From: dphardy@my-deja.com (Douglas) Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien Subject: Lord of the Rings as an allegory for the Ph.D?? Date: 1 Feb 2002 06:31:17 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Lines: 82 Message-ID: <938fdfae.0202010631.43480cb3@posting.google.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: 217.161.0.100 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: posting.google.com 1012573878 32367 127.0.0.1 (1 Feb 2002 14:31:18 GMT) X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com NNTP-Posting-Date: 1 Feb 2002 14:31:18 GMT Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news.mailgate.org!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!postnews1.google.com!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.arts.books.tolkien:76249 I don't think this has been posted before. A little light relief for Friday. > The story starts with Frodo: a young hobbit, quite bright, a bit > dissatisfied with what he's learnt so far and with his mates back home > who > just seem to want to get jobs and settle down and drink beer. He's also > very much in awe of his tutor and mentor, the very senior professor > Gandalf, so when Gandalf suggests he take on a short project for him > (carrying the Ring to Rivendell), he agrees. Frodo very quickly > encounters the shadowy forces of fear and despair which will haunt the > rest of his journey and leave permanent scars on his psyche, but he also > makes some useful friends. In particular, he spends an evening down at > the > pub with Aragorn, who has been wandering the world for many years as > Gandalf's postdoc and becomes his adviser when Gandalf isn't around. > > After Frodo has completed his first project, Gandalf (along with head of > department Elrond) proposes that the work should be extended. He > assembles > a large research group, including visiting students Gimli and Legolas, > the > foreign postdoc Boromir,and several of Frodo's own friends from his > undergraduate days. Frodo agrees to tackle this larger project, though > he > has mixed feelings about it. ("'I will take the Ring', he said, > 'although > I do not know why.'") > > Very rapidly, things go wrong. First, Gandalf disappears and has no more > interaction with Frodo until everything is over. (Frodo assumes his > supervisor is dead: in fact, he's simply found a more interesting topic > and is working on that instead.) At his first international conference > in > Lorien, Frodo is cross-examined terrifyingly by Galadriel, and betrayed > by > Boromir, who is anxious to get the credit for the work himself. Frodo > cuts > himself off from the rest of his team: from now on, he will only discuss > his work with Sam, an old friend who doesn't really understand what it's > all about, but in any case is prepared to give Frodo credit for being > rather cleverer than he is. Then he sets out towards Mordor. > > The last and darkest period of Frodo's journey clearly represents the > writing-up stage, as he struggles towards Mount Doom (submission), > finding > his burden growing heavier and heavier yet more and more a part of > himself; more and more terrified of failure; plagued by the figure of > Gollum, the student who carried the Ring before him but never wrote up > and > still hangs around as a burnt-out, jealous shadow; talking less and less > even to Sam. When he submits the Ring to the fire, it is in desperate > confusion rather than with confidence, and for a while the world seems > empty. > > > Eventually it is over: the Ring is gone, everyone congratulates him, and > for a few days he can convince himself that his troubles are over. But > there is one more obstacle to overcome: months later, back in the Shire, > he must confront the external examiner Saruman, an old enemy of Gandalf, > who seeks to humiliate and destroy his rival's protege. With the help of > his friends and colleagues, Frodo passes through this ordeal, but > discovers at the end that victory has no value left for him. While his > friends return to settling down and finding jobs and starting families, > Frodo remains in limbo; finally, along with Gandalf, Elrond and many > others, he joins the brain drain across the Western ocean to the new > land > beyond. ###### Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien Subject: Re: Lord of the Rings as an allegory for the Ph.D?? References: <938fdfae.0202010631.43480cb3@posting.google.com> X-Newsreader: trn 4.0-test70 (17 January 1999) From: sbjensen@midway.uchicago.edu (Steuard Jensen) Lines: 12 Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: 128.135.12.7 X-Trace: news.uchicago.edu 1012579216 128.135.12.7 (Fri, 01 Feb 2002 10:00:16 CST) NNTP-Posting-Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2002 10:00:16 CST Organization: The University of Chicago X-SessionID: kYy68-23250-O4-6076@news.uchicago.edu X-Hash-Info: post-filter,v:1.4 X-Hash: 17a7bab3 28b080ef a36cf9bc 03ea67a2 b0d00414 Date: Fri, 01 Feb 2002 16:00:16 GMT Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news.mailgate.org!news-spur1.maxwell.syr.edu!news.maxwell.syr.edu!newsswitch.lcs.mit.edu!news.uchicago.edu!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.arts.books.tolkien:76038 Quoth dphardy@my-deja.com (Douglas) in article <938fdfae.0202010631.43480cb3@posting.google.com>: > I don't think this has been posted before. A little light relief for > Friday. [Snip long reinterpretation of LotR as a Ph.D. thesis.] That was great! (Well, at least, it seemed pretty funny to me as I work on my Ph.D.) Did you write it yourself, or do you know who did? Does O. Sharp know about it? Could he put it on the Tolkien Sarcasm Page? :) Steuard Jensen ###### From: Menelvagor@mailandnews.com (Count Menelvagor) Newsgroups: rec.arts.books.tolkien Subject: Re: Lord of the Rings as an allegory for the Ph.D?? Date: 4 Feb 2002 18:03:38 -0800 Organization: http://groups.google.com/ Lines: 54 Message-ID: <6bfb27a8.0202041803.96a8e3@posting.google.com> References: <938fdfae.0202010631.43480cb3@posting.google.com> NNTP-Posting-Host: 136.242.228.105 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-Trace: posting.google.com 1012874618 12486 127.0.0.1 (5 Feb 2002 02:03:38 GMT) X-Complaints-To: groups-abuse@google.com NNTP-Posting-Date: 5 Feb 2002 02:03:38 GMT Path: chonsp.franklin.ch!pfaff.ethz.ch!news-zh.switch.ch!news.mailgate.org!fr.clara.net!heighliner.fr.clara.net!isdnet!sn-xit-02!supernews.com!postnews1.google.com!not-for-mail Xref: chonsp.franklin.ch rec.arts.books.tolkien:76193 dphardy@my-deja.com (Douglas) wrote in message news:<938fdfae.0202010631.43480cb3@posting.google.com>... > I don't think this has been posted before. A little light relief for Friday. Not exactly lihgt, alas ... > > Very rapidly, things go wrong. First, Gandalf disappears and has no > more > > interaction with Frodo until everything is over. (Frodo assumes his > > supervisor is dead: in fact, he's simply found a more interesting > topic > > and is working on that instead.) At his first international conference I can relate ... > > The last and darkest period of Frodo's journey clearly represents the > > writing-up stage, as he struggles towards Mount Doom (submission), > > finding > > his burden growing heavier and heavier yet more and more a part of > > himself; more and more terrified of failure; plagued by the figure of > > Gollum, the student who carried the Ring before him but never wrote up > > and > > still hangs around as a burnt-out, jealous shadow; talking less and > less > > even to Sam. When he submits the Ring to the fire, it is in desperate > > confusion rather than with confidence, and for a while the world seems > > empty. My committee was just doign Mordor's work, all along ... > > > > > > Eventually it is over: the Ring is gone, everyone congratulates him, > and > > for a few days he can convince himself that his troubles are over. But > > there is one more obstacle to overcome: months later, back in the > Shire, > > he must confront the external examiner Saruman, an old enemy of > Gandalf, > > who seeks to humiliate and destroy his rival's protege. With the help > of > > his friends and colleagues, Frodo passes through this ordeal, but > > discovers at the end that victory has no value left for him. While > his > > friends return to settling down and finding jobs and starting > families, > > Frodo remains in limbo; finally, along with Gandalf, Elrond and many > > others, he joins the brain drain across the Western ocean to the new > > land > > beyond. A sad story indeed ... As Sauron will twell you ...