A Letter to my Friend Tolkien

     Hello, I am Ian Markley and I am close to finishing your book, The Two Towers. The book has a plethora of elevated diction. With your elevated diction you create extravagant scenes full of detail and imagery. In Middle Earth you make every blade of grass feel important, every person, every tree. I can tell by the way you wrote this series that Middle Earth is more than just a setting for you, it is a sanctuary you can go to. A place were you feel home, somewhere you can't be disturbed and go into a world you created and wanted to share with many others who are just as enthralled with the story. I am surprised that you didn't run out of words in the dictionary to use as descriptive words. I also like how you make an inconceivable hobbit a hero who takes a bearing that many men do not have the will to do. It is definitely a book for people who are underdogs in some aspect of their life. I also like how in this series that this is really just about an orphan who is looking for adventure. People get engrossed in all of the action and description but miss the simplicity of the book and perhaps the real reason an author wrote the book. I hear that you went to South Africa and remember some vivid encounters including meeting a huge hairy spider. Was that your inspiration for including a huge spider in the 3rd book when Frodo fights a spider?

     I do in fact like your books and agree that these are classic pieces of literature. This book brought back Fantasy book and has inspired many of my generation to get into the Fantasy section and is part of why we see lots of that genre in our generation. Your book has also created a foundation for many books common to yours. For instance, most books today have a wise man, accompanied with an unlikely hero. I would also like to say that you influenced a book that has captured many great minds and inspired many more; Harry Potter. You have created the foundation for this series and Rowling definitely copied some of your aspects into her story because she saw the success from your books. For instance, the death eaters are the same as the Nazgul. I think that your books will influence many people and authors for the next 100 years and hope to see that your books continue to be read and enjoyed. Oh and here is a link to why people think your books are better than Harry Potter. Why LOTR is better than Harry Potter

                                                                                                           Until Next Time,
                                                                                                                    Ian Markley