Tolkien, Dostoievsky et chatGPT

[Coeur de Canard]

>> does Tolkien ever mentioned russian litterature?

J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, did not mention Russian literature specifically in his known writings. He was primarily influenced by Norse, Germanic, and Celtic myths, as well as the works of medieval English and Finnish poets.

>>Did Tolkien mentioned 19th and 20 century litterature?

J.R.R. Tolkien was a professor of Anglo-Saxon language and literature, and therefore was well-versed in the works of 19th and early 20th century literature, but it's not clear if he made any explicit references to them in his writings. In his letters, he does mention some contemporary authors like H.G. Wells, but not with any real detail. He is more noted for being more influenced by medieval literature and mythology than by his contemporaries.

Or donc le sujet de ce thread est a moitié seieux, c'est un melange d'experimentation avec chatGTP et d'une idee un peu saugrenue vieille d'il y a a peu pres 20 ans.
Cependant IMHO, il n'est pas ininterressant de comparer Tolkien avec d'autres auteurs du XIX et du XX siecle qu'ils soient de "genre" ou non. Sans aller jusqu'a pretendre comme dans 'Pierre Menard, auteur du Quichotte" que la reception d'une oeuvre est entierement conditioner par son contexte, je trouve interressant de regarder les liens entre Tolkien et les autres auteurs qui interroge la modernité.

Alors bien sur, tellement d'auteurs ont ecris sur la modernité qu'on peut comparer ainsi JRR avec beaucoup, beaucoup de gens

>> Are there any similarities between Jean Giono and Tolkien, for instance about their treatment of modernity?

Jean Giono was a French writer and poet, known for his pastoral novels set in the French countryside, which celebrated the traditional way of life of rural communities. Giono was a strong critic of modernity, industrialization and urbanization, and its negative impact on the environment and on human relationships.

So in this way there could be similarities in the themes and treatment of modernity between Jean Giono and J.R.R. Tolkien. Both authors, in their own ways, sought to provide a counterpoint to the modern world and its values, depicting instead a more pastoral, traditional, and harmonious way of life.

Both of them in their works, Jean Giono in his rural and natural setting, and Tolkien in his fantasy Middle-earth, portrayed a world that are disconnected from the industrialization and urbanization, and where instead they focus on the ancient myths, legends and a deep sense of history and the connection to nature.

However, it's worth noting that the two authors wrote in different languages, different genre and have different background. But they both share the same concern about the negative effects of modernity on the human and natural world.

De meme LOTR traite de la guerre et des ces consequences ce qui est loin d'etre rare au XXe siecle.

>> How would you compare "le voyage au bout de la nuit" and LOTR ?

"Journey to the End of the Night" (Voyage au Bout de la Nuit) is a novel by French author Louis-Ferdinand Céline, first published in 1932, while The Lord of the Rings is a fantasy novel by J.R.R. Tolkien, first published in 1954. Both works are considered classics in their respective genres, but they are quite different in terms of style, themes, and tone.

"Journey to the End of the Night" is considered to be a literary masterpiece of the 20th century, the novel is written in a stream of consciousness style, and is considered an early example of modernist literature. It's a story of a young man and his experiences in World War I and its aftermath. Celine expresses his thoughts on the horrors of war and the disillusionment of postwar society. It's also a novel that has a strong anti-hero in the main character, someone that doesn't have a clear moral compass.

The Lord of the Rings, on the other hand, is an epic fantasy novel that is set in a world of Middle-earth. The story follows hobbit Frodo and his companions as they journey to destroy the One Ring of the Dark Lord Sauron, and the themes of the novel include friendship, loyalty, and courage. The narrative is mostly built around a traditional hero's journey, and the characters and the world are constructed around clear-cut moral distinctions.

Both works are literary classics and share the theme of war and its aftermath, but the writing style, tone, genre and the ways of how they approach the theme is vastly different. "Journey to the End of the Night" is a realistic and often harsh depiction of war and its effects, while The Lord of the Rings is an epic fantasy with a clear moral compass and a more traditional hero's journey.

Je trouve que de montrer que deux romans aussi differents ne sont pas incomparables car partageant certains themes mais en donnant des reponses tres differentes. IMHO cela souligne que LOTR n'est pas 'seulement' un travail sur les mythes, legendes et langages mais un roman prenant position sur des problemes de son temps.


Par ailleurs si un lycee ou etudiant va voir son professeur pour lui parler des similarité entre Galadriel et Ivan, il y a fort a parier qu'il ne sera pas tres bien recu. Par contre chatGTP etant une machine accepter de chercher des associations sans sourciller et sans jugement a priori. Aillant le gout des questions saugrenu, je trouve ca fort interressant
CdC