It's one of my quarrels with Tolkien and his school that they completely misrepresent the way evil presents itself. It isn't big and black and brazen, but has a sickly sweet charm and talks the language of patriotism and religion
My instinct here is to leap to Tolkien's defense. And in fact I will. The evil we know may have that sickly-sweet charm, but its effect is certainly big and black and brazen. Or to put it another way...
Taken individually, Tolkien's orcs were kind of goofy in a malignant way. Taken en masse, they're lethal.
And fear, real heart-stopping fear, is big and black and looming like a ringwraith in full sail. At least it is for me.
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Date: 2005-02-25 05:24 am (UTC)My instinct here is to leap to Tolkien's defense. And in fact I will. The evil we know may have that sickly-sweet charm, but its effect is certainly big and black and brazen. Or to put it another way...
Taken individually, Tolkien's orcs were kind of goofy in a malignant way. Taken en masse, they're lethal.
And fear, real heart-stopping fear, is big and black and looming like a ringwraith in full sail. At least it is for me.