Chapters 1-6

September 29, 2008 in The Hobbit by Sylvia | 3 comments

I feel like a kid reading this story again. ;) Everything is coming back to me as I read and it’s fun remembering all the little details. There are so many silly, childlike things about this book, but that’s just what I love about it.

I think it would be funny to go back and count how many times Bilbo wished that he were back in his home at Bag End; he seemed to do it CONSTANTLY. Imagine living in a cozy hole eating 8 meals a day for your whole life and then being whisked off on a mad adventure to obtain a dragon’s treasure with 13 dwarves and a very eccentric old wizard. Hahahahaha!!

But actually, I can entirely understand the way Bilbo feels. Christianity isn’t exactly a comfortable sort of religion. You have to stretch yourself and put yourself in some pretty awkward positions if you’re really willing to do what God’s asking you to do. Sometimes I step back, look at myself and think, "What kind of insanity is this? I could be normal and act like everyone else and then people wouldn’t see me as a nut. How much easier would life be then?" It’s like a mad adventure (think Pilgrim’s Progress). But if Bilbo had stayed home in his nice, warm hole he would have missed out on a lot. He would have been a different person at the end of it all. Think about it; if he hadn’t gone, he wouldn’t have obtained the ring, he wouldn’t have had his cravings for adventure later on in life and passed on the ring to his nephew, his nephew wouldn’t have carried it, and well, Middle-earth would have been a very different place. Every big thing starts out in a small place.

Discussion Questions

1. What kind of a hobbit is Bilbo? What are some words that you think describe him?
2. Did he find the ring on accident?
3. Just for kicks, what was one of the lines that just made you laugh out loud? ;)

Read chapters 7-12 for next time.

Have fun!
Sylvia

Beginning <i>The Hobbit</i>

September 22, 2008 in The Hobbit by Sylvia | 2 comments

We’ll be meeting back here on Thursday to discuss chapters 1-6. Enjoy!

Back into the school year!

September 10, 2008 in Announcements and Updates by Sylvia | 4 comments

Welcome back! Now that we’ve all had a nice, long summer break (haha!), I hope you’re ready to jump into the new school year with another book. We’ll be starting again on September 22. Some of my fellow Tolkien fans will recognize this significant date as it is, of course, the birthday of both Bilbo and Frodo Baggins. ;) Does this give you a clue?

No, we won’t be reading the Trilogy (at least, not here anyway). We’ll be taking the easier, but no less enjoyable, option by going through The Hobbit. I know I’ve been wanting to re-read it for a while, and I figured that most of you have probably either read it before and liked it or have been wanting to read it for a long time.

Now here’s the cool part. If you do want to keep going and read the Trilogy, you can. I’ve created a blog called the Tolkien Reading Quest where, beginning on September 22, Tolkien fans can begin the challenge to read through as many Tolkien books as they choose. I’ve written out my own list consisting of 22 books ranging from The Hobbit and the Trilogy to The Silmarillion to the entire History of Middle-earth series. You don’t have to read all 22, but you’re welcome to join me in as many books as you want.

This time I think we’ll try doing weekly discussions. It sounds like it would probably be more manageable for all of us. I’ll also be posting trivia tidbits and stuff on the Tolkien Quest blog so you can check those out as we go along.

Also, if you know any other Tolkien fans who might like to participate, be sure to let them know about it!

Looking forward to our next reading adventure ;)
Sylvia

Last Discussion for <i>Till We Have Faces</i>

June 14, 2008 in Till We Have Faces by Sylvia | Permalink

This is a long time coming, but I’ve finally gotten things sorted out…sorry about the very long absence!

This book surprised me in a lot of different ways; I can’t say that I expected it to be so difficult to understand, but it certainly was enigmatic in parts (especially at the last bit). There’s no way that I could dissect it all, but there are some interesting and thought-provoking things to think about.

I loved the two separate parts of the book and how they shed light on each other. I think that Orual’s journey mirrored the ways that we resent things we don’t understand. How many people do you know who hate God in the same way as Orual? They curse him and use "logic" (as the Fox did) to disprove everything about Him. Orual stubbornly refused to submit; her struggles are similar to ours sometimes. She hated because she didn’t understand.

I can think of times in my life where I’ve resented my parents because they forced me to experience things that were unpleasant. From what I could see, they were just being cruel tyrants. Later, after talking to them, I realized how foolish I was being. Just because I couldn’t see everything behind what happened, I didn’t have the capacity to make judgements against them.

At the end of the book, the [figurative] veil is removed from Orual’s eyes and she sees her true self, her true role. Psyche helps to define it because she was the picture of sweetness, submission, humility and pure faith.

"I ended my first book with the words no answer. I know now, Lord, why you utter no answer. You are yourself the answer. Before your face questions die away. What other answer would suffice? Only words, words; to be led out to battle against other words. Long did I hate you, long did I fear you. I might–"

Discussion Questions

1. What does Orual’s veil symbolize about her?
2. How does Lewis paint the picture of human love as opposed to divine love?
3. Was there one quote that really struck you? Please share :)

I found an EXCELLENT list of discussion questions HERE. If you want to scroll through them and answer the ones that you really like in the comment section, that would be great! I might do the same.

Thanks for sticking with it. :) I’ll have news for you on the next book sometime soon! I’m going on a couple trips this summer, but I’ll try to plan around. Maybe we should pick one book to read over the entire summer? I don’t know if you still want to keep up with the set-up that we’re doing now. Let me know your preference!

Enjoy your first days of summer! :)
~Sylvia

Whoa

June 4, 2008 in Announcements and Updates by Sylvia | 2 comments

Has it really been that long since I updated this blog? Yikes. I feel bad now. Thankfully, Eric reset the password for me so I could get it.

I think what the plan will be is everyone can have another week to finish the book, and then I’ll post a final review type thing at the end. Does that sound like it’ll work? I see from the comments that some of you went ahead and finished already.

Thanks for your patience! I hope to have this blog up and running like normal again soon! :)

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