Thanks for the replies again, everyone.

Hey.. those who just enjoyed the story and don't like to see it criticized or analyzed.. I feel your pain.

There seems to be a big divide between the way we read stories sitting on the couch or in the bed with kids, or as kids, and the way we have to study them, discuss them, and write about them in English class. That's where the sticky methods of lit crit come into play, which philosophy of criticism to use and how.

The poster asking the questions was asked to help his niece with her homework on The Hobbit, and when he read it, he went into a formalist angst... because all of his life he has been a university professor of literature and a formalist. He likes to get into discussions with readers and students, but he never really sways far from the theories of Aristotle and the formalists.. though every so often he can appreciate the comparative view or the deconstructionist (but that is rare).

Sometimes it's good to just put the theories away and let the story speak to the child in us. Other times it's great fun to discuss it intellectually and get another pov. Life is good.

Sue