What will you choose?

[Arien]

When I first saw the question I thought, yeah sure, I would love to live in Middle Earth. But after thinking it over in my Physics revision lesson, I am not so sure.

Firstly the thing about taking a few people with you; would they be as willing to go as I was? Would they want to leave everything behind? Unless our minds were connected, I wouldn't know. I only know one person who would come with me for certain. And then there is that whole issue about modern necessities, could I live without them? I could live without TV as I don’t really watch that much, and when I do watch it, it is always on MTV or Kiss. I don’t think I could live without the music we have here now, but I am willing to try. Taking my pointe shoes would be a must, otherwise I don’t think I would go. Reading, well I am sure there will be enough of that.

Food, I am a vegetarian, a very fussy one at that so food might be a problem. But hey I could live on, apples, bread, apples, bread, apples and bread. And no running HOT water would be annoying but I could get over it.

But despite all the bad things, I mean come on its Middle Earth! So it would be a yes for me.

[peonydeepdelver]

Usually the only way you can leave THIS Earth permanently is by dying.

Duh, Darby, you can always go to live on the moon! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

No, but my serious response to that is I think that people can believe what they want about Life and Death. I believe in reincarnation instead of Heaven and Hell, despite I'm Catholic. But I don't believe that we come back as human, I believe we come back as animals or something like that. I know some people believe (like ancient Egyptians and ancient Greeks) that we go to another world, like an afterlife sort of thing, which means that there's no doubt that some of those people believe after Death we go to Middle-earth. If this is true, then there's no question as to whether you would want to or not, but you must.

Man, I'm rambling again, aren't I? I hate it when I do that! [img]smilies/mad.gif[/img] Oh well. To lighten the mood of this post, I'll just add that I think our world is too advanced. People have become too dependent on machines as simple as lightbulbs. And if there's on thing I hate about Earth, it's cars. People got around just fine 200 years ago without them, so why do we need them? Just get a horse or a buggy! Those don't pollute the Earth, and they don't need vast plains of asphault and tar to go anywhere! That's the real reason I'd go to Middle-earth. To get away from cars. [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img]

[Horse-Maiden of the Shire]

When I first saw this topic, I said Oh, pshaw! Easy! Left, left, left. "Mordor, Gandalf? Is it left or right?" "Left." That would be my choice. But having read over these posts, it's a big toughie. But I'll stick with my choice...left. I would take my mom, my dog, my cat, my best friend Elen, and my sister Katrina. Now, I know there will be no electricity or computers or TV or fridges or chocolate, but this is too big of a chance to pass up. The way I see it is that all of our lives, we've had it the easy way. We've had electricity and cars and the Barrow-Downs( [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]). I would like to see how it is to live the hard way, so to speak. To live with fire as our source of heat, to live with fire (again) as our source of light, and to never eat Kraft Dinner for the rest of our lives. I would probably take a couple bars of chocolate withe me, though. Then I would savour them, and savour them well. Also, like Birdland, somebody upstairs must be wanting me to take a change of pace because otherwise WHY would there be two portals you could go into? Why, Downers? Why?

All in all, I would pick left.

[Lush]

Moaning over the lost opportunity to taste Shire-brewed beer and make eyes at some hot Elven ranger, I'd go right, because I don't want to waste an opportunity to make this world a litte less crappy.

[Iarwain]

I'd go right too, for Lush's last stated reason, and the fact that I enjoy humanity, its history, and I'd like to keep my perception of reality as it is, without jumbling everything up into a mess of multidemensional portals and strange doors and wormholes and such. Middle-Earth may be realistic, it may be the most realistic fantasy ever devised, but it still remains but a shadow of what reality is, has been, and promises to become in the future.

Iarwain

[ July 01, 2003: Message edited by: Iarwain ]

[Darby]

Peonydeepdelver, if you want to get away from cars, you could always go homesteading in the Northwest Territories! Get yourself a nice husky sled team, and get right back to nature. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img] 'Course, I hear the bugs are just brutal any time it's warm enough not to be completely frozen, but hey - you could set up camp miles from nowhere and enjoy all the convienances of pre-modern life!
Seriously, though, I always was a little tempted by the idea of homesteading. Learning to live off the land, being completely self-sufficiant... I taught myself to knit instead, lol! And I console myself that I'd be at least a little useful if society collapsed, because I can knit, and I have successfully taught two children to read. I can build a waterproof shelter, and I know how to keep bears away from the campsite, and how not to get giardia. Oh, and I can use a rifle, and I've some familiarity with bow and arrow, too (though my aim stinks). And if I really tried, I might even remember how to make soap.
Still, Middle Earth would be a big adjustment. I don't think my origami skills would be in much demand. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

[Child of the 7th Age]

Lush, Iarwain, Willie, and many others,

You are very eloquent in your defense of the here and now, and our need to have people who will stand up and try to make a difference.

This is going to sound like a very strange thing to say, but I believe I may have a different view on this because of my age.

For over fifty years, I have been butting my head against the system in various shapes and forms. I went to college in the late sixties with all that that entailed, then grad school in medieval history, and eventually ended up marrying a labor organizer from the farmworkers who went to law school because he saw it as a way to change things. I've been a college professor, librarian, old style activist way back when, teacher, mom, and wife. And, believe me, I've enjoyed every minute of it.

If I'm still lucky enough to be here for the next fifty years, I'll keep searching for new windmills to tilt at. And, of course, there are plenty more unexplored.

Still,....every so often I get a hankering for something that goes beyond what I've seen and done on this planet, all those possibilities that I sense in this present reality. Something that builds on what we have here but manages to go beyond it. That's why I love myth. So if there was really some way to explore an alternative world like middle-earth and if I could bring the people I loved with me (that's a big "If"), I think I would take a shot at it.

And, in another strange way, I wonder just how different that left portal would be. I mean Elves and hobbits and dwarves all embody pieces of what we are as Men. Tolkien even said that. Although the externals of the world would be different and the physical appearance of "people" different, maybe at some gut level there might be more similarities than we think. I will admit I have a neighbor or two who fits the mode of certain hobbits in both a positive and negative sense.

sharon

[ July 02, 2003: Message edited by: Child of the 7th Age ]

[Neferchoirwen]

If I'd have a family, I'd think about them as well...but they'd have to migrate with me.

But I would never miss a chance to "migrate," if you will, to Middle Earth. Even if it's in the third age. What role will I play in the coming society as the third age wanes into the fourth age? Will I be one of the founders of the new alliance of men and dwarves? Will I be doing trade with Hobbits?

The possibilty of something new literally makes my adrenalin run through my brain, automatically sending me there virtually in my own imagination...

[The Saucepan Man]

Well, I can honestly say that I would choose right without a moment's hesitation. Like many others, I would love to visit ME, but I would most certainly not wish to stay there permamently.

My main reasons are:

• I was born into this world and I feel very strongly that this is therefore where I belong. For me, ME is a place that I like to read and talk about. It is a place to which I can escape temporarily while reading. But, for me, there are other forms of escapism too - other books, films, television - not just ME. And there are just too many non-ME related things (people, places, interests, events etc) which root me firmly to this world and which in many ways define me.
• Most, if not all, of the people (family and friends) that I would wish to take with me would have no interest in going to ME whatsoever. And I would not feel able to impose a life in ME on my two young children, whose future is in this world. I could not deny them that future.
• Finally, although it is perhaps the weakest reason, I have no wish to do without the paraphenalia of modern living. I am unashamedly fond of cars, computers, modern music, hot running water, frozen food, dishwashers, washing-machines etc etc and I could not imagine life without them. [img]smilies/rolleyes.gif[/img]

Yes, there are many aspects of this world that drive me to despair. But most of these - war, cruelty, suffering, corruption and the like - are present in ME too. And if my life here might occasionally feel dull and uninspiring, why would it be any different in ME? There is no guarantee that we would end up living the life of Reilly in Rivendell or Lothlorien or helping to save ME from the Dark Lord. As was said earlier, we might just as likely end up pig farming in Bree or begging in the streets of Minas Tirith. And if you feel confident that you would be able to find an inspiring life in ME or help to make a difference to that world, why should that not be the case in this world?

Yes, you may consider me an unromantic pragmatist, but there you have it. [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img] [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

[Lush]

You are very eloquent in your defense of the here and now, and our need to have people who will stand up and try to make a difference.

I knew it! I can even make the word "crappy" eloquent! [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img] I am so cool.

For over fifty years, I have been butting my head against the system in various shapes and forms.

See, the trick is: don't butt your head. Just live, knowing that you were given life for some reason, no matter how remote. Anyway, that's how I do it, without going insane about Chernobyl and Rwanda.

Having said that, I certainly would never hold your back from going left. No arm-twisting here! Certainly not from me! [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

[Diamond18]

My first knee-jerk reaction was "right, right, right all the way", and I haven't changed my mind reading through the posts. Some reasons have been ably stated by others, but I'll try to explain it from my perspective, anyway.

First: (treating Middle-earth hypothetically as a real, alternate world) Middle-earth is a fallen world. For that reason, it is, at it's core, no different from this world. There are many superficial differences, ways ME is better, and ways our world is better, but I believe that in the end it all averages out into everything being the same old, same old. Good and evil, truth and lies, bravery and cowardice, intelligence and ignorance, life and death, etc. are all fundamental elements in both Middle-earth and our world. Because of that, the most important thing in life is not where you are, but who you are and what you do. Everyone is ultimately responisble for their own actions, regardless of circumstances or society. Middle-earth is no Heaven, so the same rules of personal responsibilty apply. I.E., happiness is not a state of being, but a state of mind.

There is, of course, the question of purpose and fate. I do believe that every person was created by God and put on earth at a certain time and place, for a reason. So I think we each have purpose in this world. Whether we actually fulfil our purpose is not, I think, a given. We have our free will, for better or for worse. But I do believe that the purpose is there.

I'm exploring this whole theme in a fantasy novel, in which two 20-year-old co-workers (not friends, which is an important point) enter a different world. In my story, this permanent transition fits their purpose in life, as I set up their "real" world lives as being quite directionless. They had no close friends, were utterly unapprieciated and ofttimes totally ignored by their families, and had not yet actively pursued improving their own lives. I did this because I saw that sort of situation as being the only justification for my removing them from this world into the other. I have them affect the other world in real and tangible ways. I didn't just send them there for fun, or as an escape. Because they don't escape their own selves, and they don't have fun. It's a hard experience for both of them. I never try to idealize that other world. Which world is better is not the point of the story, the point is having a purpose wherever you happen to be. They were failures at their purpose in this world, but I gave them a second chance in the other world. At the end of the story, I give them the choice to stay there or return here, and they stay, not because the other world is perfect, or comfortable, or even all that different, but because it's where they finally served a purpose and made a difference. So I guess what I'm saying with that story and this post, is that when you're given the choice, I think it's best to stay where God has put you. In my very fictional story, I just happen to be the "god" that decided my characters didn't belong in the world where they were born, and so put them in a different place.

Which seques into the point that Middle-earth isn't a real world. Tolkien's stories, and my stories, and all stories, are just stories about this world. Even if they take place in alternate imaginary worlds, all the elements are based off of/taken from this world.

I firmly believe that this is the only real world there is, besides Heaven and Hell. Exploring the concept of alternate universes is all well in good as part of the human imagination, but I'm not one to actually believe that I could go there (besides the imaginative experience of movies/books/TV/dreamng, etc.) I'm never going to Middle-earth, so when given the hypothetical choice to decide where I belong, I'm just going to say that I belong where I belong. I.E., I don't believe that I have a real choice. I think this is important to consider, because if you spend all your time wishing you were somewhere else where you can never be, you're just missing out on what is real where you are.

Of course, as a Christian, I believe that this world is just a stepping stone to Heaven, but that's a whole different philosopical ramble. [img]smilies/wink.gif[/img]

[Iarwain]

Inspired by Diamond's applauseworthy summation, I think I'll explain my last post.

The thing about Middle-Earth is that it was created by an ordinary person. He may have had unusual talents with languages, and he was gifted with a wonderful imagination, but Tolkien was human, and his literary masterpiece reflects that fact infinitely. Middle-Earth may be incredibly realistic, but it is a fantasy. It may posess extraordinary depth and detail, yet it remains simplistic to an extreme, lacking a full history, while what it does have is a selective framework, missing the background of entire races. It is a myth. It was designed as such, and remains to be so. As a whole, it lacks the complexities of reality, while being inconsistent with the detail already provided.

Ever Wandering,
Iarwain

[ July 03, 2003: Message edited by: Iarwain ]

[peonydeepdelver]

Peonydeepdelver, if you want to get away from cars, you could always go homesteading in the Northwest Territories! Get yourself a nice husky sled team, and get right back to nature.

Actually I would do that, but I live in the NorthEAST, and it'd take a mighty long time to get over there. [img]smilies/tongue.gif[/img] Besides, I would still choose the red pill- er, Middle-earth anytime over the Northwest Territories. No offense to that good ol' unpopulated mass of land. [img]smilies/biggrin.gif[/img]

[Child of the 7th Age]

Thought I'd bump this up, since it's been a year, and see if there are any newcomers who'd like to add their opinions.

~Child

[mark12_30]

...can an old-comer play too?

Open-fire cooking, broad open spaces, long wild roads, no office cubicles, fresh water and air, plenty of time in the garden and with the fruit trees.... left, baby, LEFT LEFT LEFT. Rohan, then Rivendell, then Bree. Maybe I'd settle in Bree, with frequent trips here and there.

Except--

I couldn't possibly go without my wonderful amazing husband, the love of my life always and forever; and he's insulin-dependant. They don't have that there. He couldn't come.

Drat.

Drat drat drat drat drat.

CONFOUND IT ALL.

...Right..... **sob**

Ah, what we do for love.
(Looks around Mordorish office cubicle, sighs, and plods through orcs and enslaved humans toward Mount Doom.)

[Nurumaiel]

Last year I might have said left without thinking, because while I loved life here and now I wanted adventure. Last year I wasn't contented with the way I lived. It was all right, but I either wanted to go wandering the roads or just up and die and go to Heaven. I didn't want to stay where I was.

To live in the Shire would fulfill every dream of life I've ever had... green hillsides and little roads that wander to a friend's house(/hole), and perhaps a little farm of my own with some chickens and cows. Abandon all technology and find my entertainment in the whistling of the birds. I would go at a moment's notice, except I could not come back. And I know I'd regret it for all of my life.

The sufferings of this world? Faith, the sufferings of this world are what made me love life. Not just because of the aftermath of the sufferings, when peace could be known once again and you would realize with a shock just how many people had cared enough to help you, but in the sufferings themselves. And I don't really know why; I merely have vague guesses. And doesn't Middle-Earth have sufferings too?

I would have to leave almost everyone I loved. I could take a few with me, as it's been said, but fairly everyone I've really met and known has been a dear friend to me, and I would hate to leave any of them behind.

Again, the sufferings of this world. I would suffer all the sufferings if I could have one of the joys, because they are by far more sweet than the sufferings are painful. I taught myself to find joy in the simplest little things and I found joy everywhere. I found joy in a smile from a little boy, something I otherwise would have carelessly tossed aside. And so I have enough beautiful little joys in this world that I can do without the joys of Middle-Earth.

Lack of adventures for me? Never! That's what I thought last year. Everything is an adventure here, I just have to look and see it. Do I really want an adventure that involves running about with a sword nearly getting my head hacked off by orcs? No, of course I don't! Perish the thought. In a few minutes I'll be walking out into the open of the house and children will be bustling everywhere demanding I do this and that with them, and I'll have the adventures of romping with them, perhaps cooking for them, or working on the dress that needs to be sewed, or that knitting, or maybe just a quiet ramble outdoors. Those adventures aren't only more enjoyable and simpler than narrowly avoiding getting your head hacked off, but they're more exciting because the happiness lets the excitement show. If an orc was running after me with a blood-stained battleaxe I'd be in dread terror and wishing I was home, not thinking how adventurous and fun and exciting it was.

Most important point of all, I'm a Roman Catholic... to leave this world would be to leave the most beautiful things of that Faith. I could still be a Catholic in Middle-Earth but I couldn't practice my Faith. The inhabitants of Middle-Earth would eventually hate me because I was such a gloomy sort of person, not having received the Eucharist in ages. I suppose I could drag along a priest, but what happens when he dies? And what if God wanted me to be a nun? Where would I find a convent?

Oh yes, the little joys of this life. Little joys that can't be found in Middle-Earth. Seeing the sun rise over these trees and these hills and thinking of what adventures I'll have at this house; watching the lads win a baseball game and being happy because they are; anticipating when we'll see childhood friends again whom we haven't seen for years, friends who couldn't possibly be in Middle-Earth; finally achieving friendship with the squirrels that have been avoiding you, the squirrels called Tipp, Fenian, Kerry, Derry, and that wicked lovable squirrel who I shall not name, squirrels that aren't in Middle-Earth; returning from a day at San Francisco to see houses melt away into woodlands and wilderness and feel the delightful, happy little thrill that you're home. To go to Middle-Earth would mean never to feel the happiness that I'm home again. I'd regret it forever and ever if I didn't go right.

Besides, what would become of my two baby brothers if I were to leave? They don't have the medical equipment at Middle-Earth that my brothers needed to actually survive. What if the little lad had another liver rejection. What if another baby was born with the same problems and couldn't get a transplant? The lad just barely survived as it is; in Middle-Earth he wouldn't have had the slimmest chance, bar a miracle more extreme than the one that already took place with all the equipment and highly-trained doctors here.

I love my life, with all its sufferings. A darling little baby was born this morning and if I had lived in Middle-Earth my family couldn't have been contacted to be told the beautiful news. I'm too happy here to live in Middle-Earth. I'm not through with this world yet. There are too many places to go, too many people to meet, too many things to see. Too much love and happiness to completely leave behind.

I'd go right.

[PaleStar]

Hello! I'm new, as you might be able to see...to reply;
It's a hard choice to make, whether to go left or right. Personally, I think I'd fit in a whole lot better on the left...but what of the language barrier? Even if that wasn't an issue, assuming whoever's dumping this choice on me will let me speak Westron, there's still the matter of my big fat attitude; I'd get in trouble constantly.
But, I suppose, on M-E, you can get away from that, away from your life, it seems. I would happily spend all my days alone in the wilderness than deal with modern life, even if it was during the failing times of the Third Age.
to add a bit of myself; I'm writing a novel with this similar theme; it's a high price to pay, but, seeing the world as it is, it seems more worth it.

*turns left*

[Aredhel]

I could certainly get along well in ME. I'd have to seriously think about family and friends, though. I belong to a Medieval Society...and some would never forgive me if I didn't take them with me! Armorers and fighters, cooks and computer programmers, I wouldn't know where to begin! And what about my Husband?! I doubt he'd like living without his computers. If faced with it, I might jump and leave everyone behind. It's cruel, but - they wouldn't be able to adjust.
Those I love most are on medications they couldn't take with them. Sad, but true.
Oh, well. Wandering alone in a strange land, I'd be happier if they all stayed here, safe and sound. Even my cat would have to stay- he's on meds too!
BAH.

[Pippin Pondlily]

I would go left because I would be all in the moment and ready to do something completely thrilling and outrageous. And I'm sure that though there will most definitely be things I'll miss -- I would grow to love Middle Earth. How could you bloody not?

With me I'd bring my father, my brother, and my friends Maureen and Robby because why the hell not? I'd also bring my great grandmother's bible and probably my life-long teddy bear. Sure. That's all though I suppose I wouldn't want to overpack and after a while you wouldn't need anything else.

I would want to see The Shire most of all and hopefully track down Bombadil somewheres eh?

The third age ... that's quite a lot of things to see, I don't suppose those who chose the left door would want to say anything about any outcomes? Ha

- P. Pondlily

[The Elusive Spirit]

Hmmm... That’s a tough one. About a year ago I would have said left in an instant.
However with the passing of time it is more difficult to choose. I’ve seen more of our world to very nearly fall in love with it (and it only took 17 years)!
I have to say that now, left would still be my answer, although not without a lot of thought. The opportunity would be hard to pass up. I’m up for a world where I can start over new. I guess the weight of my future decisions is weighing to heavily on me now. I just want something a little simpler. Middle Earth could be my chance. The diversion from normal life would be great! An adventure is right up my alley. Trying to survive in another country certainly qualifies as one. It would not be anything like fighting the great evil, but I’d be ok with it.
I would defiantly bring Beanamer because she would hate me if I left her. She is my oldest friend and I can count on her. I would probably also bring her sister, if she was up for it, because I think she would like it. The three of us would take Middle Earth by storm! Ha Ha! It would be infinitely hard to leave most of my family and friends though. Not sure they’d forgive me, but I’d go for me, not them.
Leftward HO! To Rohan (and freedom) for me!

[Laitoste]

Wow...a difficult decision paired with convincing arguments for each side! You're not helping me, people!

How, exactly, would I survive in Middle-Earth? I can't speak any of the languages, I can barely cook with a recipe, I can't sew, I can't build anything, and I can barely ride a horse! Although I fear I may not be giving myself all the credit I'm due in some of these areas.

On the other hand, if I'm willing to put the time and effort into something, I can learn it rather easily. I'm decent with animals (although I just learned that there is a greater partnership that I can reach with both my dogs and horses), and I have a few basic skills in sewing (and knitting) and cooking.

I think I could survive in Middle-Earth, though it would be hard. Now onto the more difficult part...

I don't really have any close friends where I live, and I've never really liked the culture of Northern Wisconsin. I still don't know what I want to do (or am meant to do), and I feel I'm sitting in a stagnent pool in my small town. I, too, dislike the materialism and general lack of values shown in today's America. Still, I love my country.

My parents recently took me to Washington, D.C. (and Gettysburg, and Philadelphia), and I finally realized how much I love it here. I don't always like what the government does, but that doesn't mean everything about it here is awful. Sorry about that. I've noticed people complaining about America just because the government isn't what they want it to be.

I don't know where my life is headed. I'd probably go left, seeing the portal as a signpost telling me which direction to go. But then I'd leave behind everything I loved: my books, my family (I'm sure none of them would want to come), a chance for higher education, a chance to travel this world, plus more that I can't think of at 10:45 at night when my dog needs to go out. And anyway, I go off to college next year. Who knows what my opinion will be then? In five years, what will it be? In ten? When I'm on my deathbed? Still, I'd choose left.

But can I bring my dachshunds?

[Diamond18]

Ah... this old fascinating thread. I saw the title on the main forum index and thought, "Is that what I think it is....?" Some threads are so thought provoking they stick in your mind long after you've read them.

I'm still a Right person, actually even moreso than I was the last time I posted. But funnily enough, in that post I used a story I was writing as an analogy and since then I've realized that my ending didn't work -- my characters, like me, just plain ended up being Right people despite everything I wrote into their lives to make it as easy as possible to leave this world behind. One of those instances where you realize you're just forcing an outcome that doesn't really fit. That realization and change of plan really meshes with my stance all the more, though, so I won't complain. I think the trouble is because fantasy worlds, no matter how much time you spend imagining them, when compared to our world, always end up being small and narrow and limited. M-E may be one of the deepest, but at the end it's still the imaginings of one man's mind, and so if I stood there I would probably be hit even harder with its limitations.

And then of course, since I am a writer, even living in M-E I'd have all these stories in my head that have been inspired by this world. I wouldn't be able to show them to anyone from M-E. That would be a drag. I couldn't force myself to forget about everything I know and write only M-E appropriate stories, that just wouldn't be me. I can just see the look on a hobbit's face when reading something I wrote. Hee. Hee. Hee. (evilman smiley where are you?)

At any rate, I still think it's a mistake to measure the worth of the two worlds by comparing good and bad elements. I'm not basing my desicion on the fact that "I can't live without all my friends and family/modern conveniences/favorite stories/rock music" etc. (though the thought of no more rock does make me shiver ;p) because frankly I hope that if was called to live without those things in this world I could indeed survive without them. All those "comforts" can't be the things that keep you alive. Losing them could very well happen. After all, there are lots of places in this world, like Third World countries, where there are no modern conveinences or free culture. I thank God that I do live in America and have the luxury of thinking this world is pretty swell. I don't want to disrespect the trials and tribulations of other nations and say that life in America is bad because the rent is high, so you won't hear me screaming "get me outta here" anytime soon.

Back to comparison to M-E: Sauron beats the pants off of any unpopular world leader/government that's ever been in this world, so I have to laugh when that is cited as a reason to leave here. We have the benefit of knowing that in LotR everything turns out pretty swell in the end, with Sauron being defeated. But the inhabitants of the story don't have that foresight. Indeed, one of the huge themes of the book is that even when you don't know if there will ever be a Shire to go home to you must still persevere. One of the things that makes Tolkien's work so powerful is the hope in face of bleakness -- to turn from our own world in the way that the Hobbits et al did not turn from theirs seems very ironic considering! Of course, then there are the Elves, who did take their equivalent to the "Left" and sail away to Valinor, but they were immortal and so that was really their "heaven" and I won't begrudge them such a thing.

And now... goodness, I just remembered that I made tea for myself nearly two hours ago and it's been steeping ever since.

[Lyta_Underhill]

Hmmmm....for me, I think it would be a matter more of a 'kick in the pants' rather than a choice. I think that, if I were thrown into Middle Earth, I would love some of it and hate some of it. But what in this world are those of you who wish to experience something new trying to get away from? Wouldn't it be awful if you took that with you into Middle Earth and couldn't get back? I think that it would be possible to truly enjoy Middle Earth OR this world if one became a 'different person'. Middle Earth would be a 'kick in the pants,' a call for you to become something different, to experience the new and challenging, to liven up your life. That is available here in this world as well, but I, like Frodo, am getting rather used to being Master of my own Bag End and I think it gets harder and harder to change my life and outlook unless someone or something hits me over the head with it. I think I prefer to wander the backroads and woods and meet up with the Elves and Fairies, rather than being handed the Ring of Power and being told to survive by the seat of my pants. Simply put, even though I am not in Middle Earth, I can see the aspects of it here well enough to enjoy its comforts in my imagination, and I need not be thrust into the Fire to live in Middle Earth. (Although if I were kicked into Middle Earth, I could probably get used to it!)

I sure hope that made sense. It's real late here! Goodnight all!
Cheers,
Lyta

P.S. Anyone think about what it would be like to be all comfortable and complacent, looking forward to a quiet life and suddenly being thrown into a world of danger? Did I ever mention I sometimes identify too closely with Frodo?

[Diamond18]

Originally Posted by Evisse the Blue

reaches out for the red pill
I'll go left, into the 'flawed' fantasy world of a human (oh, but a human genius!)

Isn't the Red Pill more like choosing the Right Door? In the Matrix, the Blue Pill leads back to a more comforting, likable world, and the Red Pill leads to the dire reality. Granted, the Matrix-world is patterned after our world as it is, the world we'd be staying in by taking the Right Door, while the "real world" in that movie is a science fiction creation, but the principle is still there. The Matrix is like the temptation of the "sun dappled Elven glade" but the characters chose to face the technologically scarred, war-torn eco-disaster of the "real world" because the harder path was the more rewarding one.

However, seeing as how I didn't see the third Matrix movie because the second one was so uninspiring, I can't really say if the final outcome was portrayed as rewarding or not.

[Nurumaiel]

...but I, like Frodo, am getting rather used to being Master of my own Bag End...

Lyta, you have summed up my entire feelings in these shorts words. It's something that I found very hard to describe; I commend you for your excellent work in saying it half a sentence!

To wake up in the morning in my own little room and hear the birds singing and little feet just beginning to run about... Sure, I could have a little room in the Shire (or wherever I would live in Middle-Earth) but it wouldn't by my little room, because I already have a little room. Birds would sing, but they wouldn't be the birds I've tempted for hours a day with seeds so they would come perch on my hand. Little feet might run about and I might hear children's laughter but they wouldn't be the dear children I've become accustomed to hearing.

And to wander out into the garden and bid good morning to the flowers, feeling delighted when I see new little buds blooming. It would be highly unlikely that I wouldn't have a garden in the Shire, but it wouldn't be my garden because my garden wouldn't be home.

I could have books in the Shire, I suppose, but they wouldn't be my books that have been passed down through the family till they came to me. And I could sit by a fireside and read, but it wouldn't be the fireside of my childhood, the one I have sat by for years, the one I sat by when I first heard tales of Frodo and Sam.

I could live without these things, sure, but it would be hard to be somewhere else, in an entirely different world, and still have these things that were not mine. Rather like raising a little boy who was your own and then switching sons with some other woman. You'd still have a little boy but he wouldn't be yours, would he? Of course the pain of switching books, gardens, etc. would be much less than the pain of switching sons! I merely use it as an example... not one quite equal to the situation, I fear.

I would have small regrets about not going to Middle-Earth... it would be lovely to Walk to Rivendell for real.

[Willow]

Right. Not a doubt.
What if we got to Middle-earth, and it wasn't what we wanted? We'd be stuck and disappointed.

[Nilpaurion Felagund]

Long ago, the temptation for me to take the left door would have great. It would have been comparable to Ar-Pharazôn's quest to wrest the Undying Lands from the Valar and claim immortality, shunning the dread of Death. But such temptation comes of ignorance - ignorance of what is, and ignorance of what is desired. This blindness could be summed up in a sentence: That world, indeed any world, is better than this one. So I'll go there.

But is it really? Is life at Middle-earth all it's cracked up to be? A great adventure, or an endless peace, perhaps? Really, what would make Middle-earth superior to Planet Earth?

The setting would have been different, but the same cast participate in the play. Characters with the same weaknesses, the same darkness that lies within the people in this world. Sure, we see shining examples of those who had overcome the shadow, but in the end, we'll see too much of Bill Ferny and Gríma.

It is the truth, in this world as in that of Tolkien's imagination, that vigilance tires. The terror of the Enemy might have been fresh in the people's mind by the end of LotR, but how long before the people grow indifferent again? What if there are no new Travellers to stop the despoliation of the new Sharkey's engines? What if there is no new Gandalf to rally all the Free People to the go up against the return of the Shadow? During the first three Ages of the Sun, it was almost too late to stop the Shadow - indeed, in the Age of the Trees, they were too late. There is precedence for complacency in Middle-earth. What would happen to the next ages? Would the hobbits one day awake to smog, AIDS, or famine?

It would be better for me to live in this world. At least now, with everyone seeing the ascendancy of man’s destructive abilities, people are slowly turning the tide. That would be nice.

Besides, it's escapism. I'd hate the day I have to escape from such a world.

You're just too morbid. Admit it.

[Galadriel]

Wow. As much as I am in love with Middle-earth and all its characters, I would choose going back home. Because there are certain things in this world I wont find there. My best friend, my mother, my education (something I will NOT give up), my books...
However, if there was I way I could possible finish college and get a job in ME, and transport all the people I love there (along with my books lol), I'd definitely go to ME.

[Galadriel55]

Definitely ME. Of course, I will miss Mark Twain, Jack London, Margaret Mitchell, Alexandra Ripley, and all other of my favourite writers, but Tolkien beats them all.
I guess I'd prefer to be one of the rangers, but on a second thought everyplace seems great.

[xMellrynxMaidenx]

I was faced with this same decision, actually, when a few friends and I were discussing ME. Some have already said this or had similar thoughts to it, but if a portal were to be dropped in your bedroom...well, everything does happen for a reason. Maybe choosing ME is YOUR course in life. We have to make decisions sometimes that is new and mysterious, IE leaving the nest when we're adults.


That being said, I know eventually whether I want to or not, I'm going to leave home anyways no matter what world I choose. It's in my nature to do so; I'm a nomadic type of person, I love exploring new places. This, for me, would be opportunity knocking; to explore the very world I've dreamed of traipsing across since I was a kid. I hunt; yes, I go bow hunting. Even at my young age I've lived without electricity and have lived off the land. I know the basics of house keeping. Could I survive? I'd like to say I could, and in reality I may scrap by, but one thing I'm NOT use to hunting is Orcs. That's where I would just love to call Imladris my home that way should any Orcs happen to come up with the idea of shish-Ka bobbing me, I'll sick Elrohir and Elladan on 'em!

I know enough Elvish to get by, so I would fair well with the elves. My bow skills, however, are not NEAR as good as their own, though.

With every action though, there is consequences. We would know what would happen next given we knew what event was happening exactly. Some would think, "Hey, this is an advantage though, right?" It very well could be. But then again, how many of us are truly prepared to go to war WITHOUT the technology and weapons we have in today's military? It was kill or be killed; it still is, really, but I would say it was much darker and graver back then.

That being said, I would sadly have to choose our world. *sigh* If you would have said, oh say, the Fourth Age where there was no war (that we know of) I would have chosen the ME door.

But...IF I had chosen the ME door instead of our world I would take no one; there WAS a war going on after all, and I would much rather have my family in our own dimension as safe as safe can get. I would LOVE to live in Lothlorien...just to see the Mellryn! I wouldn't mind seeing Lord Celeborn or the Lady Galadriel either, but I REALLY would love to see those trees

I would go so far as to say humans could live in Rivendell. Didn't the Dunedain chiefs retire there? Or their sons were fostered there...I can't remember :\ Someone please refresh my memory.

Hobby wise, I would most definitely be at home in Rohan. I am extremely keen on the equine nature, having raised a few myself.

Ah decisions, decisions.

“Sometimes it's the smallest decisions that can change your life forever.”-Kerri Russell

[Galadriel55]

I'm not as adventerous as you, Mellrynx, or as adapted to survival in such a world, but I still would choose ME without a second thought. If I'll regret it later, well, I can't undo it. I've always had this...romantic? streek in me and it always bothered me with dreams about living in different places, times, cultures, etc.. Moreover, I never particularly liked this world, except for my family and my books and my closest friends. I'm not that attached to it. Plus, it would be fascinating to learn from all the different people of ME, wouldn't it? And imagine popping up there in the middle of the story. You could predict to characters what they're thinking! What I wouldn't do is meddle at the times when I could actually change the story. That would be dangerous.
I'd choose to be a Dunedain (as much as a girl could be one). They are my favourite characters. I think it would be a good start to get a Dunedain teach you the basics of survival in ME.

The chieftains were brought up in Rivendell.

[Durelin]

Y'all are too romantic. I'm staying here. Modern medicine, coca cola, trains, planes, and automobiles, and yes, computers...lots of places to see and people to know. The evils of both worlds are equivalent enough, I suppose.

And, ya know, I'm a woman. I'll stay here and enjoy the modern comforts of more relative equality and childbirth I'm more likely to survive. Not that every woman has that here and now, but I do.