something in the works of Lewis or Tolkien and they probably weren't the first! Greek and Roman mythology are probably the closest to "original" that we will get as far as that genre goes. Still, I love 'em all and occasionally will run across something semi-original in the plot or such.
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