I don't mean LOTR and The Hobbit, but certainly all the others. I mean, what's cheery about what happened in Beleriand? The stories of Huor and Turin are hardly side-splitters.

As for the story of Numenor..."You can't be immortal, but we'll give you an island that's close to where there IS immortality, and if you climb to the top of the mountain you might just get to see us being immortal. Have fun. Try not to die too soon". It's no wonder they got cross.

_________________
Sometimes you CAN be the only one in step...

I'm going to keep a close eye on this....looks like it'll be an interesting discussion...

_________________
Flying is the practice of trying to crash into the ground and missing.

Not really depressing exactly.

What happens is horrible, and continues to happen: the strife between Elves, Morgoth's constant victories, the murders committed by the Dwarves. But that's not the point. You're not meant to really like or love these characters. They probably didn't even exist, or exist in the way people remember them. Even Elrond himself was a child when the last acts of the First Age happened. The story of the First Age is the story of how creation was corrupted, and how the first peoples of the world were corrupted through Morgoth's malice.

The story is a long winded way of saying why the world is broken, corrupt and subject to evil (which is the subject of most mythologies). I think we are meant to get the idea of some bard on a winter's night telling these stories, bumming people out and then the lord calling for more drinking and dancing.

_________________
Dreaming of getting back to painting...any month now.

I wouldn't call it depressing, but sad and beautiful. Big difference, IMHO.

The Silmarillion is quite sad compared to the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, but think of it as history: it happened, but the world got over it. Numenoreans only got jealous enough to try and attack the Valar because of Sauron's interference, this shows how evil he is, as Numenor was the greatest civilisation of men.... It is necessarily sad, but also quite inspiring.

Think of it as being an authors way of exploring human aspirations (e.g. immortality) versus the less pleasant realities of life (i.e. there is evil and misfortune out there, and there are those who will do anything to achieve their own desires regardless of the cost to others).

There are umpteen books and websites that explore the philosophical background to the books. I gave up look at them as they made my brain melt....

_________________
Published ebooks:
Instrument of the Empire
A Note of Defiance
Phantom Ships, Ghost Flotilla
More to come!

me prefers roverandom:)

_________________
donuthare - helmsdeepbuilder - love this site

Only when I realise ME is not a real place.

Depressing? Perhaps. But certainly a deeply fascinating history of proud and noble people, telling of their struggles against evil, even when it seemed like insurmountable odds.
I think that, as said above, 'inspiring' probably fits better than 'depressing'.

_________________
"Mustard the Rohirrim! We've got to ketchup with those Uruk-fries before they capture the Hornburger!"

@Edraitheru

BLASPHEMER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay in all serioussness its only depressing when you look at some of what he says about the shadow in the east and then compare that with history bad stuff generally comes from the east.Also the fact that Aragorn a virtual nobody gets the hot girl man I wish I could have a life like that.

Iluvatar actually gave Men mortality as a blessing. The Elves, being immortal, had the problem that they had to endure every day of the corrupted days of Morgoth and after, unless they were killed in battle. Numenor was destroyed because Ar-Pharazon felt he new better than Iluvatar (and of course Sauron didn't help him see the light.)

_________________
Better, though difficult, the right way to go, than wrong, though easy, where the end is woe. John Bunyan - Pilgrim's Progress

Tolkien saw mortality as God's bitter gift to mankind. Imagine facing the constant passage of time to an Elf...
Everything you ever learn to love or enjoy that isn't immortal you will eventually watch die. By the time an elf hit middle age the world would have been totally changed from what they were born into.
Perhaps this is depressing, but it's all about perspective. You could say that all life- immortal or not- is nothing but suffering and struggle to stay alive, but that would overlook the experiences and people we come to love along the way...

...You know, like Ma and Pa, European beer, American football, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, pretty girls who like Lord of the Rings trilogy, ugly girls who like Lord of the Rings trilogy, and strategy battle game.