Posted on 03/14/2002 5:07:26 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
just got done stuffin' my face with mucho barbeue...we had a farewell lunvh here for a couple of Marines... think I'll quietly slip into a food coma...then run till I pass out to work it off...and so I can drink pints tonite...
Do you at least run in a safe place? - I would hate to see you layin' on a sidewalk somewhere until you recover!
Stop comparing Harry Potter to The Lord of the Rings. . . . Rowling's series is elitist kiddie fare that serves to make modern American children even more narcissistic than they are, and Tolkien's is a masterpiece and—this is crucial—a completely adult tragedy with profound moral and religious implications.Mark Gauvreau Judge commentator, Baltimore City Paper
In an effort to deflect concerns about Rowling's books, Potter supporters have consistently likened the Harry Potter series to the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis. This has been done continuously through an unending stream of news stories, interviews, and book reviews. The following statement by Judy Corman, spokesperson for Scholastic Press (J.K. Rowling's U.S. publisher), is typical: "There's something these parents are missing, which is it's a magical book. It takes its place along the best in classic literature for children, along with . . . The Chronicles of Narnia [C.S. Lewis] and Lord of the Rings [J.R.R. Tolkien]." A similar comment appeared in a Knight Ridder News Service story: "Rowling's books are not so much anti-Christian as they are fully Christian, drawing on the legacy of fellow British writers C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien, whose popular tales about the magical lands of Narnia and Middle Earth were written as Christian allegory."
But such a position is seriously flawed. Most obviously, because the fantasy tales of Tolkien and Lewis fall within the category of mythopoetic literature, meaning that they take place in worlds disassociated from the real world in which we live. As Dr. Curt Brannan of Washington's Bear Creek School District observes: "[In Lewis' and Tolkien's works] there is no confusion in the child's mind . . . that these are mythical characters in a mythical place." The Harry Potter books, however, are not mythopoetic. Unlike Lewis' and Tolkien's creations, Rowling's world is our 1990s world, complete with contemporary forms of occultism (e.g., astrology and divination), and references to persons and events from our own human history (e.g., Nicholas Flamel, Hand of Glory, Witch Hunts). Rowling's novels also use a vastly different definition of "magic" than the one used by Lewis and Tolkien. Furthermore, the Harry Potter series promotes a concept of right and wrong that is radically altered from the one presented by Lewis and Tolkien. In the works Lewis (and Tolkien) issues of "morality and integrity are at stake and dealt with as important and significant concerns."
Tolkien, for instance, illustrates right and wrong/good and evil not only through the choices his characters make, but how those choices affect others. His stories raise issues involving the consequences of disobedience, the merits of self-sacrifice, the detrimental effects of negative emotions (e.g., pride, greed, lust, unforgiveness, etc.), and the need to fulfill one's responsibilities for the benefit of others, even when those responsibilities are difficult and painful.
Lewis' tales offer similar morality lessons. The most obvious example involves the disobedience of Edmund Pevensie, a little boy whose errant ways subject him to the power of the wicked White Witch. To rescue Edmund, Aslan offers himself as a sacrifice on the ancient Stone Table. Although he is killed, Aslan rises again through a "deeper" magic unknown to the witch. This sacrificial love convicts Edmund of his evil ways, and he repents of his sins. Ultimately, the once mischievous Edmund is transformed by Aslan's love into Narnia's "King Edmund the Just." In the Harry Potter series, however, morality is presented inconsistently. Bad characters turn out to be good. Good characters turn out to be bad. Misbehavior is condoned as long as the eventual outcome is either fun or rewarding (e.g., Harry's lying and disobedience). Good deeds bring about evil results (Harry shows mercy by sparing Pettigrew's life, but this eventually leads to the rising of Voldemort and the murder of Cedric). Harmful deeds are committed to bring about positive results (e.g., Sirius Black, while in the form of a dog, drags Ron into a secret corridor beneath a tree, breaking Ron's leg in the process, in order to get Harry to follow and learn the truth about Peter Pettigrew). In short, Rowling's moral universe is a topsy-turvy world with no firm rules of right and wrong, or any godly principles by which to determine the truly good from the truly evil.
Having never read any of Harry Potter I was wondering if any of you agreed with the above.
I did that watching the Leonids last year....does that count?
Do you prefer instrumental or vocal, slow or fast, very traditional or somewhat modern?
I like a lot of 'em, actually, but just ordered Shantalla, Patrick Street/Compendium, and The Bothy Band/Live in Concert. (Three CDs is a major splurge, but I still have a TON on my wish list, and for $7, I can't help it!)
You can listen to a LOT of their albums (full albums, not samples) online here.
Whistle Note: OT, this would be a GREAT time to pick up Joannie Madden's CD ("A Whistle on the Wind")...it's a good 'un!
That's nice...loverly imagery. Thank you SO much for SHARING!
NOT!!
I've heard cuts from it on Spinner.com. I'll look into it as soon as I get on a computer with a soundcard.
And if you like solo Irish fiddle, Kevin Burke's "In Concert" CD is wonderful!
Someday I need to get me one o' those! Though my usual m-o is to play one CD over and over and over and over until I'm completely sick of it, and then move on to another...so I'm not sure if I'd get full use out of a changer!
My Daddy loved to hunt. His favorite was 'primitive weapon season'; he poured his own shot for his muzzle loader and everything. His favorite was bow hunting, though. Must have been his Cherokee heritage coming through. He'd set up a target in the backyard and practice. Even when I was in college taking archery classes, I couldn't pull that string back on his bow!
My brothers got together one Christmas and gave Daddy what he called a 'pop gun', then took him out hunting a little while later. It was the first and only time he ever killed a deer. My oldest brother said he came out of the woods with the biggest smile on his face just dancing a jig when he realized he'd gotten the deer.
But he still loved primitive weapons because he said they gave the deer a sporting chance!
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