4 ms·
Chekhov's Gun is but one playwright's opinion on what makes for "correct" dramatic structure. As others have also stated, Tom is one of my favorite characters
by epicide 4y ago
Chekhov's Gun is but one playwright's opinion on what makes for "correct" dramatic structure.
As others have also stated, Tom is one of my favorite characters purely because he is left so unexplained. Tolkien sought to create a world. In order to create a world [0], it doesn't make sense for the whole of that world to be defined by a singular story or set of events. Least of all a world created by an author who so dearly loved folklore and mythology.
[0] an interesting one, anyway.
- lisper 4y agoIt's not that I'm taking Chekhov's Gun as an axiom. The rest of LOTR hangs together quite well on this criterion. I'm judging Tom by that standard. Gollum, for example, makes sense. In fact, Gollum is probably one of the best examples of a dramatically coherent character in all of literature. He is introduced as a bit player and ends up being a pivotal and very complex character, almost a protagonist in his own right. But that only happened (and let me apologize in advance for venting some frustration here) because he didn't just fucking vanish after being introduced!
- epicide 4y agoHow would one demonstrate a character who is so powerful that they can "just fucking vanish" without having them do just that? You could go on to explain that fact or similar, but I think driving home that point any more than Tolkien did just muddies it and makes it more clumsy.
- lisper 4y agoI meant that Tom vanishes from the story. He doesn't vanish from Middle Earth.