Platypus of Truth

This string of posts began with a brief review of my three favourite books . The first two, "The Lord of the Rings," and the "Oresteia" became the subjects of the opening reviews. The Third, Tennyson's "Idylls of the King," fell behind and it's only just now that I'm reading it again. I read "Idylls of the King" in my tenth grade year and it changed my life. When I was asked this past summer if I would take over 10th grade Literature, I made sure to add it to the reading list. Right now, my students are beginning "Jane Eyre," but once that's done, we'll be moving on to Tennyson. I'm interested to see how it goes over. The problem with having favourite books from when you were a kid is that somewhere, deep down, you're afraid that you'll stop liking them. There's that worry that the day will come when adulthood sinks in and the poetry ceases to enchant and the depths of meaning are plumbed....

Someone should really turn Garth's "Tolkien and the Great War" into the basis for a screenplay. They could call it "T.C.,B.S." While I'm at it, I might also add that someone needs to turn "The Children of Hurin" into either a stage play or an opera.

I'm almost finished preping a unit on "Jane Eyre" for my 10 th graders and, as with " Hamelt ," new aspects of the work are impressing themselves this time through. The first is what I call " middleness ." If you wanted to sum up "Jane Eyre" in three words you could do it with "the golden mean." Like Aristotle, and the Greeks in general, Bronte is obsessed with being in the middle; specifically, that virtue is a mid-point between two opposites. In each area of her life, Jane is called to avoid extremes personified in the other characters of the work. In religion, Jane avoids Brocklehurst's Evangelicalism as well as Eliza's Anglo-Catholicism. She avoids (barely) Helen Burns' optimistic universalism, but also (barely) St. John's pessimistic evangelism. In matters of the heart, Jane learns to temper her passionate nature at Lowood and so resists being Rochester's doxy , but she keeps enough of her romant...

A friend who hails from Georgia and I were complaining yesterday about the lack of weather in Southern California. We were hoping that this week would bring some much needed relief. So far, it has. Currently, I'm enjoying the view of the storm from the comfort of my office. With the rain coming down in sheets, all I could think of was "tell me about the water of your homeworld Mau'dib." Sad... Really, really, sad...

I've just finished reading John Garth's "Tolkien and the Great War," and the experience has been well worth it. Garth focuses on Tolkien's early life to a much greater degree than either Carpenter or Shippey and in so doing serves as a necessary corrective to both. In fact, Garth takes a few polite shots at Carpenter, and so presents us with a better picture of Tolkien's generosity and gregariousness. He also devotes a greater amount of time to analyzing the "Book of Lost Tales" and the origins of Tolkein's legendarium. Another bonus is the greater emphasis placed on Tolkien's pre-Inklings friendships and his relationship with Edith as formative influences on his work. All in all, I felt that "Tolkien and the Great War" actually advanced my understanding of Tolkien's writings and Tolkien the man. If you're a fan of Middle Earth, this one's well worth the read.

Having been married for several years now, I can begin looking on my bachelor past with an "outsiders" perspective. One of the interesting things I've noticed while being married is the different approach my wife and I have to cooking. My wife actually learned How To Cook is quite good at it. Give her a recipe and she can make just about anything. I had to pick up bits and pieces as I went along. I call my style of cooking "bachelor cooking," and the first rule is that there are no recipes. The main goal of the bachelor cook is to get filling food on the table quickly and in a way that elevates him above the mere ramen-and-t-bell-forever caveman. This goal often has to be achieved in the context of a communal environment with other bachelors where what food is available at any given time may vary widely. This means that formal recipes are out. Instead, the bachelor cook needs to adopt a more open and creative approach to food. A bachelor cook sees a mea...

I was walking through the grocery store today when faintly from the speakers over head I heard: "A Neverending Stooooory, Ah ah ah...." Long live the eighties.

The man who gave me a job when I was fresh out of grad school and no one else would hire me died this morning. Mr. Smith was a great Christian, a great mentor, and a great friend. He was always cheerful, positive , patient, and humble. The Church Militant is poorer for his passing. God be with his family and friends in this hour. Amen.

Christmas, in our house, is a time for amassing books. They're our primary work tool and our primary means of entertainment. This year's haul includes: "Who Killed Homer" by Victor Davis Hanson "The Western Way of War" by Victor Davis Hanson "The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian" by Robert E. Howard "Tolkien and the Great War" by John Garth "Writing the Breakout Novel" by Donald Maass "A History of France" by Guizot The Hanson books have been fun, but I don't understand two things: 1.) Why he systematically ignores the Middle Ages 2.) How he gets around the charge that the Homeric worldview leads not to change and dynamism, but stagnation, oppression, and ultimately societal collapse.