RogueJK
It's not "Rouge"... That's makeup.
Drew said:Hidden drug use in literature is one of the silliest things I've ever heard. How do you have hidden drug use in a book? If the author writes "He smoked tobacco" then that's what happened. Whatever happens in a book is, by default, true. What I mean is, if Tolkein writes "Bilbo put on his hat" then that is indeed what happened. It is not open to discussion.
To claim that the author really meant marijuana is like saying that Frodo Baggins is really a Pigmy Cookie Chef. Sure Tolkien says "Hobbit," but that's not what he MEANS. Sheesh.
Actually, lots of famous literature has drug-related undertones. Take Alice in Wonderland for instance. Or the Wizard of Oz. According to the article (which I'm trying to find again) these books contain drug-related undertones.
Most good literature, I think you'll find, doesn't simply come out and say everything. Good books have layers of subtlety, hidden meanings, and inside jokes.
And it's not that they are taking what the author says and stating something totally different. It's that these books contain passages which depict drug use without coming out and saying "They got high." Most books are more discreet than that.
For instance, besides the LotR references, which we now know aren't true, the article brings up the passage in The Wizard of Oz in which Dorothy wanders into a poppy field, suddenly feels "warm, comfortable, and sleepy" and passes out. Opium, a very common drug around the time the book was written, is extracted from the poppy plant.
Another example would be The Chronicles of Narnia. In it, the White Witch offers Edmund whatever food he wants. He asks for Turkish Delight, and proceeds to eat the entire box. Most people assume it was just candy, but after a little research, you'll find that Turkish Delight is, in fact, hashish (marijuana) mixed with sugar and gelatin. It was exported to England from Egypt, and was popular with Cambridge authors who used it to "improve their creative abilities."
It's the author's way of including a sort of "inside joke." Most people won't get it unless they know it's there.
I'll post the source of the article if I can find it again.
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