Tolkien Blog Party || Tag

Hello again, and a very happy birthday to Bilbo and Frodo. *cheers*

I'm here to answer this year's Tolkien-y questions, as posed by the magical Istar herself, Hamlette.  (Who, in case you missed it, is hosting a wondrous giveaway in honor of the week's celebrations!)  

I'd also like to state, for the record, that these aesthetic collages (same line as last year's tag answers) make me feel truly indescribable things and I love them dearly. 

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1. What Tolkien character do you think you're the most like?

Longish answer for this one, and to be clear, I'm not claiming that all of these traits are good or healthy ones. 

To start with, I'd wager that I'm a mix of Faramir, Bilbo, and Frodo:

• Faramir's general personality & set of core social and moral values.  [See also:  this post.]

• Bilbo's contentment with home & hearth, and his disinterest in adventures, combined with the occasional nebulous, heart-throbbing pull that he feels of "something Beyond".

• Frodo's hesitancy & anxiety undergirded by an unshakable sense of duty.  [Also the way he simultaneously relies on the people closest to him and is often frustrated by the feeling that they're not cooperating or that he is being more responsible than they are.]

I also see bits of Galadriel and Gandalf in me, if I may be so bold — not the "unparalleled power & majesty & wisdom" parts, obviously, but some other aspects of their characters.  

Like, in Galadriel's case, I relate to her detached, observer perspective on the world and human relations.  I often feel like I'm perched atop some vantage point, surveying everything going on below as if it isn't necessarily happening to or around me, but just before me. 

I'm always moralizing, like Gandalf; but unlike him, I'm not always actively sharing those moralistic ramblings with others, or attempting to corral them into epic schemes.  

2. What Tolkien character do you wish you were more like?

I'd actually like to be more like all five of the characters mentioned above.  I see some similarities, as I said, but they all have admirable traits that I do not. 

3. What would your dream home in Middle-earth be like?

I wrestle with this all the time.  I'm utterly enamored of Rivendell, but Ithilien has always been the location that evokes a sense of complete belonging in me.  It combines some of the best elements of each of my other favorite places, and I think I would be most suited to a simple, happy home there.  (With semi-regular visits to the Last Homely House and the Shire, of course.)

More specifically, I would absolutely love a low-slung stone building tucked away in the woods, with small clearings and little streams nearby, and one or two of my most-beloved people.

(Credit to Heidi for her gorgeously detailed answer, which inspired me to elaborate on my own!)

4. You get to make a movie of the story of Beren and Luthien! Who do you cast as the leads?

Ooh, I love this idea!  I actually came up with too many possibilities to choose just one, so here are three different pairings that I could see being particularly epic.

Sean Maguire / Q'orianka Kilcher

Aldis Hodge / Sarah Gadon

Chris Hemsworth / Lucy Griffiths

What say you?  I'd personally be delighted to watch a film adaptation with any of these couples.

5. Have you ever marathoned the LOTR or Hobbit movies?

You bet your Old Toby I have.  Multiple times, in fact.  My family used to marathon LotR every year, and I even instigated a marathon with my own friend group once.  It happens less often now, but I suspect that I may have one this year.

6. Do you have a favorite song or track from the movie soundtracks by Howard Shore?

This one includes the instrumental motif I love best, as well as my favorite lyrical song, "In Dreams".

7. Which of Tolkien's characters would you like to be best friends with?

LITERALLY ALL OF THE GOOD ONES.  (Except maybe some of the dwarves.  Some of them tend to annoy me and I have a feeling we'd Clash. 😛)

But like.  Can you imagine being part of the huge interconnected friend group of all the Lord of the Rings and Hobbit people?  The happiness?  The coziness?!  The sense of home and belonging?!

8. Who of the people in your real life would you want in your company if you had to take the ring to Mordor?

Probably my immediate family members, since we're all used to each other and able to be as direct and no-frills in our communication as we would need to be on a quest like that.  (If that makes sense.)  

Also, maybe, a select friend or two. 

9. Have you read any of Tolkien's non-Middle-earth works?

I've read Roverandum, Farmer Giles of Ham, and Smith of Wootton Major.  I can't recall whether I actually read Leaf by Niggle or only learned a lot about it in Craig Bernthal's literary analysis Tolkien's Sacramental Vision.  (Highly recommend that book for fans of Tolkien, by the way!)

10. Is there a book by Tolkien you haven't read yet, but want to?

I don't think so, actually.  I love Middle-earth, but I have to be in the right mood to read the man's actual writing, and I don't really have an interest in any more of it at the moment. 😬  Although I did enjoy Farmer Giles of Ham and Smith of Wootton Major.

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That's it, folks!  

Be sure to check out Hamlette's posts (links at the beginning of the post) so you don't miss out on all the Middle-earth goodies!