tolkien, fantasy our practice

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Tolkien, Fantasy and Our Practice.Sandra Bayona.

We tend to associate Fantasy with childhood as it is usually assumed that children are the natural

audience for fairy stories. In Tolkiens opinion, the value of fairy stories is not to be found by considering

children in particular. He himself found a real taste for them on the threshold of manhood. He asserts that

if fairy stories should be related to children it is because they are human, and fairy stories are a natural

human taste. Adults can get more out of them than children can. So, it is an error to reduce fantasy toa

particular age. Fairy tales are as worth reading in childhood as in manhood: there will always be a

treasure to obtain from them at any stage of our lives. As regards the supporters of the idea that childrenshould not be exposed to material that contains more than they can understand, Tolkien claims that it may

be better for them to read some things (especially fairy stories) that are beyond their measure rather than

short of it. Their books like their clothes should allow for growth, and their books at any rate shouldencourage growth.

What did Tolkien think of Fantasy?First of all, he said that it is a form of art (in his opinion, almost the purest). Some people

confound Fantasy with Dreaming -in which there is no art- and with mental disorders. But on the contrary,

Fantasy is a rational activity, a sub-creative activity, and to sub-create, we need reason; moreover, the

keener and the clearer the reason the better fantasy it will make. It is important to emphasize this: Fantasy

is a natural human activity. As Tolkien wrote in Mythopoeia, a poem to answer his friend C.S. Lewis, who

had described fantasy as a lie:

Dear Sir, Although now long stranged, man is not wholly lost not wholly changed. Dis-graced he

may be, yet he is not de-throned, and keeps the rags of lordship once he owned Man, subcreator,

the refracted lightthrough whom is splintered from a single White

to many hues, and endlessly combined

in living shapes that move from mind to mind.... twas our right(used or misused). That right has not decayed.

We make still by the law in which were made.1

This poem means that we can be sub-creators and, through fantasy, refract what is in ourhearts; whatever we make up or sub-create, our inner values, what we really are, will show. Tolkien

calls humans sub-creators because in his view we are made by a Maker, who created us in his image and

likeness, so we refract this image and likeness. Our Maker is the white refracted into many

combinations and colours. And he says that fantasy is a human right because we were made with this

tendency to sub-create, to do Art, thus showing our inner values.

It is worth noticing the phrase used or misused. It means that Fantasy can be carried out to

excess; it can be ill done, but any human thing in this fallen world can be ill done.Fantasy is, in fact, real life. In Tolkiens words: (Fantasy) is merely an imaginative invention, to

express, in the only way I can, some of my (dim) apprehensions of the world.2As teachers, it is our duty

to help students develop the awareness of the relevance of fantasy and of their being sub-creators as part

of their personal growth. We have mentioned the main points maintained by Tolkien as regards Fantasy.

These are illustrated in one of his major works, The Lord of the Rings.

The wealth of The Lord of the Rings allows the reader to approach the work in different ways, and

with different interests. So as to provide our practice with a theoretical framework, we will base ourreflection on Bakhtins concept of dialogism (Bakthin: 1982)3. Words cannot just be interpreted according

to the meaning stated in the dictionary. In communication, the meaning of a word depends on the


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particular context in which the word is uttered. Once the word has been said, it comes into contact with the

conceptual horizon of the listener/reader, and thus it comes to represent a certain position from the

speaker/writer (Bakhtin: 1982)4.

As speakers of English (though not native, in most cases), we have the advantage of being able toread the original version. That means the mediation of a translator (and thus another Other to impose their

viewpoint of the work) has not been necessary for us to have access to The Lord of the Rings. Our ownconceptual horizon is then directly in contact with the work in question.

This does not mean, however, that we, as readers, become aware of the richness of the language

Tolkien used right from our first reading. We do notice the development of the story and the characters

involved, but so as to have a deeper understanding of the people and the story, it is important to be aware

of certain features of their language. So as to work on some of these features, excerpts of The Lord of the

Rings, Book 1, Chapter 1, A Long-Expected Party, will be discussed. This is a link with preceding events,and thus a frame for many events developed later. Characters are introduced, as well as aspects of life in

The Shire. It is a special occasion: Bilbo Baggins 111th birthday party. In his small society, the affairs of

public figures (as Mr. Baggins is) are of the utmost importance. Thus, his dealings are a frequent subject

among hobbits who meet at the local inn. The first excerpt analyzed is the hobbit dialogue at The Ivy

Bush5. Non Standard English structures in the hobbits speech can be identified in this extract, and thus it

is possible to compare these with the standard forms. An example of this:

Ive heard they went on the water after dinner in the moonlight, said Old Noakes; and it was

Drogos weight as sunk the boat.

And Iheard she pushed him in, and he pulled her in after him, said Sandyman, the Hobbitonmiller.

You shouldnt listen to all you hear, Sandyman, said the Gaffer, who did not much like the

miller. There isnt no call to go talking of pushing and pulling.6

Here we can see two instances of non-standard forms. The first one is in Old Noakess speech:

and it was Drogos weight as sunk the boat. The pronoun (which/that) has been replaced by the form as.

The Gaffer uses a double negative: There isnt no call. The identification of these non-standard forms is

possible because of the knowledge the reader has of what is considered standard. Making use of thisknowledge, participants are asked to provide the corresponding standard forms and discuss the reason of

the use of non-standard English in the speech of certain characters. Such a variation can be attributed to

the social level of the speakers; this realization then leads to a reflection on the effects achieved by the

selection of non-standard forms and linguistic idiosyncrasies, and on the way we perceive others (and are

perceived by them) by the choice of forms. Thus we are able to consider the relation between language

structures, social levels marked by language and the notion of heteroglossia in our own discourse.Another aspect to consider has to do with the social events mentioned in the excerpt under

discussion (marriages, births and deaths.) These are part of our life, and there are some social rituals

related to them, but which are seldom even touched upon. Among these rituals there are the social notices

that appear in newspapers. They entail a specific form and set of vocabulary, which are sometimesoverlooked in our teaching. A discussion on what is appropriate for a notice in each instance is a way to

focus on this issue. Provided with the appropriate format and vocabulary, participants are asked to producethe corresponding notices for the different events mentioned by the characters. Through a reflection on the

marriages, births and deaths in The Shire, we come to think of different stages in life, and how feelings are

expressed in each occasion, in this case in newspapers.

Another aspect Chapter 1 allows us to reflect on is the use of irony as a means to express feelings.

The tags that accompanied Bilbos presents to his family, friends and neighbours represent a model for the

latter. The following is an example:

For the collection ofHUGO BRACEGIRDLE, from a contributor; on an (empty) book-case.Hugo was a great borrower of books, and worse than usual at returning them.7


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Irony implies a horizon known by the reader and a sense of humour and a reflection on the people

or events involved. In the case of the tags, the horizon is provided in the form of a brief statement of the

reasons for the gift. After analyzing the different presents and their tags, participants are asked to choose agift and write the corresponding tag for certain public figures. To accomplish this holistic task, it is

necessary for them to negotiate, express their feelings, accept ideas, exchange points of view and finallycome to an agreement.

Certainly, these activities do not exhaust the possibilities offered by Chapter 1. Even with only

excerpts, other tasks may be designed. This task is up to the participants creativity and imagination.

Once again, in an ideal situation we would be working on the whole novel. But our aim was to

take a peep at this treasure (hidden or forgotten), which is The Lord of the Rings, and how important

creativity, imagination, fantasy are for us as teachers. In our daily practice, we should not forget that

He sees no stars who does not see them first

of living silver made that sudden burst

to flame like flowers beneath the ancient song,

whose very echo after-music long

has since pursued. There is no firmament,

only a void, unless a jewelled tentmyth-woven and elf-patterned; and no earth,

unless the mother's womb whence all havebirth.8


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1 Tolkien, J.R.R. Mythopoeia.2Carpenter, Humphrey. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. London: George Unwin & Allen.3 Bakhtin, Mikhail. 1982. El problema de los gneros discursivos enEsttica de la creacin verbal. Mxico: Siglo XXI4 Bakhtin, Mikhail. 1982. El problema de los gneros discursivos enEsttica de la creacin verbal. Mxico: Siglo XXI5 Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings. I, The Fellowship of the Ring. New York: Ballantine Books, pp 42-45.6 Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings. I, The Fellowship of the Ring. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 43.7 Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings. I, The Fellowship of the Ring. New York: Ballantine Books. p. 60.8 Tolkien, J.R.R. Mythopoeia.

tolkien, fantasy our practice

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