BY CALEB KEILEN – SCOTT COOPER MIAMI SCHOLARSHIP WINNER
Wow. I get a chance to meet any person, living or dead, for an hour. There are so many contrasting routes I could take with this I don’t even know where or how to start. The options really are staggering. I think I will start by saying that I would undoubtedly meet someone who is dead because I know I would never have the chance to meet them in real life.
I know many people would want to meet figures like Aristotle and George Washington, but I’m not so sure. Those historical figures would be interesting to meet, don’t get me wrong. I just think they would be tired of talking to college students who wrote scholarship essays on meeting living or dead people, and I wouldn’t want to waste my one meeting on being ignored or yelled at by an annoyed Aristotle or George Washington. Plus with such popular figures, there’d probably be a line; I wouldn’t want to wait in line. So I suppose that leaves me to choose from some less well-known individuals.
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J.R.R. Tolkien Won’t Make Me Wait In Line
You know what, I think I’ve got it. I’d meet with John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, better known as J.R.R. Tolkien, the author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. I am a huge fan of Tolkien’s works, and I’d love to have an opportunity to talk to him. I would either get his opinion on the theatrical adaptations of his books done by Peter Jackson or ask him about the highly contested topic of whether he used symbolism in his writing or not. But seeing as how I would only be able to get through one-third of Jackson’s first film (whoever said three-hour movies were a good idea?) asking him about the symbolism would probably be the more prudent topic choice.
See, Tolkien himself was apparently avidly against symbolism. Yet, there are people who ascribe certain meanings to his stories and writings. My understanding on the matter is that he didn’t necessarily use symbolism explicitly in his writing, but he did let his beliefs influence his works. I’d be intrigued to hear what he has to say on the topic and the corresponding, conflicting information. It’d be great to get it straight from Tolkien because we as fans can speculate all we want, but we’ll never know anything for certain while he is dead.
The Lord Of The Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien Is Truly A Masterpiece
The Lord of the Rings is truly a masterpiece and in my opinion, deserves to be listed among the classics. That’s really why I think it’d be so interesting to talk to him; to be able to converse with such an amazing and influential literary figure would be simply incredible. So to sum up this exhilarating journey, I’d meet with J.R.R. Tolkien to discuss whether his works contain symbolism because I don’t want to waste my one meeting on living people who I could still technically meet in reality or exasperated historical figures who would just be irritated by my existence.
