The early twentieth century saw an upheaval of normal life in Europe because of the Great War and the changing political and social systems. In the midst of this time, JRR Tolkien found himself transformed from a young student at Oxford to a soldier in the British army as war broke out across the continent. This war affected his life deeply, whether indirectly while he was at Oxford or through his time in the trenches in direct combat. As a dedicated academic, however, Tolkien never abandoned his passion for languages and mythology but used his experiences to bolster his own writings and creative pursuits.
One of the largest influences on Tolkien’s life was through his experiences at Oxford. There, he met his closest friends who would stay with him throughout his life, classes that encouraged his interest in languages and mythology, and professors who challenged the way he viewed the world. Despite his interested in his studies, however, Tolkien tended to put more effort into his own projects: developing his own languages, divining the changes these imagined languages would have over centuries, and medieval literature . Shortly after joining Oxford, Tolkien found a group of colleagues who shared his same interests. They met often to discuss their research and writings, allowing Tolkien a creative outlet to pursue his own work.
Tolkien’s group of fellow students at Oxford University led to two results. Firstly, in addition to ignoring what they deemed as modern literature, they also were able to avoid current events. Hidden in Oxford, the students could engross themselves in the medieval poetry they admired without venturing out beyond the academic world. This privileged position meant that they had no need to ...
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... pressing questions of his generation and address basic problems he found in the world. Throughout his life, Tolkien remained an ever devoted academic, passionate about languages and creating his intricate mythology and world of Middle Earth, despite obstacles in his life.
Works Cited
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Rosebury, Brian. Tolkien: a Cultural Phenomenon. Houndmills: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003.
Tolkien, JRR. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. New York: Ballantine Books, 1954.
· 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
English has always provided an influential and sanctuous undertone within my literate life, assuming a variety of forms that stem from beyond the requirements of academia. Countless time has been blissfully occupied writing and experimenting with my own pieces of work, from short novels to poetry and dramatic texts, and countless time has been happily spent immersing myself in eclectic pieces from the broad spectrum of literature.
Tolkien, J. R. R., and Douglas A. Anderson. The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
In the novel, The Hobbit, we find many themes and underlying messages from which useful knowledge and principles can be acquired. As the modern canadian fantasy writer once said, “Fantasy has the capacity to be as important and as thought-provoking as any other form of literature we have.” Tolkien’s work provides readers with challenging and time honoured themes such as: use your unique positive traits for the greater good of the group, power should never be abused and it is important to find your true self in life.
J.R.R. Tolkien can be considered the founding father of the genre fantasy. Most of Tolkien’s texts revolve around the same themes. An author will often write about important messages that pertain to society as a whole. His texts often have hidden messages that relate to his themes. In the fantasy novel The Hobbit and novella “Farmer Giles of Ham”, J.R.R. Tolkien demonstrates that possession ears to overconfidence, greed and selfishness.
Ballantine Books, 1965. Print. The. Tolkien, J. R. R. The Two Towers. First Ballantine Books Ed.
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again. New York: Ballantine, 1982. Print
Tolkien, J.R.R. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1954. Print.
In September of 2008, Professor Michael Mack gave a speech to college freshmen at the Catholic university of America about his opinions on the importance of reading Shakespeare. Mack forges an effective argument that though reading Shakespeare is troublesome, it is well worth the effort through his use of counterclaims and rhetorical devices.
World War one and two. Both these wars stole many young men’s lives from them. Stole sons from their mothers. Stole brothers from their sister but also stole many innocent lives in the process. An estimated 60 million lives lost and for what? For land, for power, wealth. War is brutal, gruesome, costly and pointless. What good could possibly come from a war? The truth is without these wars, the world of literature wouldn’t be the same. These wars bought rise to names such as Rupert Brooke, Wilfred Owen, and Edward Thomas. Among all that death, destruction, and calamity; somehow great poets were born.
Tolkien's famous book, "The Lord of the Rings", has been repudiated as one of the best fantasies ever written. Tolkien creates a very deep intimacy between the book and the reader, he captures the reader's attention and lures him into the story. One of the ways how this cathartic relationship is created is through the use of reality of the situation in the story. Tolkien has conjured up a fantasy language, to show the actuality this novel may present. Some quotations of this language are:
The time period after the war lead to a new world of literature. Preceding World War I, people viewed war as courageous and patriotic. The realities of World War I led the formally traditional
J.R.R Tolkien’s work of fiction The Lord of the Rings, have with the advent of Peter Jackson’s film adaptation brought the series to newfound heights of fame. As with many works of it’s kind, The Lord of the Rings depicts a battle between good and evil, with the main characters in the books striving to thwart evil’s plan. In many other works, the author’s personal belief system or worldview drives the narrative, with the message being paramount and the characters the vehicles of conveyance for the point of the story. C.S Lewis, a friend and contemporary of Tolkien’s, is a prime example of this. Lewis’ popular series The Chronicles of Narnia is an allegorical work, teaching Christian principles through the use of fiction. While raised as a Catholic himself, Tolkien does not explicitly promote his religious background, nor does he engage in allegory. However, Tolkien’s views of morality can be found throughout the work, specifically in the way in which evil is portrayed, the use of power and moral freedom of choice. Randel Helms writes in his book, Tolkien’s World, “Tolkien’s particular myth parallels his Christianity, … positioning a malevolent and corrupting outside influence, spiritual and probably eternal, against which man is doomed to fight, but which he has no hope of conquering” (67).
This adventure becomes a magnificent tale where a fellowship is bonded through a great tale of friendship. The fellowship consists of elves, dwarfs, men and a great wizard Gandalf the grey. The tale of the fellowship becomes a benchmark for fantasy novels to come. Tolkien being the distinguished linguist he is, managed to display his deep appreciation of nature through his imagination of Middle Earth. His ideas of myth and its importance becomes a ground breaking novel, one of which will...
World wars made a magnificent impact on society. This impact developed a new approach of art, literature, philosophy and religion. For literature, it created a new genre of it about the war. Therefore, the wars had a big affect on the genre and style of novels that became published. Most of what was published then was about the war and it's affects. Authors were disappointed by the experience of war and, although they did not write directly about the war, their writing reflects an anti-authoritarianism that derives from their experiences. Literature has changed to be as we know it today, from the beginning of World War I to the end or World War II.