The Lord Of The Rings

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.

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.

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

“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.

Tolkien was influenced by many of the stories he heard in his religion and greatly influenced his literature. (David McDonald, Bio Sketch)

If the study of literature shows nothing else, it shows that every author, consciously or subconsciously, creates his (or her) work after his (or her) own worldview. Tolkien is no exception. "I am a Christian..." he writes(1), and his book shows it. Christianity appears not as allegory--Tolkien despises that(2)--nor as analogy, but as deep under girding presuppositions, similarities of pattern, and shared symbols.

As we, University of Virginia students, took refuge in Bruce Holsinger’s Masterworks of Fantasy Literature class back in August, Holsinger succinctly defined Fantasy Literature as, “making reality more real,”. Fantasy Literature is famous for its talking animals, magical powers, utopian/dystopian societies, and containing exceptionally imaginative plots. After reading and analyzing several foundational fantasy novels, without a doubt, allegory is omnipresent. Furthermore, this literary aspect can either hinder or liberalize reading. Reading is hindered by interpretation with a preconceived, objective notion. In clearly associating a distinct understanding while reading, ultimately the novel’s freedom to draw conclusions is robbed. Furthermore, and unfortunately I must add, Fantasy Literature is often

There are few worlds more richly imagined than that of Middle Earth. Both the depth of the setting, and the charming nature of the inhabitants, immediately sparks interest as one begins to peruse Tolkien’s work. Adding a flair of humor to an otherwise timeless adventure novel, The Hobbit is a classic that continually appeals to those with a love of fantasy work. From the beginning, to the end, we see remarkable character development that brings to mind the themes of heroism and humility.

The Lord of The Rings, a widely read trilogy of books adapted for the screen in a trilogy of popular movies, takes place in the Land of Middle Earth. Some fans of the series do not realize that Middle Earth was no abstract concept in the mind of its creator, J. R. R. Tolkien. On the contrary, he developed an intricate language, mythology, and history for his country. After his death, his son Christopher helped gather and publish some of these works for the enjoyment of people around the world. A detailed history of Middle Earth became available four years after the death of Tolkien, called The Silmarillion.

One Christian man who utilized and clearly enjoyed literature—both of fiction entertainment and non-fiction—as a means of spreading the Christian worldview is C. S. Lewis. Lewis, though the joys of the sub-genre of fantasy, managed to create an entertaining story while also upholding and spreading the Christian worldview. One of his most famous works, The Chronicles of Narnia, is a series filled with magic and the impossible, but the entire series is riddled with allusions to the Bible, allusions that fell into place because of his Christian faith. The creation of Narnia (The Magician’s Nephew, Chapter 9) matches the account found in Genesis; the lion present throughout the series, Aslan, is similar to God and Christ, and the symbol of the

Writer J. R. R. Tolkien was a devout Roman Catholic, whose faith shines through in many of his works. Numerous details in his stories appear to reflect Christian themes or serve as religious allegorical figures. Leaf by Niggle, The Music of the Ainur, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy all contain elements that could be construed as deeply Christian. Tolkien, however, despised the use of allegory and asserted that there was no intentional inner meaning of his stories (Purtill, 2006). Although Tolkien expresses his distaste of the use of allegory, a great number of his works contain elements that could be interpreted as having Christian meaning.

J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings has delighted readers since its publication owing to its author's skillful development of his fantastic realm and its inhabitants adventures therein. In fact, Tolkien is rightly regarded as the father of the modern fantasy genre, and it often seems all fantasy imitates his work in some way. However, as readers return to the work, it often becomes apparent that the work is more than a simple escapist journey into an imaginary world; the work represents the finest traditions in literature and rich grounding in Tolkien's study of language and mythology. Equally surprising, though, Tolkien himself admits that the

J.R.R. Tolkien had an extremely interesting life filled with real adventures and fictional adventures in his many books and poems. Tolkien had rough patches in his life, but this made him a more enriched person. His work is influenced by his many travels and the people he met during them. Tolkien’s many books and poems show his love of adventure and his wild imagination. The life, career, and poetry of J.R.R. Tolkien was remarkable for its time period and is still influential to this day.

"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