OK I confess, a little more pondering and a bit of sleep are always good things.
I realized this morning I need to restructure my Preface, Introduction and Chapter 1 into just a Preface and Introduction, combining material and streamlining entry into the book matter itself.
Then the book will be broken into 3 sections:
The Silmarillion, The
Hobbit, and
The Lord of the Rings.
Each section will
demonstrate both inductively and deductively how
Tolkien wrapped his 'moral and religious elements', along with his 'Catholic/Christian' background, into his works.
Virtually every author I've read (27 of them) have approached the subject deductively as I've mentioned. Worse, they've approached the subject from their perspective of Tolkien, rather than from what he did with his work(s).
But as I say in my current Introduction:
- "Most
authors and debaters approach this subject focused on Tolkien himself, establishing their reasoning based on deductions extracted from their personal, ingrained views. They believe “because Tolkien was raised, lived in, lived out, and was deeply committed to, his Catholicism/Christianity he was also controlled by it. He could not overcome his conditioning. Because of this, since he said certain things seeming to be in conflict here or there, these following conclusions must be so.
- We can’t blame them. They are, sadly, the ones having been 'conditioned.' Most of us think deductively and draw our conclusions in this same way by nature, having been trained to do so from birth. Only through strong intentionality, turning our thinking on its proverbial head, can we overcome this misfortune of our education and broaden our views."
Anyway, the structure of the book being in the 3 distinct sections will allow the reader to enter anyone's work where they are most 'comfortable' - especially those who may not be familiar with
The Silmarillion. They're free to start at either TH or LoTR and work backward, whatever they choose. Each unveils Tolkien's genius within its own context. (Though some will make reference either forward or backward into the other works from time to time, helping the reader see the unity of the whole)
Anyway, once restructured here, on we go.