The movie starts with Job 38:4, 7 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?...while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?"
This is how God answers Job when he demands God to answer him why such painful misfortune should happen to him.
There are 4 main time zones in the movie:
1. 1950s (when the boys are about 7, 9, 11); 2. 1960s (when R.L. dies at 19); 3. now (perhaps 1990s, when Sean Penn plays Jack); 4. at eternity (beach / heaven).
The movie starts with grown-up Jack (Sean Penn), the eldest son, saying it was brother and mother who led him to God. Then Mrs O’Brien (Jessica Chastain) appears as a little girl. She says that the nuns told her there are 2 ways through life: nature vs grace. Nature is the nature of man to live on his own with instincts for survival. Grace is to to believe in God and be guided by Him. The nuns said all those who live by grace will not come to a bad end. Mrs O’Brien says she would be true to God whatever comes.
In the 1960s a postman comes to deliver the message that R.L., the second son (Laramie Eppler) has died in a war (probably Vietnam). Mrs O’Brien is heartbroken. She says she wants to die and be with R.L. (because R.L. has always been her favorite son. R.L. is true and kind and talented in music and art). After the funeral, Mrs O’Brien's mother (Fiona Shaw) tries to console her, saying life must go on and Mrs O’Brien has still got the other 2 boys.
Mr O’Brien (Brad Pitt), with tears rolling in his eyes, regrets having been so tough to R.L. when he was young, and once criticized him for not turning the pages properly for him at the piano and R.L. hit himself in the face. Mr O’Brien says he made R.L. feel shameful, but it should be his own shame.
Time flashes to modern city traffic and sky scrapers. Now Jack is an architect living in the city, troubled in life and work, distanced from his wife. He remembers his brother R.L., who was true and kind. R.L. died when he was 19. Working in sky scrapers which block the sky, Jack looks troubled. He sighs how greedy the world and people have become. Jack asks how he has lost contact with God. He calls Dad to apologize for something he said about R.L. and says he thinks of R.L. every day. Then he sits at his desk thinking about his childhood.
Jack sees a tree outside the office building on ground level. It seems to remind him of something. Then Jack hears the voice of little R.L. : find me! Jack goes back to 1960s to see mom and dad when R.L. died. He wonders how she coped with the loss.
Mrs O’Brien walks in the woods with a roll of dried tears on her face, asking God why. Is it because she has not been faithful enough? Mrs O’Brien asks God where He was when R.L. was killed. God answers like in Job 38:4-7: when I created the world, where were you?
Then comes the sequence of creation: big bang, the universe, galaxies, the sun, the earth, volcanoes, steam, the sea, murky bubbling water, single celled organisms (protozoans), then multi-celled living organisms, spiral DNAs, jelly fish, one jelly fish of different color (mutations), then another species of curly swimming fish, a swimming amphibian, birds, a big dinosaur (Elasmosaurus) wounded on the beach, sharks (killing and bloodshed), small cute dinosaur (Parasaurolophus)wandering in the woods and ends up wounded and helpless at the stream. A bigger dinosaur (Troodon) comes to lord over it (nature) and yet doesn't kill it (grace). Then a meteor hits the earth and kills all dinosaurs. Time passes. Jack asks when did God first touch his heart?
Time flashes back to 1950s. Mr and Mrs O’Brien start a family and the 3 boys: Jack (Hunter McCracken), R.L., Steve (Tye Sheridan) are born one after another. Mrs O’Brien teaches Jack God lives in the sky. Jack has been jealous since he was a toddler. He knows mother loves R.L. more.
At the dining table Jack feels awkward and oppressed. Mr O’Brien demands his sons to call him 'Sir' and ignores Mrs O’Brien's words (when she tries to say the teacher praises Jack) and cares only about his music (jumping up from the dining table and says: Brahms!). He wanted to be a musician but got distracted in his career and regrets it all his life.
Jack closes the screen door too loudly. Mr O’Brien makes him close it quietly for 50 times and count aloud. He makes Jack take care of the grass in the yard and often scolds him for not doing it well.
As the boys grow up, they see sickness (the man rolling on the grass with epilepsy and the spastic man walking unsteadily outside the supermarket), crime, suffering and pain. No one talks about or explains such things to them. Mr O’Brien teaches the boys to be tough and fierce to advance in this world and says Mrs O’Brien is naive.
Mr O’Brien tries to teach Jack boxing seriously and pushes him to the ground. Then he teaches R.L., who is slow in reaction and sticks out his tongue when punching. Mr O’Brien keeps saying “Hit me!” but R.L. doesn’t respond. Mr O’Brien gives up teaching him.
Mrs O’Brien tells the boys bed time story. Jack asks her who she loves most. Mrs O’Brien says she loves the three of them the same, but apparently she loves R.L. more. R.L. asks Mrs O’Brien to tell them a story before they were born. Mrs O’Brien talks about flying on a small plane as a graduation present. Jack says in his heart: make me good and brave. He adores his mother and imagines how she flies and floats in the air.
Mr O’Brien plays the piano with R.L. playing the guitar. Jack watches jealously.
A boy dies in the swimming pool. Steve asks Mrs O’Brien, "Are you going to die, Mom? You're not that old yet". Jack sees an image of Mrs O’Brien in a glass coffin. Jack is puzzled and asks God why he would let a boy die. He asks "where were you?" and why God would let any bad thing happen. There was a fire in the neighborhood and a boy was burned to half bald. Everyone fears and avoids this boy. Jack says why he should be good when God Himself is not.
At the church the pastor talks about the book of Job and explains that Job's friends mistakenly thought that Job did something wrong secretly and so he was punished by God. But actually misfortune can happen to anyone. No reason is needed. Therefore one should only seek for something eternal instead of material things on earth that cannot last. Leaving church Mr O’Brien talks about a barber who got rich and now owns half the estate of the town. He drove through some luxurious houses and then takes the boys to the poor quarters of the town where black people live.
Mr O’Brien tells Jack Toscanini said “it could be better” after recording a piece 65 times. Then he talks about his inventions and patents. He gets frustrated with his business dealings and is jealous of his superiors. He teaches his sons to go with the stream and never say "I can't".
Trouble often comes at meal times. Mr O’Brien tells Steve to leave the dining table because he giggles, and scolds Jack for defying him. Jack sees his father's weaknesses: arrogant, doesn't care how others feel, setting rules that he himself doesn't follow. Jack asks why his father is hurting them and oppresses his mother.
Jack sees the changing faces and hypocrisy of adults (an intimidating clown, a grotesquely tall man in the attic).
During a meal, Mr O’Brien asks R.L. to shut up. Then he himself scratches the dish loudly with his fork. R.L. says "be quiet". Mr O’Brien is furious and says "what did you say?" R.L. was scared and confused and timidly added "please..." when Mr O’Brien sprung up to hit him. Jack tries to stop his father and says "leave him alone!" Mr O’Brien locks Jack up in the closet and pushes R.L. out of the house. Mrs O’Brien is very angry and later fights with Mr O’Brien but gets suppressed.
Then Mr O’Brien went on a long business trip to China and Europe to sell his patents. The boys feel freed and happy. They have a good time with their mother.
Jack plays with a gang of naughty boys, letting off fire crackers and sending a live frog to the sky tied to a rocket. Jack throws stones at the windows of a deserted house. Mrs O’Brien finds out and Jack is afraid that she would tell his father.
Jack starts to have interest in a girl. He teases her in class and follows her after school. He is attracted to a young female in the neighborhood and often watches her do laundry and wash her feet.
One day Jack sees R.L. sitting at the doorstep playing the guitar quietly. Jack plays with a bottle opener (?) and asks R.L. to put a wire into it. R.L. is skeptical, but he says, "I trust you". Jack runs with R.L. asking him many times if he'd call him a liar. R.L. repeatedly answers no. Jack fights with R.L. but R.L. doesn't want to and asks Jack to quit, but Jack keeps pushing R.L. and makes him angry. Steve watches.
R.L. paints a picture. Jack ruins it with water. When Mrs O’Brien asks him to come back to explain, he refuses and says he'd only do what he wants and blames Mrs O’Brien for letting Mr O’Brien walk all over her.
As night falls, Jack sees through the windows of neighboring houses and finds families fighting, parents yelling at each other in front of their children. He also watches the young female dressed in lingerie alone in the house.
Naughty boys egg Jack on to find out what adults do not tell them. Finally he breaks into the house of the young female and steals a piece of lingerie. He is scared and throws it away in the river. Mrs O’Brien notices something wrong with Jack. He cries and says "I can't talk to you. Don't look at me".
Mr O’Brien comes back. Jack feels oppressed in his father’s presence. Then there are more conflicts between Mr and Mrs O’Brien.
Mr O’Brien commands that Jack call him 'father', not 'dad' and that he should not interrupt him. Jack tries to interrupt but gets scolded. Jack says to his father "you can throw me out of the house anytime; you'd want to kill me".
Mr O’Brien is lying under his car to repair it. Jack walks by and thinks about killing his father. At last he just goes away and prays to God to let his father die instead.
Jack feels troubled and asks himself what he has started and how he can return to innocence like other kids.
Jack takes R.L. to the river to play with an air gun and asks R.L. to put his finger at the mouth of the gun. R.L. is skeptical but still trusts Jack. Jack fires at R.L.'s finger. R.L. runs away in pain and cries. Jack looks wretched, shameful and guilty. Later the boys are playing in some deserted houses. Jack says to a well, "what I want to do, I can't; I do what I hate" (refer to Bible Romans 7:19). Jack tries to make amends with R.L., kisses his elbow and makes him smile. R.L. doesn't talk to him. Jack gives R.L. a thick wooden plank and asks him to hit him if he wants to. R.L. pretends to hit him with the plank. Jack says, "Sorry. You are my brother". Jack sits depressed. R.L. touches his hands, touches his shoulder and pats his head. Jack feels relieved and redeemed.
Jack asks God what He is trying to show him through these things. He knows God is always talking to him.
Jack is playing in the streets and sees the half bald boy. He helps him string the cans to play as stilts. Now he looks at the boy differently, with no more fear or disgust. He pats the shoulder of the boy under his burnt scalp. He knows now how to deal with the unfortunate boy.
Jack goes to see his father gardening. He sees his father's plants eaten up by worms. Jack squats down to help his father pull out badly-eaten leaves.
Mr O’Brien confesses "I want to be loved because I'm a big man" and that he thinks too much about himself and neglects the beauty surround him (his wife and boys). He says he disgraces them. He knows he is nothing and is a failure despite how fiercely he has fought in the world. He comes home and tells Mrs O’Brien that the factory is closing down. Either he'd lose his job or have to move to a job nobody wants. Jack sees his parents talk about this crisis.
Mr O’Brien tells Jack he's been tough on him and he's not proud of it. He says the boys are all that he has and ever wants to have. Jack also apologizes and says he's more like his father than his mother. He bonds with his father again.
Jack carries Steve on his back and they are both crying. The O’Briens have to move and leave this place where the boys have grown-up. Jack is sad but then he sees a tree blossoming with many pink flowers and he smiles. R.L. buries some of his favorite collected items (a small dead dried fish). Mrs O’Brien says "The only way to be happy is to love; unless you love, your life will flash by". The empty house sees the family leave.
Time flashes to Mrs O’Briend in the woods in 1960s. Mrs O’Brien, who has asked God why He has taken her son, now seems to remember something and understand.
Grown-up Jack says to God, “Keep us. Guide us, till the end of time".
R.L. says to Jack: follow me! Jack follows an angel to the great canyon and enters a door frame on the rock. He sees young Jack leading him to somewhere. Then come scenes of the universe again with some kinds of explosion, which may signify judgment day. On a beach which designates heaven Jack reunites with many people of the past, the half bald boy, Steve, his mother and his father. Finally Jack sees his long dead brother R.L.. He carries R.L. up. Then Mr O’Brien hugs R.L. lovingly. When Mrs O’Brien sees R.L., tears roll down her face. She is so happy to see R.L and hugs R.L.. They both look at grown-up Jack with passionate eyes.
Then back home in an indefinite time, adult Jack sees Mom open the door that leads to a strange, vast piece of white land, at the end of which are mountains with the color of sunset. R.L. is reluctant to go and walks back and forth near to the door, playing with his hands. With two angels at her side, Mrs O’Brien says, "I give my son to you" and sends R.L. to God. Then she herself walks through the white land (not sure when).
The once barren sunflower field in their old home town blossoms with many sunflowers.
Back to now, grown-up Jack takes the lift down to ground level. He sees the sky and clouds reflected on glass windows of sky scrapers and smiles (for the first time).
Last scene: a bridge and a sea gull flying.
THE END
(Some scenes may not be in correct sequence; this is how I remember the story after watching it 5 times.)
2011/07/18
The Tree of Life (as I saw it after 4 times)
The movie starts with Job 38:4, 7 “Where were you when I laid the earth’s foundation?...while the morning stars sang together and all the angels shouted for joy?"
This is how God answers Job when he demands God to answer him why such painful misfortune should happen to him.
There are 4 main time zones in the movie:
1. 1950s (when the boys are about 7, 9, 11); 2. 1960s (when R.L. dies at 19); 3. now (perhaps 1990s, when Sean Penn plays Jack); 4. at eternity (beach / heaven).
The movie starts with Mrs O’Brien (Jessica Chastain) as a little girl. The nuns told her there are 2 ways through life: nature vs grace. Nature is the nature of man to live on his own with instincts for survival. Grace is to to believe in God and be guided by Him. The nuns said all those who live by grace will not come to a bad end. Mrs O’Brien says she would be true to God whatever happens.
In the 1960s a postman comes to deliver the message that R.L., the second son (Laramie Eppler) has died in a war (probably Vietnam). Mrs O’Brien is heartbroken. She says she wants to die and be with R.L. (because R.L. has always been her favorite son. R.L. is true and kind and talented in music and art). After the funeral, Mrs O’Brien's mother (Fiona Shaw) tries to console her, saying life must go on and Mrs O’Brien has still got the other 2 boys.
Mr O’Brien (Brad Pitt), with tears rolling in his eyes, regrets having been so tough to R.L. when he was young, and once criticized him for not turning the pages properly for him at the piano and R.L. hit himself in the face. Mr O’Brien says he made R.L. feel shameful, but it should be his own shame. Mrs O’Brien walks in the woods with a roll of dried tears on her face, asking God why. Is it because she has not been faithful enough?
Grown up Jack (Sean Penn), the eldest son, says it's brother and mother who have led him to God. Brother R.L. was true and kind. He died when he was 19. Now Jack is an architect living in the city, troubled in life and work, distanced from his wife, and sees how greedy the world and people have become. Jack asks how he has lost contact with God. He calls Dad to apologize for something he said about R.L. and says he thinks of R.L. every day. Then he sits at his desk thinking about his childhood.
R.L. says to grown up Jack: find me! Jack goes back to 1960s to see mom and dad when R.L. died. He wonders how she coped with the loss?
Mrs O’Brien asks God where He was when R.L. was killed. God answers like in Job 38:4-7: when I created the world, where were you?
Then comes the sequence of creation: big bang, the universe, galaxies, the sun, the earth, volcanoes, steam, the sea, murky bubbling water, single celled organisms (protozoans), then multi-celled living organisms, spiral DNAs, jelly fish, one jelly fish of different color (mutations), then another species of curly swimming fish, a swimming amphibian, birds, a big dinosaur (Elasmosaurus) wounded on the beach, sharks (killing and bloodshed), small cute dinosaur (Parasaurolophus)wandering in the woods and ends up wounded and helpless at the stream. A bigger dinosaur (Troodon) comes to lord over it (nature) and yet doesn't kill it (grace). Then a meteor hits the earth and kills all dinosaurs. Time passes. Jack asks when did God first touch his heart?
Time flashes back to 1950s. Mr and Mrs O’Brien start a family and the 3 boys: Jack (Hunter McCracken), R.L., Steve (Tye Sheridan) are born one after another. Mrs O’Brien teaches Jack God lives in the sky. Jack has been jealous since he was a toddler. He knows mother loves R.L. more.
As the boys grow up, they see sickness (the man rolling on the grass with epilepsy and the spastic man walking unsteadily outside the supermarket), crime, suffering and pain. No one talks about or explains such things to them. Mr O’Brien teaches the boys to be tough and fierce to advance in this world and says Mrs O’Brien is naive.
Jack closes the screen door too loudly. Mr O’Brien makes him close it quietly for 50 times and count aloud. He makes Jack take care of the grass in the yard and often scolds him for not doing it well. At the dining table Jack feels awkward and oppressed. Mr O’Brien demands his sons to call him 'Sir' and ignores Mrs O’Brien's words (when she tries to say the teacher praises Jack) and cares only about his music (Brahms!). He wanted to be a musician but got distracted in his career and regrets it all his life.
Mr O’Brien tries to teach Jack boxing seriously and pushes him to the ground. Then he teaches R.L., who is slow in reaction and sticks out his tongue when punching. Steve doesn't give a punch at all and Mr O’Brien gives up teaching him.
Mrs O’Brien tells the boys bed time story. Jack asks her who she loves most. Mrs O’Brien says she loves the three of them the same, but apparently she loves R.L. more. R.L. asks Mrs O’Brien to tell them a story before they were born. Mrs O’Brien talks about flying on a small plane as a graduation present. Jack says in his heart: teach me to be good and brave. He adores his mother and imagines how she flies and floats in the air.
A boy dies in the swimming pool. Steve asks Mrs O’Brien, "Are you going to die, Mom? You're not that old yet". Jack sees an image of Mrs O’Brien in a glass coffin. Jack is puzzled and asks God why he would let a boy die. He asks "where were you?" and why God would let any bad thing happen. There was a fire in the neighborhood and a boy was burned to half bald. Everyone fears and avoids this boy. Jack says why should he be good when God Himself is not.
At the church the pastor talks about the book of Job and explains that Job's friends mistakenly thought that Job did something wrong secretly and so he was punished by God. But actually misfortune can happen to anyone. No reason is needed. Therefore one should only seek for something eternal instead of material things on earth that cannot last. Leaving church Mr O’Brien talks about a barber who got rich and now owns half the estate of the town. He drove through some luxurious houses and then takes the boys to the poor quarters of the town where black people live.
Mr O’Brien gets frustrated with his business dealings and is jealous of his superiors. He teaches his sons to go with the stream and do not say "I can't".
Trouble often comes at meal times. Mr O’Brien tells Steve to leave the dining table because he giggles, and scolds Jack for defying him. Jack sees his father's weaknesses: arrogant, doesn't care how others feel, setting rules that he himself doesn't follow. Jack asks why his father is hurting them and oppresses his mother.
Jack sees the changing faces and hypocrisy of adults (an intimidating clown, a grotesquely tall man in the attic).
During a meal, Mr O’Brien asks R.L. to shut up. Then he himself scratches the dish loudly with his fork. R.L. says "be quiet". Mr O’Brien is furious and says "what did you say?" R.L. was scared and confused and timidly added "please..." when Mr O’Brien sprung up to hit him. Jack tries to stop his father and says "leave him alone!" Mr O’Brien locks Jack up in the closet and pushes R.L. out of the house. Mrs O’Brien is very angry and later fights with Mr O’Brien but gets suppressed.
Then Mr O’Brien went on a long business trip. The boys feel freed and happy. They have a good time with their mother.
Jack plays with a gang of naughty boys, letting off fire crackers and sending a live frog to the sky tied to a rocket. Jack throws stones at the windows of a deserted house. Mrs O’Brien finds out and Jack is afraid that she would tell his father.
Jack starts to have interest in a girl. He teases her in class and follows her after school. He is attracted to a young female in the neighborhood and often watches her do laundry and wash her feet.
Mr O’Brien comes back. Then there are more conflicts between Mr and Mrs O’Brien. Jack sees through the windows of neighboring houses and finds families fighting, parents yelling at each other in front of their children.
Naughty boys egg Jack on to find out what adults do not tell them. Finally he breaks into the house of the young female and steals a piece of lingerie. He is scared and throws it away in the river. Mrs O’Brien notices something wrong with Jack. He cries and says "I can't talk to you. Don't look at me". Jack asks himself what he has started and how can he return to innocence like other kids.
Mr O’Brien plays the piano with R.L. playing the guitar. Jack watches jealously. R.L. paints a picture. Jack ruins it with water. When Mrs O’Brien asks him to come back to explain, he refuses and says he'd only do what he wants and blames Mrs O’Brien for letting Mr O’Brien walk all over her.
Mr O’Brien commands that Jack call him 'father', not 'dad' and that he should not interrupt him. Jack tries to interrupt but gets scolded. Jack says to his father "you can throw me out of the house anytime; you'd like to kill me".
Mr O’Brien is lying under his car to repair it. Jack walks by and thinks about killing his father. At last he just goes away and prays to God to let his father die instead.
Jack plays with a bottle opener (?) and asks R.L. to put a wire into it. R.L. is skeptical, but he says, "I trust you". Jack runs with R.L. asking him many times if he'd call him a liar. R.L. repeatedly answers no. Jack fights with R.L. but R.L. doesn't want to and asks Jack to quit, but Jack keeps pushing R.L. and makes him angry. Steve watches.
One day Jack sees R.L. sitting at the doorstep playing the guitar quietly. He takes R.L. to the river to play with an air gun and asks R.L. to put his finger at the mouth of the gun. R.L. is skeptical but still trusts Jack. Jack fires at R.L.'s finger. R.L. runs away in pain and cries. Jack looks wretched, shameful and guilty. Later the boys are playing in some deserted houses. Jack says to a well, "what I want to do, I can't; I do what I hate" (refer to Bible Romans 7:19). Jack tries to make amends with R.L., kisses his elbow and makes him smile. R.L. doesn't talk to him. Jack gives R.L. a thick wooden plank and asks him to hit him if he wants to. R.L. pretends to hit him with the plank. Jack says, "Sorry. You are my brother". Jack sits depressed. R.L. touches his hands, touches his shoulder and pats his head. Jack feels relieved and redeemed.
Jack goes to see his father gardening. He sees his father's plants eaten up by worms. Mr O’Brien tells Jack he's been tough on him and he's not proud of it. He says the boys are all that he has and ever wants to have. Jack also apologizes and says he's more like his father than his mother. He bonds with his father again.
Jack is playing in the streets and sees the half bald boy. He helps him string the cans to play as stilts. Now he looks at the boy differently, with no more fear or disgust. He pats the shoulder of the boy under his burnt scalp. He knows now how to deal with the unfortunate boy.
Mr O’Brien confesses "I want to be loved because I'm a big man" and that he thinks too much about himself and neglects the beauty surround him (his wife and boys). He says he disgraces them. He knows he is nothing and is a failure despite how fiercely he has fought in the world. He comes home and tells Mrs O’Brien that the factory is closing down. Either he'd lose his job or have to move to a job nobody wants. Jack sees his parents talk about this crisis.
Jack carries Steve on his back and they are both crying. The O’Briens have to move and leave this place where the boys have grown up. Jack is sad but then he sees a tree blossoming with many pink flowers and he smiles. R.L. buries some of his favorite collected items (a small dead dried fish). Mrs O’Brien says "unless you love, your life will flash by". The empty house sees the family leave.
Time flashes to 1960s, Mrs O’Brien, who has asked God why He has taken her son, now seems to remember something. Grown up Jack sees Mom and Dad at this time.
Grown up Jack says God talks to him through his mother and brother. God is always talking to him. He asks God to "guide us till the end of time".
R.L. says to Jack: follow me! Jack goes to the great canyon with his wife (?), enters a door frame on the rock. He sees young Jack leading him to somewhere. On a beach which designates heaven Jack reunites with many people of the past, the half bald boy, Steve, his father, his mother. And finally his long dead brother R.L.. Mr O’Brien hugs R.L. lovingly. Mrs O’Brien sees R.L. and tears roll down her face. She is so happy to see R.L and hugs R.L.. They both look at grown up Jack with passionate eyes.
Then back home in an indefinite time, adult Jack sees Mom open the door that leads to a strange, vast piece of white land, at the end of which are mountains with the color of sunset. R.L. is relunctant to go and walks back and forth near to the door, playing with his hands. With two angels at her side, Mrs O’Brien says, "I give my son to you" and sends R.L. to God. Then she herself walks through the white land (not sure when).
The once barren sunflower field in their old home town blossoms with many sunflowers.
Back to now, grown up Jack takes the lift down to ground level. He sees the sky and clouds reflected on glass windows of sky scrapers and smiles (for the first time).
Last scene: a bridge and a sea gull flying.
THE END
This is how God answers Job when he demands God to answer him why such painful misfortune should happen to him.
There are 4 main time zones in the movie:
1. 1950s (when the boys are about 7, 9, 11); 2. 1960s (when R.L. dies at 19); 3. now (perhaps 1990s, when Sean Penn plays Jack); 4. at eternity (beach / heaven).
The movie starts with Mrs O’Brien (Jessica Chastain) as a little girl. The nuns told her there are 2 ways through life: nature vs grace. Nature is the nature of man to live on his own with instincts for survival. Grace is to to believe in God and be guided by Him. The nuns said all those who live by grace will not come to a bad end. Mrs O’Brien says she would be true to God whatever happens.
In the 1960s a postman comes to deliver the message that R.L., the second son (Laramie Eppler) has died in a war (probably Vietnam). Mrs O’Brien is heartbroken. She says she wants to die and be with R.L. (because R.L. has always been her favorite son. R.L. is true and kind and talented in music and art). After the funeral, Mrs O’Brien's mother (Fiona Shaw) tries to console her, saying life must go on and Mrs O’Brien has still got the other 2 boys.
Mr O’Brien (Brad Pitt), with tears rolling in his eyes, regrets having been so tough to R.L. when he was young, and once criticized him for not turning the pages properly for him at the piano and R.L. hit himself in the face. Mr O’Brien says he made R.L. feel shameful, but it should be his own shame. Mrs O’Brien walks in the woods with a roll of dried tears on her face, asking God why. Is it because she has not been faithful enough?
Grown up Jack (Sean Penn), the eldest son, says it's brother and mother who have led him to God. Brother R.L. was true and kind. He died when he was 19. Now Jack is an architect living in the city, troubled in life and work, distanced from his wife, and sees how greedy the world and people have become. Jack asks how he has lost contact with God. He calls Dad to apologize for something he said about R.L. and says he thinks of R.L. every day. Then he sits at his desk thinking about his childhood.
R.L. says to grown up Jack: find me! Jack goes back to 1960s to see mom and dad when R.L. died. He wonders how she coped with the loss?
Mrs O’Brien asks God where He was when R.L. was killed. God answers like in Job 38:4-7: when I created the world, where were you?
Then comes the sequence of creation: big bang, the universe, galaxies, the sun, the earth, volcanoes, steam, the sea, murky bubbling water, single celled organisms (protozoans), then multi-celled living organisms, spiral DNAs, jelly fish, one jelly fish of different color (mutations), then another species of curly swimming fish, a swimming amphibian, birds, a big dinosaur (Elasmosaurus) wounded on the beach, sharks (killing and bloodshed), small cute dinosaur (Parasaurolophus)wandering in the woods and ends up wounded and helpless at the stream. A bigger dinosaur (Troodon) comes to lord over it (nature) and yet doesn't kill it (grace). Then a meteor hits the earth and kills all dinosaurs. Time passes. Jack asks when did God first touch his heart?
Time flashes back to 1950s. Mr and Mrs O’Brien start a family and the 3 boys: Jack (Hunter McCracken), R.L., Steve (Tye Sheridan) are born one after another. Mrs O’Brien teaches Jack God lives in the sky. Jack has been jealous since he was a toddler. He knows mother loves R.L. more.
As the boys grow up, they see sickness (the man rolling on the grass with epilepsy and the spastic man walking unsteadily outside the supermarket), crime, suffering and pain. No one talks about or explains such things to them. Mr O’Brien teaches the boys to be tough and fierce to advance in this world and says Mrs O’Brien is naive.
Jack closes the screen door too loudly. Mr O’Brien makes him close it quietly for 50 times and count aloud. He makes Jack take care of the grass in the yard and often scolds him for not doing it well. At the dining table Jack feels awkward and oppressed. Mr O’Brien demands his sons to call him 'Sir' and ignores Mrs O’Brien's words (when she tries to say the teacher praises Jack) and cares only about his music (Brahms!). He wanted to be a musician but got distracted in his career and regrets it all his life.
Mr O’Brien tries to teach Jack boxing seriously and pushes him to the ground. Then he teaches R.L., who is slow in reaction and sticks out his tongue when punching. Steve doesn't give a punch at all and Mr O’Brien gives up teaching him.
Mrs O’Brien tells the boys bed time story. Jack asks her who she loves most. Mrs O’Brien says she loves the three of them the same, but apparently she loves R.L. more. R.L. asks Mrs O’Brien to tell them a story before they were born. Mrs O’Brien talks about flying on a small plane as a graduation present. Jack says in his heart: teach me to be good and brave. He adores his mother and imagines how she flies and floats in the air.
A boy dies in the swimming pool. Steve asks Mrs O’Brien, "Are you going to die, Mom? You're not that old yet". Jack sees an image of Mrs O’Brien in a glass coffin. Jack is puzzled and asks God why he would let a boy die. He asks "where were you?" and why God would let any bad thing happen. There was a fire in the neighborhood and a boy was burned to half bald. Everyone fears and avoids this boy. Jack says why should he be good when God Himself is not.
At the church the pastor talks about the book of Job and explains that Job's friends mistakenly thought that Job did something wrong secretly and so he was punished by God. But actually misfortune can happen to anyone. No reason is needed. Therefore one should only seek for something eternal instead of material things on earth that cannot last. Leaving church Mr O’Brien talks about a barber who got rich and now owns half the estate of the town. He drove through some luxurious houses and then takes the boys to the poor quarters of the town where black people live.
Mr O’Brien gets frustrated with his business dealings and is jealous of his superiors. He teaches his sons to go with the stream and do not say "I can't".
Trouble often comes at meal times. Mr O’Brien tells Steve to leave the dining table because he giggles, and scolds Jack for defying him. Jack sees his father's weaknesses: arrogant, doesn't care how others feel, setting rules that he himself doesn't follow. Jack asks why his father is hurting them and oppresses his mother.
Jack sees the changing faces and hypocrisy of adults (an intimidating clown, a grotesquely tall man in the attic).
During a meal, Mr O’Brien asks R.L. to shut up. Then he himself scratches the dish loudly with his fork. R.L. says "be quiet". Mr O’Brien is furious and says "what did you say?" R.L. was scared and confused and timidly added "please..." when Mr O’Brien sprung up to hit him. Jack tries to stop his father and says "leave him alone!" Mr O’Brien locks Jack up in the closet and pushes R.L. out of the house. Mrs O’Brien is very angry and later fights with Mr O’Brien but gets suppressed.
Then Mr O’Brien went on a long business trip. The boys feel freed and happy. They have a good time with their mother.
Jack plays with a gang of naughty boys, letting off fire crackers and sending a live frog to the sky tied to a rocket. Jack throws stones at the windows of a deserted house. Mrs O’Brien finds out and Jack is afraid that she would tell his father.
Jack starts to have interest in a girl. He teases her in class and follows her after school. He is attracted to a young female in the neighborhood and often watches her do laundry and wash her feet.
Mr O’Brien comes back. Then there are more conflicts between Mr and Mrs O’Brien. Jack sees through the windows of neighboring houses and finds families fighting, parents yelling at each other in front of their children.
Naughty boys egg Jack on to find out what adults do not tell them. Finally he breaks into the house of the young female and steals a piece of lingerie. He is scared and throws it away in the river. Mrs O’Brien notices something wrong with Jack. He cries and says "I can't talk to you. Don't look at me". Jack asks himself what he has started and how can he return to innocence like other kids.
Mr O’Brien plays the piano with R.L. playing the guitar. Jack watches jealously. R.L. paints a picture. Jack ruins it with water. When Mrs O’Brien asks him to come back to explain, he refuses and says he'd only do what he wants and blames Mrs O’Brien for letting Mr O’Brien walk all over her.
Mr O’Brien commands that Jack call him 'father', not 'dad' and that he should not interrupt him. Jack tries to interrupt but gets scolded. Jack says to his father "you can throw me out of the house anytime; you'd like to kill me".
Mr O’Brien is lying under his car to repair it. Jack walks by and thinks about killing his father. At last he just goes away and prays to God to let his father die instead.
Jack plays with a bottle opener (?) and asks R.L. to put a wire into it. R.L. is skeptical, but he says, "I trust you". Jack runs with R.L. asking him many times if he'd call him a liar. R.L. repeatedly answers no. Jack fights with R.L. but R.L. doesn't want to and asks Jack to quit, but Jack keeps pushing R.L. and makes him angry. Steve watches.
One day Jack sees R.L. sitting at the doorstep playing the guitar quietly. He takes R.L. to the river to play with an air gun and asks R.L. to put his finger at the mouth of the gun. R.L. is skeptical but still trusts Jack. Jack fires at R.L.'s finger. R.L. runs away in pain and cries. Jack looks wretched, shameful and guilty. Later the boys are playing in some deserted houses. Jack says to a well, "what I want to do, I can't; I do what I hate" (refer to Bible Romans 7:19). Jack tries to make amends with R.L., kisses his elbow and makes him smile. R.L. doesn't talk to him. Jack gives R.L. a thick wooden plank and asks him to hit him if he wants to. R.L. pretends to hit him with the plank. Jack says, "Sorry. You are my brother". Jack sits depressed. R.L. touches his hands, touches his shoulder and pats his head. Jack feels relieved and redeemed.
Jack goes to see his father gardening. He sees his father's plants eaten up by worms. Mr O’Brien tells Jack he's been tough on him and he's not proud of it. He says the boys are all that he has and ever wants to have. Jack also apologizes and says he's more like his father than his mother. He bonds with his father again.
Jack is playing in the streets and sees the half bald boy. He helps him string the cans to play as stilts. Now he looks at the boy differently, with no more fear or disgust. He pats the shoulder of the boy under his burnt scalp. He knows now how to deal with the unfortunate boy.
Mr O’Brien confesses "I want to be loved because I'm a big man" and that he thinks too much about himself and neglects the beauty surround him (his wife and boys). He says he disgraces them. He knows he is nothing and is a failure despite how fiercely he has fought in the world. He comes home and tells Mrs O’Brien that the factory is closing down. Either he'd lose his job or have to move to a job nobody wants. Jack sees his parents talk about this crisis.
Jack carries Steve on his back and they are both crying. The O’Briens have to move and leave this place where the boys have grown up. Jack is sad but then he sees a tree blossoming with many pink flowers and he smiles. R.L. buries some of his favorite collected items (a small dead dried fish). Mrs O’Brien says "unless you love, your life will flash by". The empty house sees the family leave.
Time flashes to 1960s, Mrs O’Brien, who has asked God why He has taken her son, now seems to remember something. Grown up Jack sees Mom and Dad at this time.
Grown up Jack says God talks to him through his mother and brother. God is always talking to him. He asks God to "guide us till the end of time".
R.L. says to Jack: follow me! Jack goes to the great canyon with his wife (?), enters a door frame on the rock. He sees young Jack leading him to somewhere. On a beach which designates heaven Jack reunites with many people of the past, the half bald boy, Steve, his father, his mother. And finally his long dead brother R.L.. Mr O’Brien hugs R.L. lovingly. Mrs O’Brien sees R.L. and tears roll down her face. She is so happy to see R.L and hugs R.L.. They both look at grown up Jack with passionate eyes.
Then back home in an indefinite time, adult Jack sees Mom open the door that leads to a strange, vast piece of white land, at the end of which are mountains with the color of sunset. R.L. is relunctant to go and walks back and forth near to the door, playing with his hands. With two angels at her side, Mrs O’Brien says, "I give my son to you" and sends R.L. to God. Then she herself walks through the white land (not sure when).
The once barren sunflower field in their old home town blossoms with many sunflowers.
Back to now, grown up Jack takes the lift down to ground level. He sees the sky and clouds reflected on glass windows of sky scrapers and smiles (for the first time).
Last scene: a bridge and a sea gull flying.
THE END
2009/01/09
A Descriptive Study of the Changing Role of the Translator Through Lucifer Chu’s Translation of The Lord of the Rings
TRA6015 Readings in Translation (CUHK)
April 27, 2003
Table of Contents
A. Abstract
B. Introduction
C. About The Lord of the Rings
D. Difficulties and Pitfalls for the Translator
E. Different Versions of Chinese Translations
F. The Atypical Translator Lucifer Chu
G. Success Factors of Chu’s Translation
H. The Changing Role of the Translator
I. Conclusion
J. Reference
A. Abstract
This paper is aimed at describing the changing role of postmodern translators through the phenomenal success of Lucifer Chu’s Chinese translation of J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic work of fantasy literature, The Lord of the Rings, among three other Chinese versions, all published within a short period of three years from 1998 to 2001.
B. Introduction
Being one the two oldest professions on earth, translators have found their identities and focus shifting over the centuries, from intermediaries in ancient barter trades, to missionaries and decipherers of the Holy Scriptures and Buddhist Sutra, to promoters of cultural exchange through translated works of literature and other genres. Now more than ever, they find themselves assuming roles other than mere men (and women) of letters . The school of translators at Toledo (13 century) achieved their status as learned men rather than as translators (Newmark, 1998), whereas to succeed in the modern world, translators may need to turn themselves into businessmen and marketing executives. Also, Newmark’s (1993) advice for translators that “in principle, the translator should be invisible” seems no longer a rule of thumb in today’s media-oriented world. To achieve greater success, the new generation of prominent translators employ wit, in addition to words, and get themselves involved in publishing and marketing promotion, matters that were traditionally outside a translator’s working perimeters.
This paper presents a descriptive study of the changing role of the translator, by going through the atypically successful story of Lucifer Chu（朱學恆） and his re-translation of Tolkien’s highly acclaimed classic, The Lord of the Rings. We shall begin by giving a brief overview of the novel, its publishing history and its acclaimed status in the Western world over the past years. Then the different Chinese versions will be listed out with some background information. Next we shall enter into our main discussion by focusing on Lucifer Chu, who took unconventional steps to approach Linking Publishing Company in Taiwan and initiated to re-translate the lengthy novel. By analyzing the extraordinary success of this new Chinese version which will likely sell over 100,000 sets, we shall explore the changing role and critical success factors of translators as well as of their works in today’s world.
C. About The Lord of the Rings
"It's a book that crosses the magic line between childhood and adulthood."
As Malcolm Bradbury, Professor Emeritus of American Literature at the University of East Anglia, rightly points out in the above statement (Alberge and Wagner, 1997), the triumph of The Lord of the Rings is well justified, though many ‘expert scholars’ like Germaine Greer and Auberon Waugh have openly questioned the novel’s worthiness as a great work of literature. A poll held in the U.K. by the chain bookstore, Waterstone, in 1996, and repeated many times since, named The Lord of the Rings the “Book of the Century”, i.e. the top in the list of the hundred most-read and best-loved books of the 20th century. It is a well-founded result confirmed by sales figures and bestseller charts over the years.
Written by J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973), philologist and Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford University, The Lord of the Rings was published between 1954 and 1955. It was a grandiose 'sequel' to The Hobbit, the author’s first novella (when compared with the enormous work of three thick volumes in The Lord of the Rings) about Middle Earth and its different kinds of bizarre inhabitants besides men: hobbits, elves, wizards, dwarves, orcs and more. The lengthy novel, being an instant big hit in the U.K., was quickly translated in other European languages, Dutch being the first. Its success across Europe was unstoppable. The novel’s first paperback version (pirated by Ace Publishers) was launched in the U.S. in 1965, immediately creating a fad across campuses left and right. Reading groups and fan clubs burgeoned in no time. Since then, generations of people in the West have grown up under the influence of The Lord of the Rings.
The world of Middle Earth is a tapestry of unlimited boundaries meticulously weaved in a period of 16 years by Tolkien, to include every possible detail of everything mentioned in the story, which has a backdrop spanning over thousands of years, from the different aliases of some ancient king, to the history of the swords and horses of each warrior, and even to the particulars of different pipe-weeds (tobacco). It is a whole creation, complete in its own geography (including topography and maps), history, invented languages, and niceties of everyday life. This can be reflected in the exceptionally voluminous Appendices and Indices section which covers almost one third of the last volume, providing a overwhelming amount of background information and cross-references for the zealous and diligent reader.
According to Pearce (1998), this epic written by Tolkien, a devoted Catholic, has three central themes bound together, connecting the essential nature of man's mortality with the importance of free will and the intrinsic conflict between good and evil. Despite the complicated backdrop, intertwining characters, and twists and turns that make up the huge volume, the underlying story is simple. It is about the quest imposed on, and willingly taken up, by Frodo, the ring bearer, together with other characters in the fellowship, to destroy the evil ring and save the Middle Earth. As Galadriel, the elf queen, puts it, "Even the smallest person can change the course of the world".
D. Difficulties and Pitfalls for the Translator
Apart from the novel’s sheer volume and complexity, challenges posed to anyone attempting to translate The Lord of the Rings mainly stem from the philological aspect of the novel. In a letter to the Houghton Mifflin Co., Tolkien himself declared that “the invention of languages is the foundation. The ‘stories’ were rather made to provide a world for the languages than the reverse. I should have preferred to write in ‘Elvish’”. The philological and mythological background of Tolkien’s fictional works is one of the major pitfalls for Chinese translators lacking of sufficient understanding of the complicated linguistic and cultural backdrop against which
Tolkien’s fantasy novels are placed. Tolkien created the Middle Earth sagas primarily as a pseudo-historic setting for his invented languages, and as a “Mythology for England.”
Adding to this is the fact that the genre “fantasy literature” （魔幻小說）, which was firmly established through Tolkien’s Middle Earth sagas, is rather new and foreign to eastern readers and translators. Modern Chinese literature has no fantasy literature tradition as such. Children's literature has a few translations of Western fantasy stories. Computer games are about the only area exploring fantasy worlds. The Chinese tradition closest to fantasy literature in the West may be kung-fu or knight-errand novels（武俠小說）, and the popularity of that genre among the Chinese is indeed reminiscent of the enduring popularity that Tolkien’s fiction has enjoyed in the West over the four decades since The Lord of the Rings was published (Van der Peet, 2000).
E. Different Versions of Chinese Translations
Although the original The Lord of the Rings novels were published in the ‘50s in the U.K. and landed in the U.S. in 1965, gaining widespread popularity and scoring a huge success on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean, their Chinese translations only came into being decades later in 1998. Two Chinese versions were published individually in this year, one by Linking Publishing Company （聯經出版社） who owned the Chinese publishing rights to the novels, and the other by Variety Publishing Company（萬象出版社）, who openly launched a pirated version (Van der Peet, 2000).
Variety’s version of the Lord of the Rings called 《魔戒之主》系列is made up of 15 pocket-sized volumes, including two volumes of 《霍比特歷險記》 (the Hobbit), with cover design, illustrations, and layout similar to that of Japanese comics books. The whole series was translated by a translator called 海舟。
Linking’s version comprises six volumes, matching with the six books defined in the original novel. Therefore each of the three parts consists of two volumes, and was tackled by different translators, reportedly from mainland China. The first two books were translated by a team of three translators, thus the whole translation project involved five translators in total. This may have adversely affected the quality of translation, as Van der Peet (2000) puts it, “It remains a mystery how unity of style and the overall narrative pattern and smoothness of the story are to be retained if so many different people work on the translation of one book, probably even without reading the parts they did not have to translate. No editor can probably make up for the breaks and irregularities that will occur in the design of a story if many different people, probably working under tight deadlines, translate parts of one single story that are then deliberately put together. At least, no such editor was available for the聯經edition of The Lord of the Rings.”
These first two Chinese versions were not well received. Linking’s version sold less than 1000 sets. Then in 2001, two new Chinese versions emerged, jumping on the bandwagon of the worldwide hype generated by the mega movie project of The Lord of the Rings. One was a simplified Chinese version published by Nanjian Yiling Press in three volumes, each translated by a different translator, but the overall output was checked by a single proofreader. The other new Chinese version was from Taiwan Linking. In less than two years, Linking commissioned Lucifer Chu to re-translate Tolkien’s Middle Earth sagas: The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, and created the first millionaire-translator.
Discussion and comparison between the different translated versions in this paper mainly focus on the three Taiwanese versions.
The following table summarizes the different Chinese versions published in mainland China and Taiwan:
F. The Atypical Translator Lucifer Chu
Thanks to Lucifer Chu （朱學恆）, who has taken an atypical path to become a translator, Chinese readers are given a second chance to enjoy and appreciate J.R.R. Tolkien's canon of literature.
Chu comes from a scientific background, with a degree in electrical engineering from Taiwan’s National Central University. Being a dedicated fan of computer games since the age of eight, playing as long as ten hours straight a time, Chu has unconsciously equipped himself with the philological basics relevant to the translation of The Lord of the Ring, because many of the games that he has been playing either partially originated or were adapted from it. Then Chu started reading the novel and realized it really was the beginning of all the legends.
When Chu was an 18-year-old high-school student, he was already working as a columnist for a computer magazine called Software World (《軟體世界》) introducing new English-language fantasy/adventure games. It was Chu’s vast experience in playing and writing about the games that helped him visualize the fantasy world in The Lord of the Rings, and lent him a systematic translation for the terminology. When other translators failed to properly name or vividly portray an elf or an orc, Chu has already got the imagery as well as visual depiction of what elves and orcs would look like in his mind for years.
Starting in 1997, Chu began translating various books from the fantasy literature genre, such as Dragonlance Chronicle（《龍槍》）, and the Dark Elf trilogy（《黑暗精靈三部曲》） as well as Isaac Asimov's science fiction Foundation series（《基地三部曲》）. He and his friends founded a web site titled Lucifer's Hell (路西法的地獄) about fantasy literature and related games. In its chat room Chu learned of the mega movie project on Tolkien's trilogy. Chu then approached Linking Publishing Company and initiated to re-translate the books, showing to their editors his past translation of 19 books related to fantasy literature. Chu plainly pointed out to Linking that their existing Chinese translation (1998 version) was lousy and failed to speak to fantasy/adventure fans. Chu proposed a bold and comprehensive marketing plan to Linking, and took audacious moves to achieve his goal:
1. Chu assured Linking that if the book sold less than 10,000 sets (40,000 copies), he would not charge them a thing.
2. If the target sales volume was reached, Chu would receive 9% of the sales of each book. It set an unprecedented example of translators getting royalties.
3. Chu quit his job at a public relations company and completed the translation of 1,800 pages of Tolkien's four books (The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings) in nine months, three months ahead of the agreed schedule.
4. Chu took advantage of his Lucifer's Hell web site to mobilize fantasy literature/games fans to help promote the books, and spent NT$80,000 to organize a "fan ceremony" to treat his fellow ringers to the movie in one of Warner Village's cinemas.
5. He led the charge on marketing the book to a new fan base in Taiwan, with tactics like establishing retail channels to reach game players, setting up advance sales online, working closely with the film's distributor in Taiwan, making dozens of speeches, taking daily calls from media and running book-signing activities for months on end.
6. The Lucifer's Hell web site began collecting updates about the making of the film. The web site's more enthusiastic supporters helped translate daily news articles from sources such as USA Today and the New York Times and sent these stories to both Linking and the film's distributor in Taiwan, Mata Entertainment. The site also established links with TheOneRing.com, the world's biggest Tolkien fan site, and has become the most authoritative Chinese web site for The Lord of the Rings.
G. Success Factors of Chu’s Translation
Following on the discussion above, we can summarize factors contributing to the phenomenal success of the new Chinese translation of The Lord of the Rings by Lucifer Chu, when compared with the other not so successful Chinese versions, as follows:
Internal Factors:
1. Chu’s indepth knowledge of Tolkien’s mythology: Chu’s past experiences and researches in fantasy literature paid off and earned him great skills to tackle the translation with relative ease. Comparing with other translators of the novel, Chu is probably the most knowledgeable and authoritative as far as Tolkien’s mythical world is concerned. There are many examples in the books showing how a thorough study of Tolkien’s mythology helps in the translation. Here are a few of them:
Translation example: The art of naming in the mythology
The other versions translate ‘elf’ as 小精靈, ‘dwarf’ as 小矮人 and even the ‘Nazguls’ are sometimes called 小魔影 in Linking’s first version. These are all quite unacceptable, as the prefix ‘小’ gives an impression of mischievous little creatures, thus robbing these characters of their stature and personality. In Tolkien’s mythological world, the Elves are tall and noble creatures of light. The Dwarves, although coming from a shorter race, are stoutly built. Nazguls or Ringwraiths are terrible enemies, fierce creatures of the dark. Only Chu’s translation has no prefix of ‘小’ in front of 精靈 and 矮人, and 戒靈 (Nazguls or Ringwraiths) are never called cute names like 小魔影.
Another problem in naming can be found in the mistranslations of the terms ‘High Elves’ and their language ‘high-elven’, due to a lack of understanding of the mythological background.
High Elves
高山小精靈 Variety台灣萬象（1998）海舟譯
高種小精靈 Linking聯經（1998）張建平等譯
高等精靈 Linking聯經(2001）朱學恆譯
純種小精靈 Yilin譯林（2001）丁棣等譯
The term High Elves refers to a special kind of Elves, a nobler kind who had seen the light of the Two Trees of Valinor before they were destroyed by Morgoth. It is obvious that only Chu’s translation correctly conveys this meaning.
2. Chu’s literary attainment: Chu’s translation shows commendable literary skills in many places. As Chen Chiu-ling (陳秋玲), marketing manager at Linking said, “[Chu's] dialogues are more vivid and fluent and especially appeal to college students." A prominent example is the translation of the Verse of the Rings, the ‘theme song’ of the novel, as follows:
Translation example : Verse of the Rings
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
Variety萬象
天下魔戒有三枚屬於小精靈國王
七枚在侏儒王爺那石頭的殿堂
九枚屬於壽命不長的世間凡人
還有一枚屬於黑暗之君，
在黑暗寶座上
在摩爾多國那陰影居住的地方
這一枚魔戒統轄著全部戒指
持有它就在冥冥中牽動各方
持有它就能找到所有魔戒
在摩爾多國那陰影居住的地方
Linking first version聯經初譯
三枚戒指給天底下的小精靈國君，
七枚戒指給石廳中的小矮人之王，
九枚戒指給注定免不了一死的人，
一枚戒指給在黑暗中的黑大王──
在那摩多地方由一片魔影籠罩著。
這枚戒指發現了它們，
並且掌管著它們，
這枚戒指帶回了它們，
並將它們禁錮在黑暗之中。
是呀！在那摩多地方
由一片魔影籠罩著……。
Yilin 譯林
三大戒指歸屬天下小精靈諸君，
七大戒指歸屬石廳小矮人列王，
九枚戒指屬於陽壽可數的凡人，
還有一枚屬於高居御座的黑魁首。
莫都大地黑影幢幢。
一枚戒指統領眾戒，盡歸羅網，
一枚戒指禁錮眾戒，昏暗無光。
莫都大地黑影幢幢。
Linking 聯經朱學恆譯
天下精靈鑄三戒，
地底矮人得七戒，
壽定凡人持九戒，
魔多妖境暗影伏，
闇王坐擁至尊戒。
至尊戒，馭眾戒；
至尊戒，尋眾戒，
魔戒至尊引眾戒；
禁錮眾戒黑暗中，
魔多妖境暗影伏。
Comparing the four translations of the verse, obviously Chu’s translation reads and looks more like a verse than the rest. It is succinct and rhythmic, reminiscent of Buddhist chants.
However, as there are as many as 56 songs and verses in the novel, not all of them are treated with equally zealous endeavors, taking care of rhymes etc. The same is also true for the rest of the book, which although is in general vivid and eloquent, contains a number of places which deserve better rendering, as can be seen in a later example.
3. Poor qualities of the other versions of translation: While Chu’s version is in general an acceptable translation from correctness and language points of view, the other versions, especially the older version published by Linking in 1998, are found to contain numerous flaws and some outright mistakes, mostly due to poor comprehension of the original text and a lack of thorough understanding of the whole mythology set out by Tolkien.
Translation example 1:
But my lad Sam will know more about that. He’s in and out of Bag End. Crazy about stories of the old days he is, and he listens to all Mr Bilbo’s tales. Mr Bilbo has learned him his letters—meaning no harm, mark you, and I hope no harm will come of it. (Tolkien, p.24)
不過我兒子薩姆對這事會比我清楚些，他常在巴根出入，他對過去時代的故事喜歡得入迷，關於比爾博先生的故事他全都愛聽。比爾博先生給他傳授過自己的學問──他沒有惡意，你知道的，而我希望這件事不要落個壞結果。【Variety萬象《魔戒同盟》，海舟譯，第一冊，第48頁】
不過我兒子山姆會瞭解詳情的，他常常在貝金兜底進進出出。他對於以前在那裡的事情好奇得要命，不管畢爾波先生說什麼，他都不肯漏掉，畢爾波先生得知他那些信件的事──要記住，這沒惡意，而我也不希望會招來什麼壞事。【Linking聯經《魔戒團（上）》，第39頁】
我兒子山姆大概會知道得更清楚。他常常進出袋底洞。這孩子最喜歡聽故事，所有比爾博先生的故事他都背得滾瓜爛熟。比爾博先生甚至還教他識字，各位別露出那種表情，他可是一片好心，但願不會有什麼麻煩才好。【Linking 聯經《魔戒首部曲：魔戒現身》，朱學恆譯，第43頁】
“Learn someone one’s letters” means “teach someone what one knows”. The first Linking version gives an incorrect literal translation of “letters” and leaves the reader totally dumbfounded.
Translation example 2:
And the Dark Lord took it, and nursed it with fell meats, until it grew beyond the measure of all other things that fly; and he gave it to his servant to be his steed. (Tolkien, p.822)
而黑暗之君收留了牠，用腐肉養大牠們，使牠體烈超過所有會飛的動物，並將牠交給部下作為坐騎。【Variety萬象《國王歸來》，海舟譯，第一冊，第215頁】
薩烏隆捉住它，用死人肉餵養它，直至它長得超過其他一切飛禽，他使它成為他的腳力，為他效勞。【Linking聯經《國王歸來（上）》，楊心意譯，第157頁】
黑暗魔君接納了牠，用腐敗的肉類餵養牠，直到牠的體型超越了所有飛行的生物為止，魔王再把這些妖獸賞賜給忠實的僕人。【Linking 聯經《魔戒三部曲：王者再臨》，朱學恆譯，第138-139頁】
The winged creature was given by Sauron, the Dark Lord, to his servants, the Ringwraiths. Here the first Linking version again made a serious mistake in comprehension and translated as Sauron using the winged creature as his own steed.
Translation example 3:
You stand between me and my lord and kin. Begone, if you be not deathless. For living or dark undead, I will smite you, if you touch him.”
The winged creature screamed at her, but the Ringwraith made no answer, and was silent, as if in sudden doubt. (Tolkien, p.823)
你擋在我和我的陛下與親人之間，如果你並非打不死，那就快滾吧！要是你碰他一碰，我就殺死你，不管他是活著還是昏死過去。」
那隻長翅膀的怪物衝她尖叫，但魔戒陰魂卻沒有回答，他在沈默，似乎突然有些遲疑。【Variety萬象《國王歸來》，海舟譯，第一冊，第216─217頁】
你站到我和我的陛下及親屬之間了。如果你也是會死的人，那就滾開吧！只要你碰他一下，為了生者和隱蔽的不死者，我會殺了你。」
大翅膀怪物對著她尖聲怪叫，但是薩烏隆沒有回答，他雖不作聲，似乎突然猶豫不決。【Linking聯經《國王歸來（上）》，楊心意譯，第158─159頁】
你的對象是我王和我父，如果你並非永生不死，那就滾開吧！不管你是活人還是邪惡的幽靈，如果你敢碰他一根汗毛，我都會將你千刀萬剮，永世不得超生。
妖獸對她嘶吼，但戒靈卻遲疑了，沉默地沒有做出任何回應。【Linking 聯經《魔戒三部曲：王者再臨》，朱學恆譯，第140頁】
In this example, Linking’s first version contains two serious mistakes. Firstly, ‘living or dark undead’ is used to describe the Ringwraith. Linking’s rendering is completely incomprehensible. Secondly, it should be the Ringwraith standing next to the winged creature there, but Linking’s first version mistook it as Sauron, probably due to the mistake mentioned in example 2 above about who was using the winged creature as his steed.
Here we have found also a problem in Chu’s translation, in the sentence “you stand between me and my lord and kin”, which are better rendered in the other two translations.
External Factors:
1. Successful marketing campaigns: Marketing strategies carefully planned and carried out for Linking’s relaunch of the new Chinese version of The Lord of the Rings played an instrumental part in pushing sales to a wild success. Linking made a sound business judgment with calculated risks on the business proposal put forward by Chu, despite the fact that re-translating the book was not only risky but embarrassing because it was a tacit admission that the previous version was a failure. Chu did not let Linking down. His in-depth knowledge of Tolkien’s fabricated world and its influence on various forms of art (literature, music and film) in the West over the decades easily won him the status of the authoritative advocate for The Lord of the Rings in this part of the world. In countless speeches and seminars, he would cite the influence of Tolkien’s works on new fantasy writers (e.g. R.A.Salvatore and Ursula Le Guin), film makers (e.g. George Lucas’s Star Wars series) and composers (Dutch composer Johan De Meij’s The Lord of the Rings Symphony 1). These and other marketing activities together helped create the miracle in Taiwan’s publishing world.
2. Web site as a promotion tool: Chu's web site has taken advantage of the ubiquitous presence of the internet in the information age to promote his work. The site has a forum to discuss translation problems encountered in The Lord of the Rings, as well as a chat room through which Chu formed an ally with his fellow ringers. According to him, there are about 20,000 Taiwanese ringers, most of whom dwell in on-line game forums and chat rooms. These people constituted the core of an important base to help in the propaganda campaign.
3. Harry Potter’s fad: Worldwide success of Harry Potter introduced Western fantasy literature to the East. While enchanted Chinese readers try to find more works in a similar genre, Chu would point out in speeches and seminars that The Lord of the Rings has more depth and height than Harry Potter, because J.K. Rowling was criticized by religious groups for promoting witchcraft but The Lord of the Rings is set beyond all religious, cultural or national boundaries.
4. The Lord of the Rings movie: As explained above, Chu and Linking have closely followed the production details of the movie. It is part of the plan that they would re-launch The Lord of the Rings in a schedule which would coincide with the release of the film. The movie helped the translator and readers visualize and realize the mythology setup and characters. At the same time, this Oscar wining movie also turned many enlightened viewers into readers and even fans of the books. Besides, the movie also helps influence readers’ perception of translation, as illustrated by the following example:
Translation example:
Strider/Aragorn Arwen
邁大步 / 阿拉岡 阿爾溫 Linking聯經（1998）張建平等譯
神行客 / 亞拉岡 亞玟 Linking聯經(2001）朱學恆譯
大步 / 阿拉貢 阿爾溫 Yilin譯林（2001） 丁棣等譯
Those who have admired the awesome performance of Viggo Mortensen (as Aragorn, or Strider, the king disguised as a ranger) and Liv Tyler (as Arwen, the elf princess) would undoubtedly find Chu’s translation of their names much more acceptable and matching to the characters in the movie than the other versions. The same applies to the translation of Elf, Dwarf and Nazgul as mentioned above in the discussion of internal success factors.
H. The Changing Role of the Translator
The success story of Lucifer Chu will surely inspire fellow translators, and perhaps also would-be-translators who consider themselves capable of translating, to follow suit. The ever changing role of the translator has taken on some new elements which have never come into play before. Apart from the lexical aspect of the job and matters related to the contents of the translation, for instance, religious doctrines, literature, trading or other practical topics, the postmodern translator in the new millennium may need to pay attention to additional areas.
In essence, all businesses, publishing of translated works being no exception, are best described by two buzz words of today: market-oriented and knowledge-based. Future translators, as exemplified by Lucifer Chu today, are bound to get more involved in these aspects as well: planning and/or taking part in marketing and promotional events, keeping abreast of the topic of interest through the almighty internet, and more desirably, setting up one’s own web site to fully capitalize on the power of media and the information age.
While translators start diversifying their skills and broadening their exposure to engage themselves in a wider scope and to take up non-lexical roles, the reverse also holds true. Every now and then some celebrities, or people with a name in whatever field they are in, would cross the boundary and do some translation. Although it is often not clear if these people are equipped with adequate language skills of the source and target languages, let alone the know-how and craft of translation, it is quite sure that they do possess an important element of success in today’s world: ninki, （人氣）, popularity, or a well-known name adored by the media. Thus they can earn themselves opportunities to work on translation projects which trained, qualified and competent translators can hardly reach or partake. For example, the world famous Moomin series of stories, written by Finnish writer Tove Jansson, has been re-translated and published by 張小嫻, who is famous for writing modern love stories and is also the founder of a women’s magazine. To cite another recent example, top Japanese singer Hikaru Utada （宇多田光）translated into Japanese a popular children's picture book in the U.S. called "Emily the Strange", and it soon sped to the top of the bestseller charts, although her translation skills were openly questioned.
I. Conclusion
After the above study and comparison between the translation of new and old Chinese versions of The Lord of the Rings, we have found that Lucifer Chu’s translation has considerable improvements over the previous versions, especially in the overall understanding and presentation of Tolkien’s mythology. From a rhetoric perspective, certain parts (e.g. the translation of the Ring Verse) are well translated and more refined than some other parts of the translation, which might have been better rendered had there been more time for the translator. The great success of the book is disproportionate to its enhancements in translation. The critical factors of success lied in the local marketing effort exerted by the publisher and the translator himself, coupled with the international hype resulted from the movie. It might have out-weighted the importance of lexical work, command of languages and translation skills. Lucifer Chu spent nine months on translating and perhaps an equal amount of time doing marketing research and sales promotion. This may foretell the trend in which future translators may need to take.
Since the general public’s perception and reception of translated works may largely be affected by factors other than the language itself, efforts spent in enhancing translation and language skills will be overshadowed by publicity gimmicks and marketing strategies. Until the day when the overall level of language appreciation of the general public is uplifted and readerships with legitimate taste and critical assessment are formed, it is up to us translators to jump out of the lexical well to broaden up and equip ourselves with other skills (social, communication, marketing, project management, internet etc), if we want our work to be appreciated, or at least be read. Then perhaps one day we may establish ourselves as celebrities in the field of translation, and enjoy the built up ninki and credibility which will help us further our career.
J. Reference
Thesis:
§ Van der Peet, D. (2000). The Lord of the Rings: Critique of the Two Chinese Translations. A Thesis Submitted to The Graduate Institute of Translation and Interpretation Studies of Fu Jen Catholic University, Taiwan.
Web sites:
§ Alberge D. and Wagner E. (1997). Lord(s) of the Books http://orwell.ru/a_life/lords100/e/e_lbk.htm
§ Chu, L. (2003) Lucifer's Hell 《路西法的地獄》 http://www.lucifer.hoolan.org/
§ Lin, L. (2002). New translation rings true http://taipeitimes.com/News/feat/archives/2002/01/20/120777
§ 呂曼文(2002)。《戴上「魔戒」的二十七歲千萬小富翁》http://magazine.pchome.com.tw/businessweekly/739/businessweekly_12-1.html
§ 朱錦華 (2001) 編譯自法新社特稿。《魔戒新聞集錦：托爾金的魔戒三部曲風雲再起》http://www.udngroup.com.tw/linkingp/promote/promote87012news.asp?newsid=99
§ 楊照(2002)。《兩個文學天才的故事》http://archive.udn.com/2002/8/8/NEWS/CULTURE/UDN-SUPPLEMENT/938691.shtml
Publications:
§ Newmark, P. (1993). Paragraphs on Translation. Clevedon, Philadelphia, Adelaide: Multilingual Matters Ltd.
§ Newmark, P. (1998). More Paragraphs on Translation. Clevedon, Philadelphia, Sydney: Multilingual Matters Ltd.
§ Pearce, J. (1998). Tolkien: Man and Myth. San Francisco: Ignatius Press.
§ Tolkien, J.R.R. (1954, 1955, 1965, 1966). The Lord of the Rings, One Volume Edition. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company
§ 托爾金 (J.R.R. Tolkien) 原著，朱學恆譯(2001)。《魔戒首部曲－魔戒再現》。台北：聯經出版事業公司。
§ 托爾金 (J.R.R. Tolkien) 原著，朱學恆譯(2001)。《魔戒二部曲－雙城奇謀》。台北：聯經出版事業公司。
§ 托爾金 (J.R.R. Tolkien) 原著，朱學恆譯(2001)。《魔戒三部曲－王者再臨》。台北：聯經出版事業公司。
§ 托爾金 (J.R.R. Tolkien) 原著，張儷、鄭大民、張建平合譯(1998)。《魔戒I第一部－魔戒團(上)》。台北：聯經出版事業公司。
§ 托爾金 (J.R.R. Tolkien) 原著，張儷、鄭大民、張建平合譯張儷、鄭大民、張建平(1998)。《魔戒II第一部－魔戒團(下)》。台北：聯經出版事業公司。
§ 托爾金 (J.R.R. Tolkien) 原著，吳洪譯(1998)。《魔戒III第二部－雙塔記(上)》。台北：聯經出版事業公司。
§ 托爾金 (J.R.R. Tolkien) 原著，吳洪譯(1998)。《魔戒IV第二部－雙塔記(下) 》。台北：聯經出版事業公司。
§ 托爾金 (J.R.R. Tolkien) 原著，楊心意譯(1998)。《魔戒V第三部－國王歸來(上)》。台北：聯經出版事業公司。
§ 托爾金 (J.R.R. Tolkien) 原著，楊心意譯(1998)。《魔戒VI第三部－國王歸來(下)》。台北：聯經出版事業公司。
§ 托爾金 (J.R.R. Tolkien) 原著，丁棣譯(2001)。《魔戒（第一部）：魔戒再現》。南京：譯林出版社。
§ 托爾金 (J.R.R. Tolkien) 原著，姚錦鎔譯(2001)。《魔戒（第二部）：雙塔奇兵》。南京：譯林出版社。
§ 托爾金 (J.R.R. Tolkien) 原著，湯定九譯(2001)。《魔戒（第三部）：王者無敵》。南京：譯林出版社。
§ 彭鏡禧(1997)。《摸象：文學翻譯評論集》。台北：書林出版有限公司。
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