Author Archives: Matthew Theriault

How Tolkien’s Writings Were a Mythology for the History of England

The writings of J.R.R. Tolkien are widely read and revered by both his home country of England and around the globe. A BBC poll found Lord of the Rings to be the “Nation’s best-loved book” and Amazon customers worldwide in a 1999 survey rated it as their favorite book of the entire second millennium. Given this enthusiasm, it’s no surprise […]

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What Happened to the Members of the Fellowship of the Ring After The Lord of the Rings?

“Well, I’m back.” Not including the six appendices, these are the last words of the final chapter of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings. They’re spoken by Sam Gamgee to his wife Rosie as he returns from seeing Frodo and the rest of the Ring-bearers depart from the Grey Havens into the True West. Implied, but not overtly stated, […]

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Why is Superman Described as Leaping Tall Buildings with a Single Bound When He Can Fly?

“Faster than a speeding bullet! More powerful than a locomotive! Able to leap tall buildings in a single bound!” Well, of course Superman could hurdle skyscrapers. He can fly after all. Compared to the kind of aerial self-propulsion that Daedalus couldn’t have conceived of, jumping over even the Burj Khalifa seems hardly worth mentioning. Super-vaulting seems more along the lines […]

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