January 14th Tolkien Society Meeting Notes
Attending: Hawke Robinson, Brian Huseland, Chris Kuperstein,
1. Read December notes and comments.
2. CK asked opinions about the recent trailer of the Hobbit: An Unexpected
Journey.
Our group considered the pros and cons.
Pros:
Dwarves singing
Trolls
Epic scale for story
Kudos for consistency (Jackson)
Cons:
HR still thinks Thorin looks like Gauron the Klingon from Star Trek
Will Dwarves have dignity?
Ambiguity between with Gandalf & Galadriel.
Hoods need more color, as in book
3. Discussion of Bilbo quoting poetry at spiders in Mirkwood. BH mentioned
George McDonald's Princess and the Goblin, in which a miner defeats the
goblins by poetry & singing. It was also mentioned that this theme echoes
the Bible, in which the ancient king of Judah, King Jehoshaphat, faces a
vastly superior army, and through the choir singing in front of the
marching army, they defeat their foes.
*1 Chronicles 20:1-23 "1 After this the Moabites and Ammonites, and with
them some of the Meunites, came against Jehoshaphat for battle. 2 Some men
came and told Jehoshaphat, “A great multitude is coming against you from
Edom, from beyond the sea; and, behold, they are in Hazazon-tamar” (that
is, Engedi). 3 Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the LORD,
and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. 4 And Judah assembled to seek
help from the LORD; from all the cities of Judah they came to seek the
LORD. 5 And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem, in
the house of the LORD, before the new court, 6 and said, “O LORD, God of
our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of
the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to
withstand you. 7 Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this
land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of
Abraham your friend? 8 And they have lived in it and have built for you in
it a sanctuary for your name, saying, 9 ‘If disaster comes upon us, the
sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house
and before you— for your name is in this house—and cry out to you in our
affliction, and you will hear and save.’ 10 And now behold, the men of
Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when
they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not
destroy— 11 behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your
possession, which you have given us to inherit. 12 O our God, will you not
execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde
that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on
you.” 13 Meanwhile all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones,
their wives, and their children. 14 And the Spirit of the LORD came upon
Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, son of Benaiah, son of Jeiel, son of
Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. 15
And he said, “Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King
Jehoshaphat: Thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not be afraid and do not be
dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God's. 16
Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of
Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of
Jeruel. 17 You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your
position, and see the salvation of the LORD on your behalf, O Judah and
Jerusalem.’ Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out
against them, and the LORD will be with you.” 18 Then Jehoshaphat bowed his
head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and the inhabitants of
Jerusalem fell down before the LORD, worshiping the LORD. 19 And the
Levites, of the Kohathites and the Korahites, stood up to praise the LORD,
the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. 20 And they rose early in the
morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoa. And when they went out,
Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem!
Believe in the LORD your God, and you will be established; believe his
prophets, and you will succeed.” 21 And when he had taken counsel with the
people, he appointed those who were to sing to the LORD and praise him in
holy attire, as they went before the army, and say, “Give thanks to the
LORD, for his steadfast love endures forever.” 22 And when they began to
sing and praise, the LORD set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab, and
Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. 23 For
the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir,
devoting them to destruction, and when they had made an end of the
inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another."*
4. Discussion of music & poetry in literature, especially Tolkien.
5. We read JRRT's letter 24 about science fiction.
--A reference to JRRT's time travel story in The Lost Road. HR to bring
next time to read if possible.
--A reference to JRRT friend C.S. Lewis who wrote science fiction novel
"Out of the Silent Planet"
6. For next meeting, read JRRT Letter 25, and have a discussion next time
comparing Out of Silent Planet to Tolkien's time travel story. (next
meeting Feb. 11th at 12:30 pm)
