If you could ask J.R.R. Tolkien One (1) Question, what would it be?
 

If J.R.R. Tolkien came abck form the dead, and you met him face to face, and you could ask him one question, what would you ask him about?

Would you ask if Balrogs ahd wings? Who was Tom Bombadil? If Sam was nicer to Gollum, would he not turned evil again? Was Saruman's ring powerful? What did Hobbits eat? Is your son correct about ******? etc. etc. etc....

I would have to ask him what he thought of the movies...because I think that would be best..

But what would you ask him about?

-willkill

Yeah, I would ask him about the movies too.

Where are the other Palentirs(sp)?
Can the other Rings of Power corrupt?
Is Gollum to be pitied or loathed?

I would ask him "What was every known creature in the old forest". That way Id find out what bombadil was, what goldberry was, what willow was, and whether the entwives were really there.

Was that cheating?

bombariffic

i would ask him if he could ask the Ainur to produce a magical portal to where i could step through into ME, hopefully i would land in the Shire or Rivendel.

if he couldnt do that, i would just ask for a simple hand shake, Fore arm to Fore arm ME style.

Do Balrogs have wings? [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img]

I would ask him about Tom Bombadil, so as to stop the debate finally.
I would also like to know about the precise number of elves, men and dwarves there when they all first awoke.

Hmm. All of you are ignoring one of the primary traits of authors.

They never answer any question straight; they never provide closure; they only stir up the mucky bottoms of Withywindles, obscuring the water lilies, in fervent hopes of stimulating further discussion.

Carpenter's edition of the Letters demonstrates in abundance this characteristic of Tolkien, always deferring. All the fun's in how you debate a thing.

Bethberry

Did you have fun?

True, true, Bethberry... but not so if you're tricksy [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]. Simply...

1) Ask for two more questions
2) Ask him to be clear and concise and not beat around the bush
3)Ask him your question

Voila! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

That aside, I personally would like to ask Tolkien for a detailed explanation on the three themes of the Ainulindalë and their place in the timeline of Arda. That would help me out a lot. Of course if I read the chapter again, so might that...

[ December 28, 2002: Message edited by: Ithaeliel ]

Hope springs eternal in the youthful breast.

I bow to you, Ithaliel. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

Bethberry

just one question....


Me: "Whats up....?"

This topic doesn't fit into the books, and almost could live well in Mayhem, but I am moving it to Novices. Look for it there if you intend to continue it.

I would ask him why he didn't write much about the second age, specifically of the Noldor in Middle-earth and their struggles against Sauron.

Easy.

"What time is your class?"

[img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

This is silly, since I am, of course, erroneously assuming that our dear author, having escaped the fell clutches of death, has nothing better to do with his time than return to his former profession. But then again, perhaps he liked it. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

In any case, this topic has indeed been discussed before, although that thread got rather touchy and it will probably be easier to continue the discussion here.

--Belin Ibaimendi

"Where in the world did you get those ideas from?"

and

"Who and what is Tom Bombadil?"

and

"Can you teach me how to smoke with a pipe?" [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

I would ask him which character he liked best and if he likes PJ's Aragorn. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

Oh, and if Saruman really used bombs.

I would ask him where all the Entwives went, and if Sam's cousin had really seen one in Ch. 1...

waiting, pondering,
Tom

anyone gonna ask the obvious question? [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

How old was legolas?

who was his mother?

brothers or sisters? background?

I would ask him what he thought about the films

Because from what I heard about what kind of person he was, I do not think he would like the movies, no matter how well they were done.

I would probably ask him about his view on the apparent conflict between creationism and evolutionism... That, or the Quenya word for "also". [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

I would ask him if he would please make his OWN movies. That would be soooo cool! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

And, actually, I think Saruman did use explosives. Note the following:

The Two Towers "Helm's Deep"

[ December 29, 2002: Message edited by: TolkienGurl ]

I could stick with one question to ask him, but I wouldn't like it. From the one letter of his that I've read, it seems like he was a fascinating person that I'd be able to talk with for hours and not get bored. Anyway, here's the question I'd ask him:

At any point in the course of writing the novels, did you ever just feel like giving up, and if so, what helped you continue?

Because Lord of the Rings is pretty lengthy. I think most people would be daunted by the idea of writing a work like that, but that could just be me . . .

Oh, and I'd ask him, once and for all, whether he meant for Lord of the Rings to be anything more than an adventure story.

[ December 29, 2002: Message edited by: Merri ]

I would tell him how incredably widespread and famous his work has become and then show him this site.
Then I would ask him:
"What do you think of what has become of your lifes work?"

Then in a tiny, small voice:
"sir...may i have your autograph? *blushes*"

Well, if I had one question it would be:

Do you want your creations to be left alone or not? And if not, then to what extent?

I mean like having movies made out of them, action figures, etc.

But, if I wanted to risk it, then I'd ask him:

Can you let me ask you more than one question?

If he says no, then I'm screwed...

But here are some questions that I'd like to ask him anyways (ones with * are more important)

1. What are your veiws on war? *
2. How small did this start off, and how did it get so big?
3. Did you intend for it to be this big?
4. Are you satisfied with your works? *
5. If there is one important thing that you learned in life, what is it? *
6. What do you regret, if anything?*
7. Did you mean to finish the whole thing, or intend to leave loose ends and certain things unexplained? *
8. What was your intention of creating gollum? *
10. Could I have your autograph on first editions of all your works?

[img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

I thought of more questions to ask him:

Where did you think of the names for your characters?

Where did you get the personalities for your characters from? Were they based on real people?

y'know, I'd probably ask him to teach me all the languages of middle earth. then I'd get his autograph, and a picture to prove it.

Ummm...I'd ask him to tell me everything about Middle Earth, then I'd write it all down! "Everything" includes language, history, former plans, mapping, physical appearances of everyone...in other words, literally everything!

I'd rahter not ask him, but discuss some loose ends with. hmm... I could always ask him to discuss these things with me. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

I want nothing more than to have a conversation with JRR Tolkien. It is the ideal dream of any Tolkien Fan. My questions would be similar to all of yours... 'Who was Tom Bombadil?' 'Where did the Entwives go?' And (taken from another forum) 'Was Legolas really in love with Arwen?' Also I'd beg for him to teach me all the languages. But I think the main question I would ask is:
"Is Middle Earth real?" Crazy...but it would be wonerful(!) to get his answer on that.
Also I agree with Nianna Telmnar, I'd aske meekly for his autograph on the books, picutres etc...
The thought of meeting him is overwhelming. He is more than an author ... he created a whole world ... languages ... wow

If I could ask him one thing I'd ask, "How in the name of the world did you come back from the dead?" And then I'd tell him he looked great for a dead guy. [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img]

But if the question had to be related to his works, I'd ask one of two questions: 1)Was the original intent to entertain? 2)What was in the house where you stopped writing the Return of the Shadow?

If it had to be a serious question not involving his miraculous return to life, I'd ask him one of three questions: 1)How do you feel about how the world has become in the relatively short time since your death? 2)How do you feel about what the fantasy genre has become since you wrote the Lord of the Rings? 3)What drove you to write so much in such a detailed way? (Mainly because I want to compare and contrast my own driving force to his- if he had one, which I'm sure he did.)

[ January 01, 2003: Message edited by: Cúdae ]

I'd ask him to take me to the Grey Havens with him. If he couldn't, I'd ask him for an autograph, or maybe even a dedication in one of his books.

Here's another:

"Since you're back from the dead, will you finish your work on the languages (Rohan, Gondorian, Orkish etc.) so we can all speak them?"

I have a "complete guide" to all his languages, but there are so many loopholes because he didn't get to finish them.

Who?
How?
What?
When?
Do?
ALL THE TIME.... COME ON

The man would be ready to ring your neck, First and foremost Tolkien for the most part wrote the books for himself, and i would think it frustraited him greatly to be bombarded questions, about factual questions about his world, that he probably meant never to be known.

If i had to ask him a question, it would be something like.

Have you planed to write another Book?
or
How the idea orginaly spawned in your mind?

But most certainly i would tell him, thank you.

[ January 02, 2003: Message edited by: Guildo ]

Do Balrogs Have Wings? [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

If I had to ask it would be:

What was the inspiration for this grand creation and did you know that it would become as deep and awesome as it became? [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img]

Mr. Tolkien, sir, would you mind if you and I had a little chat?

Buy for time, and I would probably ask in so far as to which of the great epics inspired you to create your own.

I thought of another...
"will you tell me a story"