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El Hobbit, by Senor Tolkien
So, what is the point of reading "The Hobbit" in something other than your native language? It's a good way to practice a language you don't know very well, without having to read something as tedious as a textbook. Plus, it gives you a fresh look at it; the closest thing you can get to "fresh eyes". In my case, it also makes me read it at the pace of a 2nd grader.
Of course, some parts of it I didn't have to read, as I can remember a few particularly memorable sections of the original text more or less by heart. I also cheated, which is to say I had an English copy close at hand, so that if I came upon the word "trasgos" and didn't know it, I could quickly consult the english version to discover that it means "goblin".
It is also entertaining to imagine in my mind that Senor Bolson (Baggins, whose last name was changed so that all the puns and riddles with "bag" will still work) and all the other characters were Hispanic. The imagery gets even better when you have little delights like the description of Gandalf wearing a big "sombrero". That's a very different image from the one I had before, and no less entertaining.
Mostly, though, it made me notice the details the author gives us with every page. When the dwarves and Bilbo explore the interior of the Lonely Mountain for the first time, they find a city of skeletons, caught with little notice like the citizens of Pompeii. I must have galloped through the original too fast to give this macabre scene its due, and in the course of reading it again in a language that slowed me down, there were many other moments of "how did I miss that before?"
Another advantage of reading it slowly, is that I notice more of what he does with the plot. Or is that just an advantage of being older? When he says that Bilbo looks more like a grocer than a burglar, or uses the tone of voice usually reserved for those who wish to borrow money, I have to admit that the 40-year old Ross can envision what means a lot better than the 10-year old who first read it.
The most interesting thing about it, and what makes it still almost unique even after decades of imitation, is the nature of the hero. Bilbo is not just a reluctant hero, who never has adventured before. He is a middle-aged portly fellow, and he makes his way as much because of his level head and kindly nature as from any other reason. He is no "chosen one", and Gandalf is no mentor to teach him of previously unrecognized powers. He is less the "Hero With A Thousand Faces" than "Midlife Crisis".
I have read a Jungian analysis of "El Hobbit", which points to the transformation which occurs at the Misty Mountains. Every attempt by Bilbo to deal with the obstacles that confront him leads to his looking foolish or worse, until he is separated from his companions, plunged into darkness and knocked unconscious, brought to the edge of a lake of unknown depths, and brought face to face with a shriveled, id-like monstrous reflection of himself. He asks it questions, and it asks them of him; the prize for victory is a way out of darkness, and the penalty for defeat is death. Is this swords and sorcery, or psychoanalysis? From this point on, he grows in stature, until by the end he is the de facto leader of the dwarves' troupe, winning treasure even as he rejects it, and returning back to the place he came from, so different from who he was before that his neighbors are not certain they believe he is the same person.
But the underlying belief system that Senor Tolkien relies on to give his tale moral stature is not Jungian psychology, it is Christianity. The themes of temptation, forgiveness, and redemption are more obvious in the Lord of the Rings, but even in his children's tale JRRT relied on his Catholic faith more than most of his readers were aware. Bilbo is neither proud nor deceitful, greedy nor bloodthirsty. The contrast with Conan, Elric, Sigfried, or most other fantasy heroes is so sharp as to be almost too obvious to dwell on, but even Harry Potter or Timothy Hunter were motivated by an urge to learn to use their new powers of magic. Bilbo seems mostly to want to survive and help his friends, prevent bloodshed where he can, be polite and friendly, and take only what he needs from the world.
What is amazing, really, is not that "El Hobbit" appeals to adults; what middle-aged grocer doesn't sometimes daydream about a second start on a more adventurous life? What is most impressive is how well it works for the children for whom so much about Bilbo's background (respectable, adult, the adult Baggins chiding the childish Took inside him) is near impossible to relate to. It makes me wonder if there is a 70-year old perspective on JRRT's works that I'm not getting yet.
By which time there should be a Swahili edition available to read. :)
Of course, some parts of it I didn't have to read, as I can remember a few particularly memorable sections of the original text more or less by heart. I also cheated, which is to say I had an English copy close at hand, so that if I came upon the word "trasgos" and didn't know it, I could quickly consult the english version to discover that it means "goblin".
It is also entertaining to imagine in my mind that Senor Bolson (Baggins, whose last name was changed so that all the puns and riddles with "bag" will still work) and all the other characters were Hispanic. The imagery gets even better when you have little delights like the description of Gandalf wearing a big "sombrero". That's a very different image from the one I had before, and no less entertaining.
Mostly, though, it made me notice the details the author gives us with every page. When the dwarves and Bilbo explore the interior of the Lonely Mountain for the first time, they find a city of skeletons, caught with little notice like the citizens of Pompeii. I must have galloped through the original too fast to give this macabre scene its due, and in the course of reading it again in a language that slowed me down, there were many other moments of "how did I miss that before?"
Another advantage of reading it slowly, is that I notice more of what he does with the plot. Or is that just an advantage of being older? When he says that Bilbo looks more like a grocer than a burglar, or uses the tone of voice usually reserved for those who wish to borrow money, I have to admit that the 40-year old Ross can envision what means a lot better than the 10-year old who first read it.
The most interesting thing about it, and what makes it still almost unique even after decades of imitation, is the nature of the hero. Bilbo is not just a reluctant hero, who never has adventured before. He is a middle-aged portly fellow, and he makes his way as much because of his level head and kindly nature as from any other reason. He is no "chosen one", and Gandalf is no mentor to teach him of previously unrecognized powers. He is less the "Hero With A Thousand Faces" than "Midlife Crisis".
I have read a Jungian analysis of "El Hobbit", which points to the transformation which occurs at the Misty Mountains. Every attempt by Bilbo to deal with the obstacles that confront him leads to his looking foolish or worse, until he is separated from his companions, plunged into darkness and knocked unconscious, brought to the edge of a lake of unknown depths, and brought face to face with a shriveled, id-like monstrous reflection of himself. He asks it questions, and it asks them of him; the prize for victory is a way out of darkness, and the penalty for defeat is death. Is this swords and sorcery, or psychoanalysis? From this point on, he grows in stature, until by the end he is the de facto leader of the dwarves' troupe, winning treasure even as he rejects it, and returning back to the place he came from, so different from who he was before that his neighbors are not certain they believe he is the same person.
But the underlying belief system that Senor Tolkien relies on to give his tale moral stature is not Jungian psychology, it is Christianity. The themes of temptation, forgiveness, and redemption are more obvious in the Lord of the Rings, but even in his children's tale JRRT relied on his Catholic faith more than most of his readers were aware. Bilbo is neither proud nor deceitful, greedy nor bloodthirsty. The contrast with Conan, Elric, Sigfried, or most other fantasy heroes is so sharp as to be almost too obvious to dwell on, but even Harry Potter or Timothy Hunter were motivated by an urge to learn to use their new powers of magic. Bilbo seems mostly to want to survive and help his friends, prevent bloodshed where he can, be polite and friendly, and take only what he needs from the world.
What is amazing, really, is not that "El Hobbit" appeals to adults; what middle-aged grocer doesn't sometimes daydream about a second start on a more adventurous life? What is most impressive is how well it works for the children for whom so much about Bilbo's background (respectable, adult, the adult Baggins chiding the childish Took inside him) is near impossible to relate to. It makes me wonder if there is a 70-year old perspective on JRRT's works that I'm not getting yet.
By which time there should be a Swahili edition available to read. :)
Happy belated b-day!