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Should Tolkien's homophobic novels be promoted?
This is a rhyme in the the Hobbit
O! what are you seeking,
And where are you making?
The faggots are reeking,
The bannocks are backing!
Now I know that when this book was written a hundred years ago it acceptable to say the n word in public (In fact the proper word for a black person was 'negro'), and beat up gay people but does this work of literature have a place in modern society?
O! what are you seeking,
And where are you making?
The faggots are reeking,
The bannocks are backing!
Now I know that when this book was written a hundred years ago it acceptable to say the n word in public (In fact the proper word for a black person was 'negro'), and beat up gay people but does this work of literature have a place in modern society?
How to you know that he was referring to gay people when he said faggot?
Yes. Homosexuality is an abomination and all around degeneracy.
Homophobia is a beautiful thing
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Homophobia is a beautiful thing
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It should be promoted no more and no less than other literary work of equal merits.
There is a lot of ugly stuff in human history, but we can't change history, and we shouldn't hide it. History is history, whether we like it or not.
For another popular novel that depicts another dark side of human history, see "12 Years a Slave".
There is a lot of ugly stuff in human history, but we can't change history, and we shouldn't hide it. History is history, whether we like it or not.
For another popular novel that depicts another dark side of human history, see "12 Years a Slave".
You're a troll, right? If there's a chance you're not a troll I'll say this: in the poem the word "faggot" here means a bundle of twigs.
The word as used in a pejorative context for gay people was almost exclusively American at the time Tolkien was writing.
The word as used in a pejorative context for gay people was almost exclusively American at the time Tolkien was writing.
This is what happens when ignorant people think they are smart.
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Posted from TSR Mobile
Original post by perfectsymbology
This is a rhyme in the the Hobbit
O! what are you seeking,
And where are you making?
The faggots are reeking,
The bannocks are backing!
Now I know that when this book was written a hundred years ago it acceptable to say the n word in public (In fact the proper word for a black person was 'negro'), and beat up gay people but does this work of literature have a place in modern society?
O! what are you seeking,
And where are you making?
The faggots are reeking,
The bannocks are backing!
Now I know that when this book was written a hundred years ago it acceptable to say the n word in public (In fact the proper word for a black person was 'negro'), and beat up gay people but does this work of literature have a place in modern society?
Are sure he's not just referring to the foodstuff?
Who is Tolkien?
Back then faggot had no homosexual connotations...
Just like how the work gay only was applied to homosexuals from around the 50's and 60's. The whole reason it was picked up by homosexuals was because the previous term 'queer' was seen as negative and they wanted a positive word to describe themselves.... and as such at the time the word 'gay' was simply another word for happy.
Just like how the work gay only was applied to homosexuals from around the 50's and 60's. The whole reason it was picked up by homosexuals was because the previous term 'queer' was seen as negative and they wanted a positive word to describe themselves.... and as such at the time the word 'gay' was simply another word for happy.
So in a time when faggot was nowhere near related to homosexuality, you think it's homosexual?
It's obviously not referring to a type of meatball, nor possibly a bundle of twigs...
It's obviously not referring to a type of meatball, nor possibly a bundle of twigs...
That poem was sung by the elves and everyone knows elves have ambiguous sexuality. It could be possible in this context Tolkien is using a play on words, and just because faggot was used mainly in America at the time doesn't mean it wouldn't be known about here. Many English words have passed from American English into our English this way.
Original post by perfectsymbology
That poem was sung by the elves and everyone knows elves have ambiguous sexuality. It could be possible in this context Tolkien is using a play on words, and just because faggot was used mainly in America at the time doesn't mean it wouldn't be known about here. Many English words have passed from American English into our English this way.
I think it's most likely that Tolkien is talking about the foodstuff - analysing the rhyme from the hobbit
O! what are you seeking,
And where are you making?
The faggots are reeking,
The bannocks are baking!
A bannock is a type of flat-bread, so in this context it's likely that he's talking about the meaty foodstuff, or like what Algorithm69 said
Original post by Algorithm69
"faggot" here means a bundle of twigs.
[h="2"]
Author Notes: The line "The faggots are reeking!" is most definitely not a homophobic reference as some readers might believe. In this case faggots are bundles of sticks used as kindling and reeking is the Scot's word for smoking as in the phrase "Lang may your lum reek" which is an old Scots blessing "Long may your chimney smoke" ie long may you prosper. JS
http://allpoetry.com/poem/8499979-O--Where-Are-You-Going--by-J-R-R-Tolkien
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