On Sat, 14 Jun 2003 10:41:11 -0700 "Laurie Campbell"
 writes:
> > 
> > >Heh.  One wonders why the dwarves chose a hobbit to be their 
> thief, 
> > no?  A middle-class, well-to-do hobbit, a bunch of 
> > poor-but-noble-descended dwarves
> > >(at least Thorin was, but I thought the rest might have been, 
> > too)... hmm.  I feel a classist reading of Tolkien coming on.  
> > >
> > >darkelf, probably will make me unpopular
> > 
> > Why?  English society was (and still is to a certain extent) 
> > stratified and
> > very much class-conscious.  Tolkien couldn't help but be affected 
> by 
> > that.
> 
> Affected!
> It was the warp and weft of his existence. He probably didn't think 
> that
> much about it, period.
> Simply the Way Things Work (and even corrective measures through 
> out
> history did (and do) simply substitute different names (and 
> sometimes
> faces) for/into the stratification; but the stratification itself
> remains
> -- though in some cultures the border between is more 
> permeable.....
> 
> =shrug= tygress
> 
> Thank you!!  I was thinking something along those lines and couldn't 
> for
> the life of me come up with the words. You're exactly right. Even 
> under Communism, 

well, I hesitate to call the Soviet experiment, in particular,
"Communism" ... but even in Communes, we filter into hierarchy, despite
best intentions
[Heck, in nigh any given situation I find my brain figuring out where I
slip into the strata ... the impulse is probably hard-coded]

> you ended up with an elite and the masses, and some that 
> were
> inbetween.
> 
> Laurie pleased to see someone assembled my thoughts for me Phoenix

=curtsey=

====
I've come to realize that Doug and I don't go on trips by ourselves; our
families and friends are with us, and the decisions we make ripple beyond
the shores within view. -- Jill Fredston
There are times when instant arrival would be nice, but then you wouldn't
 get anything out of the journey. --Kathy Wilson
...try explaining THAT to your HMO. --Amana Commercia


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