Those Little, Unimportant, and Unknown parts that we love...

[doug*platypus]

What sticks out most to me after reading these passionate quotes, is that the passages are NOT little, unimportant OR unknown!! That's the way Tolkien is, and the reason we can go back to reading his works time and time and time again. I'm sure they must be the most re-read non-political and non-theological books in existence. LOTR would probably give even the Communist Manifesto a run for its money.

So this thread is kind of an anachronism. But I might be wrong, especially since I'm only 70% sure what that word even means!! But in the spirit of the season, here we go. This is relatively unimportant , but if you ask me it is still absolutely essential, and of course I'm extremely disappointed that it wasn't in the movie!

Did you ever know anyone like him? Except Gandalf, of course. I think they must be related!

It's just so inane, endearing and... Hobbitish! I love it.

[Guinevere]

What sticks out most to me after reading these passionate quotes, is that the passages are NOT little, unimportant OR unknown!! That's the way Tolkien is, and the reason we can go back to reading his works time and time and time again.

I quite agree with you there, Doug! And many such "pearls" I discovered only when rereading Tolkien's works.

But, as you suspected, "anachronism" isn't the right word : it means "error in time reckoning, thing out of harmony with the present". Whereas you meant to say, that the posts in this thread contradict the title... (I know there's a foreign word for selfcontradictory, but I can't remember it right now. )

Here's something which is not important for the plot of that story, but it really touched me:

In "of Tuor and his coming to Gondolin" in U.T , Voronwë describes to Tuor how he tarried on the way in Nan-tathren, "lovely to hearts enchantment was that land" and how he nearly forgot his errand and wanted to stay there. I found this part very moving, giving us a glimpse into the feelings of that Elf, who otherwise is just a "instrument" of Ulmo to bring Tuor to Gondolin.
Also a bit later in the same story:
Voronë sighed , and spoke then softly as if to himself "But very bright were the stars upon the margin of the world, when at times the clouds about the West were drawn aside."

[Bombadil]

If you have ever seen a dragon in a pinch, you will realize this was only poetical exaggeration applied to any hobbit, even to Old Took's great-grand-uncle Bullroarer, who was so huge (for a hobbit) that he could ride a horse. He charged the ranks of the goblins of Mount Gram in the Battle of the Green Fields, and knocked their king Golfimbul's head clean off with a wooden club. It sailed a hundred yards through the air and went down a rabbit-hole, and in this way the battle was won and the game of Golf invented at the same moment.

love it