The Hobbit, written by J.R.R. Tolkien, is a children’s fantasy novel (though the series The Lord of the Rings that followed its story was more tuned to adults) that was first published in 1937. When it was first released, it received critical acclaim from millions of readers, and it was eventually nominated for the Carnegie Medal and won “Best Juvenile Fiction” from the New York Herald Tribune. However, despite its success, the most enduring trait of the novel is its connection with readers throughout generations that has inspired countless authors and readers. Most people know the story of The Hobbit, so in this essay, we will explore the creation of this beloved literary work.
Tolkien was an academic, being a professor at Pembroke College
…show more content…
William Morris, who was a 19th-century English poet, translator, and creative genius, was a significant figure to Tolkien. In fact, Tolkien desired to write more in Morris’ romantic style. In particular, a chapter named The Desolation of Smaug was directly influenced by Morris’ style and ideas (The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien). Another writer that left an impression on Tolkien was Samuel Rutherford Crockett. His historical novel The Black Douglas and its villain Gilles de Retz inspired The Hobbit‘s evil character Sauron. It is said the narrative style and even the events in both The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings were influenced by The Black Douglas (Lobdell, Jared C.). The goblins within The Hobbit are closely associated with the goblins in the novel The Princess and the Goblin by George MacDonald. In addition, MacDonald impressed upon Tolkien the role of fantasy in the context of Christianity (J. R. R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: Scholarship and Critical Assessment). Another key influence on The Hobbit is Tolkien’s adoration of Norse mythology and Germanic philology. Not only are many myths from Norse mythology adapted into The Hobbit, the names of the characters have a distinct Old Norse feel to them (Rateliff, John D.). And speaking of characters, the dwarves were modeled after ancient Jewish people and their history (Rateliff, John D.). Last but not least, the epic Beowulf was the main inspiration behind the world Tolkien wanted to create. As Tolkien was a respected scholar of Beowulf, The Hobbit was in part a tribute to the epic and a reworking of it (Purtill, Richard
Some shared plot points that I discovered while reading. For instance both adventures are started by another source. In the Odyssey Goddess Athena descends from the heavens after convincing her father, the Son of Cronus, Zeus to allow Odysseus to return home. Once she arrives in Ithaca, she sets Telemachus on his adventure to learn more information about his father whereabouts. This is like Gandalf the Gray arriving in the Shire to set Bilbo on his mission with Thorin to reclaim the mountain from Smaug. Another major part would be the obstacles that stand in their way. Mostly in the form of Monsters and other beings. The Odyssey features some creatures famous in greek mythology such as the Cyclops, Polyphemus, the beasts Scylla and Charybdis, the Sirens, and the God Helios and Goddesses Circe and Calypso. The Hobbit features classic fantasy monsters like Giant Spiders, Goblins, Worgs, an Elvish King, and of course a fire breathing Smaug. Both characters gain gifts that
The Hobbit was the first of Tolkien’s story of Middle Earth and was thought as a children’s book. “The Hobbit” explains, the main plot of the storyline is a hobbit named Bilbo Baggins goes on an adventure with thirteen dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf to reclaim the dwarves’ homeland in The Lonely Mountain from an evil fire-breathing dragon named Smaug. On the way the company encounters goblins, giant spiders, trolls, and many other undesirable things. While on the quest, Bilbo finds a magic ring which he steals from a slimy creature corrupted by the ring named Gollum. (95-101). The main characters include Bilbo Baggins (main hero), Gandalf the Grey, Thorin Oakenshield (leader of the dwarves), Balin, Dwalin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Dori, Nori, Ori, Fili, Kili, Oin, Gloin (the other 12 dwarves), Elrond (leader of the elves), Goblins (captures the company), Gollum (creature that Bilbo takes the ring from), Wargs (giant evil wolves). Bard (kills Smaug) (“The Hobbit” 95-101). The major themes of The Hobbit include the struggle between Good and Evil, Fate and Chance, Friendship, Death, and Valor (“The Hobbit” 95-101). “The Lord of the Rings was his second major piece of literature and was more sophisticated and considered a more adult trilogy. The Lord of the Rings” states, the major plot of The Lord of the Rings is that a hobbit named Frodo Baggins goes on an adventure to destroy an evil ring
Throughout the story line of The Hobbit, Tolkien links his fantasy world of middle earth with the reader's world. He uses his imagination to draw his reader into middle earth and allows them to glimpse his view of the evil that he witnessed living and serving in the time of WWI. Tolkien does this to show that not all technological advancements are for the common good.
The Lord of the Rings by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien is a book widely known for its rich language, detailed imagery, and profound story that expands over three volumes and six books. The book is scattered with deep characters ranging in back stories and eventual character development. Motifs, key parts throughout the story, include lightness and darkness, eyes, jewelry, and sword. JRR Tolkien even creates his own language for the solemn race of elves in the lengthy three volume novel. A part of this length may be attributed to the unusual placement of many full-form songs and poems within the book, as a break between the usual story. These poems and songs have ranges of playfulness and thoughtfulness. With uses of made up Hobbit words and beautiful
In literature it is common for authors to borrow elements of a different story and make it their own. In “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring”, Tolkein follows the hero’s journey and uses many concepts found in the poem, Beowulf. Beowulf is an ancient English story of the king of the Geats, Beowulf. Beowulf is a superhuman King that’s fights magical creatures in hope of being remembered. In “Lord of the Rings”, A young hobbit, Frodo, is given the great responsibility of protecting an evil ring until it can be destroyed. Because Tolkein was a Beowulf scholar, elements of Beowulf are depicted in “Lord of the Rings”. Both protagonists, Frodo and Beowulf, are similar by how they receive their call to adventure, their strength, and
In 1920 Tolkien was appointed to the position of Associate Professor in English Language at the University of Leeds. At the university Tolkien cooperated with E.V. Gordon to publish the Songs for the Philologists. Tolkien in 1937 published The Hobbit and in 1954 published what would be his most famous works, The Lord of the Rings. Tolkien's wife died in 1971 and himself died two years later in 1973 at the age of 81 and had four children. (Doughan).had many influences on his writing one among these is the literature of the old Norse. (Clair) This influence is visible in almost all aspects of the stories that Tolkien tells of Middle- Earth. The Hobbits, for example, are Tolkien's unique contribution to the world of Middle Earth. However the Hobbits are clearly based off of the Icelanders in the Njal's Saga. (Clair) There are many similarities between these two groups of peoples in the two stories. Many of these similarities are in habit. The Icelanders much like the Hobbits were fond of food and often were very proud of their ancestry and their belief in hospitality. Another similarity between the two groups is their ostentatious methods of dress. Both groups dressed very ornately and very colorfully. (Clair) Tolkien's elves also show many similarities to the elves of Northern literature. Both elves have histories of healing and of being smiths. (Clair) Aside from the influence of Norse Literature Tolkien was also influenced by his Catholic faith and
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 in his dark throne. In the Land or Mordor where the shadow lies.
The poem narrates the adventures of Arthur and Gawain throughout a war campaign against the Saxons. The campaign is eventually cut short due to the betrayal of Mordred, who tries to usurp Arthur’s kingdom. The movie portrays a far more romantic rise of the king, which should be compared to the traditional legend. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (1892-1973) was an English scholar, specializing in Old and Middle English. He wrote a number of stories, including most famously The Hobbit (1937).
How much of an influence did Beowulf have on the famous J. R. R. Tolkien? When comparing remediations of Beowulf there are two novels that can closely be compared to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit both written by J. R. R. Tolkien. Beowulf possess many strong relationships to The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit such as armoury and weaponry, multiple characters resembling similar attributes, and almost identical environments. The characters that can be compared when looking at the relationships between Beowulf and The Hobbit are Beorn and Beowulf and Grendel and Gollum. Finally, environments in Tolkiens' texts are closely linked to the Heorot Hall described in Beowulf.
Heroism in the Hobbit The Hobbit is a fantasy novel that has mythological characters such as hobbits, dwarfs, wizards, and elves. The Hobbit was written by J.R.R. Tolkien. He is one the most famous English writers of the 20th century.
Lewis. He was influenced by earlier fantasy writer Geoge MacDonald. At Oxford, Lewis and several other writers formed a club called the Inklings. One of his close friends was also a famous fantasy writer, J.R.R. Tolkien, who wrote The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. They shared many interests, and both of their works were adapted for
The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have been beloved works among many generations of readers since they were first published. The author of these two books, J.R.R. Tolkien is just as interesting a man as many of the characters he created in the world of Middle-Earth. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in Africa to a banker manager and his wife in 1892 and had only one sibling, Hilary, who was less than two years younger (Wikipedia). When he was young both of his parents died (one from rheumatic fever, the other from diabetes) and he and his brother were raised by a Catholic priest in Birmingham (Wikipedia). Tolkien was involved in World War One and Two, first as a serviceman, then as a cryptographer (Wikipedia). Indeed he was very
J.R.R. Tolkien , a english writer, Philologist, professor, and C.S. Lewis a novelist, poet and essayist has written their works in a way that portrays one major theme throughout them all. The Literary work, The Fellowship of the Ring and the philosophical work, Lewis’s Problem of Evil contains a great connection that affects in our daily lives. With power comes greediness, with good comes evil, and together forms C.S. Lewis’s and Tolkien’s philosophy, that evil is a product of corrupted good.
"Three Rings for the Eleven-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(Tolkien)." Master of storytelling J.R.R. Tolkien continues the lives of the fictitious creatures that he introduced in The Hobbit, in his modern classic The Fellowship of the Ring. He artfully illustrates the truths of the evil that plague the hearts of man. He tells a story of greed, destruction and how mortal men are enslaved by
For this assignment the two books that I will be focusing on are version of The Hobbit from Sweden and Finland. The first book to be created was the Swedish version of The Hobbit, “Hompen eller En resa Dit och Tillbaksigen,” which was created in 1947 and includes illustrations by Torbjörn Zetterholm, a Swedish artist. The other version that will be described for this assignment is the Finnish version of the book, “Lohikääremvuori, eli erään hoppelin matka sinne ja takaisi,” which translates to “Dragon Mountain: ie one Hoppel the journey there and back” and includes illustrations from the Finnish artist Tove Jannson. Orignally the illustrations in the Finish were used for a