The Asterick-Parallel

When things have no explanation in life, humans are quick to turn to religion as a attempt to comprehend the unexplainable. For example, in order to explain what happens after death and how to deal with modern issues such as abortion or gay marriage, many devout catholics may turn to the bible for guidance. In Beowulf, the religious beliefs of the Anglo-Saxons are a huge influence on the description of events in this epic poem. However, in John Gardner’s novel Grendel, the use of existentialism, a philosophy that emphasizes that “existence precedes essence”, contradicts the early Christianity values that are present in Beowulf. In both Burton Raffel’s translation of Beowulf and in John Gardner’s novel Grendel, the usage of differentiating lenses is critical to the reader’s interpretation of the texts. Beowulf uses

When most people think of J.R.R. Tolkien, they often think of his great imagination and his world of great dragons, warriors, orcs, hobbits, wizards, dwarves and elves. But most people forget about the deeper meaning behind his stories and his controversy towards society. Tolkien was a British, fantasy, writer during the mid-1900s. Through his love of languages, religion, and country, J.R.R Tolkien’s works of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are controversial but masterpieces because Tolkien represents “good” as a fuller, more imaginative reality than evil.

Thesis: John Ronald Reule Tolkien’s life experiences influenced his writing, beginning as a student, then a soldier, lexigrapher, professor, and then a writer to his own children; Tolkien’s life created the place known to most as Middle-Earth.

Thesis: In The Hobbit, Tolkien wants to show the reader that anyone, from any background can step up to a challenge, and be extraordinary rather than ordinary.

The story of Creation found in Genesis 1-3 has captured the attention of countless Christian theologians throughout the ages. Despite the fact that the text of these chapters are quite short, it has proved itself to be a fertile ground from which many of the central tenets of Christian doctrine have sprouted. This fruitful text has also spurred a variety of differing interpretations of the Creation and Fall. Augustine of Hippo and Lady Julian of Norwich are two theologians who interpreted Genesis 1-3 in vastly different ways. The aim of this paper is to make a thematically organized comparison of Julian of Norwich’s interpretation (which is mostly apparent within her short parable on the Lord and the Servant, Revelations of Divine Love) with Augustine’s influential interpretation of Genesis 1-3.

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

Tolkien, let the story unfold: Unfettered by the chains of innovation and not blinded by its obscuration of reality, the story itself, had the characters tackle the battles, the triumphs, and the disappointments of the actual good and spiritual humans. That is the thing that great narratives do. The reader is especially attracted to the story in light of the fact that the reader gets the chance to know and admire the real, not cardboard, characters, and the characters are genuine in the light of the fact that they have souls, displaying fundamental goodness in the midst of failings and ready to settle on choices in spite of knowing that choices are however a piece of a bigger story. The reader partakes in a mythic universe of Middle-earth and experiences there—without allegory or specific

*Quotes from The Lord of the Rings, or The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien. Nothing written in italics applies to the

     In comparing and contrasting the Arthurian Legends and J.R.R. Tolkien’s book The Fellowship of the Ring, it is almost like a medieval contest between the two with many of the similarities coming from the customs of the Middle Ages. A look at the make up of the groups involved, the moral code, the protagonist, the antagonist, the use of supernatural elements and the knightly quest involved in each book shows how alike they are but yet different.

Shaping of Cultural Values Through Environment in The Left Hand of Darkness, The Fellowship of the Ring, and Dune

J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic novel The Lord of the Rings showcases his affinity for what is small and how its measure contradicts its significance. Tolkien crams undetected, potent potential into unlikely vessels—vessels that seemingly lack the capacity. The reader sees this in Tolkien’s protagonist and antagonist, the hobbit and ring respectively. The measure of each conflicts with its significance. With a closer look, the reader also sees this in Tolkien’s word choice. In his essay “On Fairy-Stories,” Tolkien claims “How powerful, how stimulating to the very faculty that produced it, was the invention of the adjective: no spell or incantation in Faerie is more potent.” Throughout The Lord of

Indeed Lewis’s argumentation for the preservation of a medieval past was partly due to his belief of moral order. For him Medievalism meant recognizing this order ability to provide moral strength to the future of Western culture coincides with that of Eco’s theories in regards to both Americans and Europeans being “inheritors of the Western legacy”( Eco, 64). As Lewis explains he felt an overwhelming obligation to not only preserve historical artifacts of the middle ages through writing but to also prolong it through his community of fellow writers such as J.R.R Tolkien. From the standpoints of these literati contributors the importance of learning these writing were necessary in order to build upon better writing, it was essential to understand

Similarly, Lewis’ colleague at Oxford, J.R.R. Tolkien also defended Fantasy, or as he called it, “fairy-stories.” Tolkien was known for his fantastic works that included The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and an assortment of companion books to the series. He was also well known for his criticism of Beowulf, “The Monsters and the Critics.” His Fantasy series have had broad implications on the fantasy genre as a whole since publication, influencing the current generation of writers with the firm grasp of history

J.R.R. Tolkien’s works have been analysed for decades and have often been criticised for the lack of female characters. Arguably his most cherished publications, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, in particular has been condemned for the passivity of his relatively few female characters. Having said that however, throughout the three books, there are a number of female characters who combat the stereotypical role of women and subvert the norm of submission to a patriarchal authority. Arwen, Éowyn and Galadriel in The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return

Culture and Values: An Analyzation of the Beowulf Epic and the Beowulf and Grendel Film