Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
The lord of the rings analysis essay
The hobbit character analysis
The lord of the rings analysis essay
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: The lord of the rings analysis essay
“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.
The themes that are evident in works such as The Lord of the Rings are clearly not racist. The triumph of “the little man” is one of the major themes of The Lord of the Rings. “Nothing could be more contrary to the assumptions of racism than a hobbit as a hero.” (Anderson 872). At the beginning of Tolkien's epic, the hobbits are looked down upon by the other races of Middle-Earth. They are overlooked constantly, in fact Treebeard and the ents do not recognize them at all, stating “If I had seen you before I heard you, I should have just trodden on you, taking you for little orcs.” (The Two Towers 67). However the hobbits soon prove to worthy of admiration, both Merry and Pippin fight as well as any man, and Frodo and Sam destroy the Ring. Treebeard himself takes back his remarks made when he first met the hobbits, asking them to have a final drink with him before they go their separate ways. (The Return of the King 260). The Ring is a corrupting influence, but it also gives whoever wears it great power. It is not hard to see, then, where the theme that power can corrupt comes from. The theme itself does not contradi...
... middle of paper ...
...rch, 1998.
Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Mich.: Gale, 2010. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRC
Anderson, Rearick III. “Why is the Only Good Orc a Dead Orc? The Dark Face of Racism Examined in Tolkien's World.” Modern Fiction Studies. 50.4 (2004): 861-874. Platinum Periodicals, ProQuest. Web.
Ibata, David. “The Lord of Racism.” Chicago Tribune 12 Jan 2003.
Kim, Sue. “BEYOND BLACK AND WHITE: RACE AND POSTMODERNISM IN THE LORD OF THE RINGS FILMS.” Modern Fiction Studies 50.4 (2004): 875-907. Platinum Periodicals, ProQuest. Web.
Tolkien, J.R.R.. The Fellowship of the Ring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1954
Tolkien, J.R.R.. The Hobbit. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1966
Tolkien, J.R.R.. The Return of the King. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1955
Tolkien, J.R.R.. The Two Towers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1954
It will be the contention of this paper that much of Tolkien's unique vision was directly shaped by recurring images in the Catholic culture which shaped JRRT, and which are not shared by non-Catholics generally. The expression of these images in Lord of the Rings will then concern us.
Learning Module Seven - “Human Action” Myth in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
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
Carpenter, Humphery, Christopher Tolkien and J.R.R. Tolkien. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000. Print.
Tolkien, J. R. R., and Douglas A. Anderson. The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
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.
The. Stimpson, Catherine R. J. R. R. Tolkien. Columbia Essays on Modern Authors #41. New York: Columbia University Press, 1969. Urang, Gunnar.
Print. The. Tolkien, J. R. R. The Fellowship of the Ring. First Ballantine Books Ed.
Tolkien, J.R.R. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1954. Print.
Oscar, officially, is a Dominican-American male but is seen as neither a Dominican nor an American by his family and friends. He is not accepted by his Dominican community because he fails to pass the standard for a Dominican man – a hypersexual masculine being – as he is an overweight virgin boy who indulges in an abnormal interest. He is also not accepted by the white American community because of his features. As a result, Oscar is transformed into an “other” and persecuted by the society around him, resembling the characters of his fascination. His interest in the “Genres” (21) – comprised of superhero comics and fantasy works such as JRR Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” – becomes both the cause and the remedy for his persecution.
Racism is based on the belief that one’s culture is superior to that of others, and this racial superiority provides justification for discrimination. Racism begins with categorising by race, and therefore stereotyping particular cultures. A simple definition of prejudice given by St Thomas Aquinas states prejudice as “thinking ill of others without sufficient cause” (1. pg 21). Racism is a major issue in today’s society, affecting a large number of the world’s population and causing political and social turmoil. To evaluate the true meaning, effects and views concerning racism in today’s world, a number of literature sources were researched including novel, films, short stories, poetry, song lyrics, textbooks and magazine articles.
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:
Tolkien, J. R. R., and Christopher Tolkien. The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrún. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2009. Print.
In recent years, the debate over the merits versus the racial shortcomings of Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness has raged hot. Many, notably David Denby and Chinua Achebe, have come down on one side or another of the issue. I contend, with the help of the written opinions of Denby and Achebe, that Heart of Darkness, while racist in its views, is nonetheless a valuable and commendable work of art.
he Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring is a fantasy novel set in an entirely different time period and in an extraordinarily different world. This story is part of a trilogy that transitions seamlessly into the ending of the prequel book, “The Hobbit.” At the end of “The Hobbit,” Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit, a hobbit is a half-sized human, comes home from an adventure and during his journey, he manages to obtain a magical ring. This ring is magical because when you happen to wear it, you turn invisible. It also had the power to prolong the life of the wearer. The start of the Fellowship begins with Bilbo's 111th birthday and Bilbo is getting ready to leave the Shire. The Shire is the region of Middle-Earth where the hobbits reside. Middle-Earth is the continent in which this story takes place. So Bilbo is looking to leave the Shire and wants to leave his possessions with his cousin, Frodo Baggins, who is much younger then he is. Amongst these possessions is the magical ring. Bilbo has second thoughts about giving Frodo the ring but is talked into doing so by his good friend Gandalf the Grey. Gandalf the Grey is one of a few powerful wizards that inhabit Middle-Earth.