If people tried to make an argument that J.R.R. Tolkien didn’t used Norse mythology as a backbone structure when writing The Hobbit in 1937, they would be without-a-doubt completely wrong. Many creatures were pulled straight from the Norse myths and thrown into his famous story, but did he use some of the Norse gods as structures for his characters as well? In the book The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien, he states that Gandalf is seen almost as an “Odinic Wanderer”, comparing him to Odin the Allfather (Carpenter, C. Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien). Rather than Odin, though, another almost-unlikely god could fit the part of Gandalf’s basis, and that would be the trickster god, Loki, son of Laufey and Farbauti. Loki, without a doubt, would be an …show more content…
They demand that he uses his not-so noble tricks to return the goddess, along with her cherished apples. Gandalf is not an outright liar, though he does slightly bend the truth throughout the story. He is the reason that Bilbo is referred to as the burglar, as he puts the sign on the Hobbit’s door himself. Gandalf told the throng “‘If I say he is a burglar, a burglar he is, or will be…” (Tolkien 49). His intentions for lying are more beneficial than Loki’s reasons, though he is still manipulating the idea of Bilbo being a burglar, convincing Thorin and Co. that Bilbo has experience with thieving. Before they take off for their long journey, Thorin says to Bilbo, “‘Aren’t you the burglar? And isn’t sitting on the doorstep your job, not speak of getting inside the door?’” His words show that he has some form of faith in Gandalf’s white lie about the hobbit being a thief, even though Bilbo had never stolen anything in his life. Both Gandalf and Loki are gifted with magical abilities, and they rely their magic as well as their wit to solve their problems. In the myth “The Building of Asgard’s Wall”, the builder (or rock giant), offered to build a wall around Asgard and for his payment, he wanted Freyja’s hand in marriage, along with both the sun and the moon. Odin turned to Loki for a plan, and he suggested to give the builder six months rather than the eighteen months that he originally demanded. The builder agreed to the terms, with one condition—his steed is allowed to
Gandalf is a character in the hobbit series, he is the main mastermind behind the dwarves mission, he is a very powerful wizard that helps guide Bilbo and the whole company through emanate danger.
“The murder of Déagol haunted Gollum, and he had made up a defense, repeating it to his ‘precious’ over and over” (The Fellowship of the Ring 62). This quote gives a look into the strongest moment of shock that impacted young Sméagol’s life forever. Gollum is a fictional character unlike any other in The Lord of the Rings series, as he is portrayed as having undiagnosed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. There are six recurring symptoms that must happen in conjunction with traumatic factors in order for someone to be diagnosed with PTSD, and unfortunately for Sméagol his actions and history sync perfectly into the diagnosis. Due to the fact that Gollum is a fictional character out of a book, it seems that the author, J.R.R. Tolkien, may have purposely given these attributes to Gollum to display PTSD. Though Tolkien may argue that his time in the war did not highly influence his books, subconsciously Tolkien, like many who were in the war, could have had undiagnosed PTSD or known someone who did. As a combat veteran, Tolkien and his friends were more likely to develop PTSD. This may have resulted in portraying these symptoms on to one specific character, Gollum. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder “is a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event” (NIMH), just as Gollum had and continues to be put through. He has had a rough past of loss and exile, as well as continuously trudges through horrific events and torture in which he must
At the beginning of the adventure, Bilbo was a timid, little hobbit with no idea how to steal or survive outside of his little hobbit hole. When Thorin and the rest of the dwarves first meet Bilbo, they question
When you think of a hero, is the first character to pop in your head a little hobbit named Bilbo Baggins? In most cases, people think of Superman or Hercules, but in The Hobbit, an unexpected hero emerges and changes the name for all heroes to come. The Hobbit is a novel about Bilbo Baggins and his journey, with thirteen dwarves and a wizard, seeking the treasure stolen by the dragon, Smaug. While on this unexpected journey, Bilbo and his companions overcome many obstacles to eventually get to the treasure and retrieve it. Throughout the story, Bilbo develops into a courageous man, who indeed, is a hero. Richard Tyre wrote an article, “You Can’t Teach Tolkien,” and he explains his theory in which he connects multiple story’s plot with six elements. The Hobbit, is assuredly a prime example of Tyre’s theory because it follows all six steps throughout the story simultaneously. The six elements are; “(1) those who hunt for treasure, (2) must go alone, (3) at night, (4) and when they find it, (5) they must leave some of their blood behind, (6) and the treasure is never what they expected” (Tyre 19). These elements are steps in which a character must take to emerge into a hero in the end. Bilbo Baggins is the hero in The Hobbit, but he doesn’t start off as the hero. He has always had heroic traits but throughout the novel, he pursues those six steps and in the resolution, he is transformed into an actual hero.
The first act of Bilbo’s heroism is when he makes his first attempt at burglary when he steals from the trolls. Even before Bilbo steals from the trolls he is told by the dwarfs “Now it’s the burglar’s turn.” (33 Tolkien) And by Thorin “You
Thor is one of the most famous of the gods in Norse mythology, well known due to his popularity. Thor is described as having a quick and hot temper, and a love for food. The enemies of the gods, the giants, were on the receiving end of
Loki is known as the trickster god of Norse mythology and is even said to be one of the first anti-heroes. He is also probably one of the most well-known tricksters as well. In the Norse myths, he is often portrayed as being very mischievous and is always causing trouble for the gods. In fact, “he was so outrageously mischievous that he even sneaked his way into becoming a god” (Allen, and Saunders, par. 1). However, even though he almost always seems to be getting the gods into some kind of trouble, he also helps them at times in an attempt to get them out of their predicaments…even if those predicaments are his own fault to begin with.
In mutiple times in the movie, there was reference to the Norse Gods, Odin and Thor. Stoick the Vast, leader of the village spoke it in an expression of happiness, “OH, THOR ALMIGHTY!” At another scene, Gobber, a viking warrior missing his hand and
Lord Acton once said, "Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely." He was probably referring to the powerful kings and queens who held power over many people. But, we could see how power is something many of the characters in Tolkien's story are trying to have and hold onto in some form or another. In The Fellowship of the Ring J.R.R. Tolkien tells us a story about Frodo Baggins who is ordered by Gandalf to destroy the powerful ring discovered accidentally by his older cousin, Bilbo. Like the rest of the hobbits, Frodo has lived quite peacefully and well, not having to worry about how dark and dreary the rest of Middle Earth was becoming under Sauron's growing power. Now, Frodo,
Among other things, Tolkien was perhaps chiefly a scholar of mythology, and despite his dislike of allegory, his universe is shot through with mythological archetypes. Among Tolkien’s obvious mythological influences (Biblical, Celtic, Norse, and Arthurian mythologies, etc.), I believe Biblical held the most significant effect on The Lord of the Rings, albeit Finnish/Nordic appears more so than any other. Additionally, Tolkien wanted to publish The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings together, since he saw them as connected mythological cycles. To a degree, one’s reading of The Lord of the Rings, is deepened by a knowledge of The Silmarillion, not just on the level of setting or context, but in terms of literary theme, symbol, and characterization.
“The Lord of the Rings is racist. It is soaked in the logic that race determines behavior.” (Ibata 2). Many people have tried to perpetuate the myth that J.R.R. Tolkien was racist. They cite various scenes in The Lord of the Rings, in both the books and in the movies. These people are lying or ignorant. J.R.R. Tolkien was not a racist, nor did he ever intend for his novels to be viewed as such. There is plenty of evidence to defend Tolkien from these claims such as: the themes of his novels, like The Lord of the Rings; the clear messages in his personal writings and his upbringing; and the characters from his novels.
These books are an amazing at showing the hero's journey in mostly different ways,wet they still have similarities. A dog’s life is about a stray dog struggling to find a home and is given many challenges. The hobbit is about a fat hobbit who is brought up to a journey by the wizard Gandalf to help the dwarves reclaim there mountain stolen by a dragon. Both authors portray the hero's journey in mostly different ways yet some similarities. The first way the novels are different is that stages both protagonist in the novels faced are different.
How can an author write a story which appeals to a present day audience? Richard H. Tyre published an article in 1978 that gives an answer to this very question. Tyre explains how most kids today choose to read books like the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings series, and even The Wizard of Oz. An existing theory that Tyre came up with explains that each of these books, along with many others, have one thing in common: 6 plot elements. Not only do these stories contain the same 6 elements but those elements are in the same order! Tyre states that “(1) those who hunt for treasure, (2) must go alone, (3) at night, (4) and when they find it, (5) they must leave some of their blood behind, (6) and the treasure is never what they expected.” (Tyre 2). J.R.R. Tolkien is the author of The Hobbit. The Hobbit revolves around one hobbit in particular named Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo embarks on a journey with 14 others to recover a treasure that is guarded by a dragon. Along the way Bilbo faces many challenges that range from running into huge trolls, to taking part in fierce battles. Due to it’s main character hunting for treasure, facing most of the dangers alone, battling during the wee hours of the night, eventually finding the treasure, after sweating/crying/and enduring injuries, just to have the treasure revealed to him as not what he expected, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is undoubtedly a perfect example of Tyre’s 6 plot elements.
“His hair was white as snow in the sunshine; and gleaming white was his robe; the eyes under his deep brows were bright, piercing as the rays of the sun;”(The Two Towers page 98). Gandalf the White was a wizard who guided and helped characters throughout their journeys in The Two Towers book. however Gandalf the Grey was thought to of died in the battle with Balrog, a monster of ancient times, however Gandalf is immortal and cannot die instead he was reborn into Gandalf the White. Gandalf physically transformed into Gandalf the White after fighting Balrog. While changing physically he also became wiser after being reborn into Gandalf the White. Once reborn into Gandalf the White now became a symbol of hope and good for all men in Middle-Earth.
Other signs showing Tolkien's influence in Norse mythology can be noted through the various similarities between Odin and Gandalf. Agreeably they are both known to possess supernatural strengths such as magic and the