While reading any of J. R. R. Tolkien’s major works, be it The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, or The Lord of the Rings, one cannot help but notice the amount of attention that is given to nature. There are numerous details given to describe each location, each character, even each tree. Tolkien did not claim to be an environmentalist, but by spending so much time in his books explaining the importance of nature, it is hard to say that he did not care about it. About the fantasy world that Tolkien recreated, Sherry Turkle argues, “The question is whether that prepares us to live in a world that's complex, where we need to be able to work in a structure where there are no rules and where we have to be really attentive to other people's cultures and other people's ways of seeing things” (qtd. in Grossman 4). Lev Grossman counters this point when he says, “If The Lord of the Rings is a fantasy, it's ultimately a fantasy about growing up and putting childish things aside” (5). Grossman believes that LOTR is a fantasy, but unlike Turkle, he thinks that the reader benefits with a lesson about growing up and sacrifice.
Tolkien placed a great value on the relationship between the characters and nature: from the elves protecting the forest to the hobbits cultivating the ground and living off the earth. He emphasized stewardship and the importance of working with nature, rather than against it. Lucas P. Niiler agrees with this point when he says, “In particular, Tolkien’s work demonstrates one form such an ethic can take: land stewardship, as is modeled by Bombadil and later practiced by the hobbits” (284). Stewardship is evident in how each of the characters relate to their home in LOTR. For example, the Hobbits live in the Shire, a small, q...
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...ronment, and he wanted to save it by destroying the Ring. Through these examples, and ones that I have given previously, we can see that Tolkien truly cared for the environment.
Works Cited
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Humans exist between two distinct beliefs, one being that of individualism where the person is only focused on benefiting their self and their tribe, and the other being altruistic where the priority is put on the betterment of the group at the downfall of the individual. In nature, animals only exist in the belief of self betterment but humans have the moral dilemma between self preservation and group preservation. Through new perspectives, this inner conflict can be transformed to become more altruistic or group minded. Whether that be through the journey of saving Middle Earth or the simple journey through high school. This theme is explored in J.R.R Tolkien's novel, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. This novel takes the reader through
The paper will begin with a look at the life of Tolkien. This will serve the purpose of providing some context for the novel. Looking into the life of Tolkien will also serve to give the reader some insight into the mind that gave birth to such a rich land and why the novel may have some importance for sufferers of mental illness. Next will likely be a short summation of the
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· Urang, Gunnar. "J. R. R. Tolkien: Fantasy and the Phenomenology of Hope" Religion and Fantasy in the Writing of C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and J. R. R. Tolkien. United Church Press, 1971
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien, has been called by some one of the greatest books of all time and has recently earned the claim of "greatest book of the 20th century" in a poll by Britain's Channel 4 (O'hehir). Yet at the same time scholars have often dismissed The Lord of the Rings as a fanciful children's story. While the validity of either claim can be equally well disputed, the The Lord of the Rings and related works by Tolkien nevertheless embody a very clear and consistent set of ethical themes. These themes define good and evil in terms of nature and provide a framework on which the ethical decisions of individual characters in Tolkien's stories are based.
One of the ways Tolkien’s worldview is scene in his writing is in the total freedom of choice each character enjoys. Contrary to the Victorian era’s obsession with depicting good and evil two dimensionally, Tolkien imbues his characters with three-dimensional properties, allowing for all of his characters to choose. At a council meeting Elrond states “Nothing is evil in the beginning” (The Fellowship of the Ring 351). This belief is fund...
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again. New York: Ballantine, 1982. Print
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring. First Ballantine Books Ed. Ballantine Books, 1965. Print.
Tolkien, J.R.R. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1954. Print.
Tolkien, J.R.R.. “Now Read On…” Interview by Dennis Gerrolt. BBC Radio 4. BBC, 1971. Web. 11 Jan. 2014.
Murray, Roxane Farrell. "The Lord of the Rings as Myth." Unpublished thesis. The University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 1974.