'Thomas Covenant' and swearing

Book 2 of the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant

Moderators: dlbpharmd, Seareach

Post Reply
User avatar
sherlock_525
Ramen
Posts: 84
Joined: Mon Nov 05, 2007 4:50 pm
Location: Durant OK

Post by sherlock_525 »

i'm with earthbrah on this: in that situation swearing a little too much is very comforting and makes you feel less contsrained
"You can get much farther with a kind word and a gun than with a kind word alone"-Al Capone
Top
User avatar
Matthias
<i>Elohim</i>
Posts: 151
Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2005 6:43 pm
Location: St. George, Utah
Contact:
Contact Matthias

Post by Matthias »

shadowbinding shoe wrote:Something else about Covenant's swearing. He, like his father uses the word Hellfire a lot. But in this book, during the trip to the past you really feel it. Every time Linden gets cold he baths her in hellfire. Come to think of it maybe he has a lot in common with Satan. Within the familial context of the Covenant (+Linden) family, Thomas Covenant is god, Linden the holy spirit, Roger Satan, maybe Anele as Jesus figure

What do you think?
I'd like to think that this is not the case, but who knows. I don't think so, IMHO. I try and stay away from religious allegories in fiction because I'd rather they be separate. Just a spot of preference there on my part.
Top
User avatar
Rigel
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2096
Joined: Wed Sep 26, 2007 10:42 pm
Location: Albuquerque

Post by Rigel »

Not to mention that they imply things the author never intended, and which might actively conflict or distort the actual meaning.
Top
User avatar
ninjaboy
<i>Haruchai</i>
Posts: 526
Joined: Thu Dec 06, 2007 11:32 am
Location: Melbourne, Australia

Post by ninjaboy »

You can't ask if TC has sworn in the 3rd Chrons yet, because after 2 books, he's only REALLY said one sentence. And it was at the very end of the book..
Forgive my death.
It was my flesh that failed you, not my love.
Top
User avatar
Chassit
Giantfriend
Posts: 271
Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 6:43 pm
Location: Centennial CO, USA

Post by Chassit »

I thought the F-bomb was a little uncharacteristic for TC. When I started this book and saw how he (and "Jeremiah") were treating Linden, I almost stopped reading after a certain point because this was NOT how things were supposed to be!

I noticed also that just about everything he said to Linden started with some expletive, and I was going, "Something ain't right here." Glad I was finally vindicated but disappointed we didn't get more of the real deal before the book ends.

Anyway, in my rambling way I'm saying that the swearing was what sent up red flags for me... I just couldn't figure it out.
"War is an ugly thing but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares about more than his personal safety; is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. "
- John Stuart Mill, English philosopher
Top
User avatar
Matthias
<i>Elohim</i>
Posts: 151
Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2005 6:43 pm
Location: St. George, Utah
Contact:
Contact Matthias

Post by Matthias »

I knew there was something wrong as well, but for the longest time I entertained in my mind both possibilites that it could either be the true Covenant or a Covenant impersonater. I reserved my judgment in that case.

Yet the level and degree of swearing was, in my mind, discomforting at least to me. I always have thought that *harsh* swearing was insulting even if it wasn't directed at me. But that's just me, a regular softy. :roll:
Top
User avatar
Chassit
Giantfriend
Posts: 271
Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 6:43 pm
Location: Centennial CO, USA

Post by Chassit »

Yeah! I mean, I'm a big Stephen King fan and it almost felt like I'd stopped reading Donaldson and meandered into one of King's stories instead! :D
"War is an ugly thing but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares about more than his personal safety; is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. "
- John Stuart Mill, English philosopher
Top
User avatar
Matthias
<i>Elohim</i>
Posts: 151
Joined: Mon Nov 14, 2005 6:43 pm
Location: St. George, Utah
Contact:
Contact Matthias

Post by Matthias »

I've only read one of Stephen King's books ('Salem's Lot) and I had to sort of mentally wash myself afterward. :bounce03: :mrgreen:
Top
User avatar
Chassit
Giantfriend
Posts: 271
Joined: Sun Jun 25, 2006 6:43 pm
Location: Centennial CO, USA

Post by Chassit »

They aren't all like that. As I recall, "The Eyes of the Dragon" has very little cussing. He wrote it for his kids (when they were teenagers, I think). "The Stand" has some language in it, but I believe it is by far the best single I've ever read.

(Looking for something to read tonight... think I'll re-read "White Gold Wielder".) It's been a few years...
"War is an ugly thing but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing he cares about more than his personal safety; is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself. "
- John Stuart Mill, English philosopher
Top
User avatar
Ur Dead
The Gap Into Spam
Posts: 2295
Joined: Tue Sep 12, 2006 1:17 am

Post by Ur Dead »

Well, I'm just glad that Stephen King didn't write the TC Chonicles.
What's this silver looking ring doing on my finger?
Top
Post Reply

Return to “Fatal Revenant”