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Rymbeld t1_j2bldxp wrote

When I first read LotR, I was very young, 11 or 12, and the Moria section was terrifying.

I used to think Tom Bombadil was boring, but as I'm older I find that section now fascinating. It's so magical and strange. I think you have to read a little more patiently to get into it.

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Wedge38 t1_j2e1z2q wrote

I think that's the point of Tolkien writing Tom that way. Peaceful happy times often feel exactly like that. Reading it as a child it felt really boring but looking back on it now. The best times in life are often quite predictable, consistent and filled with people talking about quite normal boring things. That when you're a child you kinda take for granted. Civilized society is honestly magical compared to the barbaric nature of most human history. I think the magic of Bombadil is revealed when you have the patience. Tom is the contrast from that last safe part of the world to the rest of the dark dangerous one.

There's a reason the saying "may you live in interesting times" is a known curse.

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daiLlafyn t1_j2dh7n4 wrote

Yes! Others have made the point that a lot of what happens in the House mirrors a formal right of passage ceremony, also. Weird - and it is the fulcrum of the book, when it switches from a lighter tone to a darker.

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