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Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

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Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#21
post #9
post #3

To me, Tom Bombadil is the introduction of natural magic. He is nature, indicating to the reader that there is a source of magic beyond the elves, Wizards, and Sauron. There are many magical creatures in Middle-Earth without a described source, which to me makes the whole story feel more magic. The Ents probably being the chief example. Another important role of Tom’s is his introduction of magic and power outside of…

Some researchers consider Tom to be the 'reader'

Perhaps the author?

Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#25
post #9
post #3

To me, Tom Bombadil is the introduction of natural magic. He is nature, indicating to the reader that there is a source of magic beyond the elves, Wizards, and Sauron. There are many magical creatures in Middle-Earth without a described source, which to me makes the whole story feel more magic. The Ents probably being the chief example. Another important role of Tom’s is his introduction of magic and power outside of…

Some researchers consider Tom to be the 'reader'

I have long considered him to break the fourth wall, but I lean toward Tom being an oblique author self-insertion, irrespective of Tolkien’s claim to not be embodied within his works.

Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#26
A random thought just occurred - and I welcome speculation. Do you/we think Lord of the Rings will have staying power in human history 1000 years from now or only last one century or so? Inherent assumptions: humans will survive 1000 years and so will books.

Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A character from Lord of the Rings. He's a hermit living in nature, and one of the more notable things omitted in the movies. Probably because apart from saving the Hobbits from some dangers early in their journey he doesn't play much of a role.

Sorry, lame joke. Peter Jackson cut Tom Bombadil from the movies, and it was a meme 20 years ago.

Memes don't really go over well on HN, especially not 20yo memes, and especially not non-obvious memes where you can easily be seen as being pointlessly flippant to the OP instead.

Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#29
> Possibly the least liked character in The Lord of the Rings. A childish figure so disliked by fans of the book that few object to his absence from all adaptations of the story.

I've been a fan of Tolkien for decades, and this doesn't match up with my experience at all...Tolkien fans seem to generally love Tom, and many were deeply disappointed that he wasn't in the movies (even though his exclusion makes perfect sense). Did I just run in different Tolkien circles than the author?

Re: Oldest and Fatherless: The Terrible Secret of Tom Bombadil (2011)

#30

this is the best thing ever posted on HN..... going to restart the lord of the rings podcast now.

What podcast is that? I'm just reading the books for the first time.

Not sure which one the OP had in mind but if you're into more theatrical audiobooks / podcasts check out "An Unexpected Journey" by "Samwise Gamgee" on Spotify. Absolutely top-tier audiobook of both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings.
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