J.R.R Tolkien, Letter 2

To J.R.R. Tolkien,
* Thank you greatly for writing one of the best series I have ever read. Not just the Trilogy, but the entire host of Middle-Earth chronicles, including tales of epic heroes besides the Nine. I read The Hobbit in 5th Grade and I went on to read the Simarillion, Tales of Middle Earth, and several others. I found out my Elvish name, Elemmírë Oronrá, my hobbit name, Molly Smallburrows of the Sandydowns. I was completely taken with the books, and all I wanted was to have my own adventures.
*When Gandalf came back and told Frodo of his mission, I was ready to go. The trip from Hobbiton to Imaladris is filled with fear and new creatures, in the span of a couple descriptive chapters. I don’t see how you could fill a whole book with such descriptive narration on a few young hobbits’ tales of such an adventure! To me it seems like a long exciting trip, one of the ones where it’s so exciting, you get home and can’t find what to say. That’s how I would feel if I were in Frodo’s position, finishing There and Back Again. And how I’m feeling writing this letter, without words to express years of times reading and re-reading Lord of the Rings.
*I think in The Hobbit, I compared with Bilbo. How his longing for adventure overcame his fear of the unknown, and how he went with the dwarves to the Lone Mountain. It inspired me to come out of a timid shell, and to try new things and forget about the things I was too afraid to try. It was exciting to feel Bilbo’s response to every new thing he tried, or in each trial, how he overcame himself to help his friends.
* Though in The Lord of The Rings, I compared most to Aragorn. I am proud, but easy to anger and afraid to take power. I can, when pressed, but I’ve never been fond of it. His quiet, knowing character compares with mine, I spend hours a day reading and sitting quietly, often outside, in the woods. I can go days without feeling the need to talk, or be with people. But Aragorn overcomes this to become a great king. He taught me to take what I know and apply it to all situations, to find my courage and use it. He showed me how to be a better person in all. I also admired him, for his ruggedness, and modeled a lot of my quiet actions on his, taking time to think, and staying in the background, making myself feel noble and heroic.
* I often found myself having dreams in which I was the one that was fighting the war against Sauron and was consulting with Théoden or Ѐomer. It happened so that I explored all corners of Middle-Earth, experiencing all the same monsters and beings that Frodo and Bilbo did. I knew my weapon of choice, a bow and two single-handed swords, and I knew that I would like to be clothed in the manner of the elves, so that I could walk unseen through woods. I liked seeing this; it was the greatest thing that ever happened to me. Unfortunately I couldn’t really apply this; my parents might be slightly alarmed by me taking a hand and a half sword around with me. It’s funny that this book would stay around with me through days and nights, shaping actions even when I was not aware or in control of it.
* Mr.Tolkien, your book inspired me to new heights of reading. Though I maybe can’t live like Aragorn or Legolas, I can read other books and keep dreaming. Your books have given me the gift of imagination, like that of when I was younger. I only aspire to be such a compelling writer as you have been!

Sincerely,
Eleanor Knight