Stories often take inspiration from multiple styles of writings, including classical texts from modern literature. This is especially important when creating a fictional culture or race to create a sense of believability and help the readers visualize how the setting and characters will appear in their minds. Stories may sometimes place an influence on how other character are represented in the author's writing. One excellent example that takes use of ancient stories to create differentiating cultures is The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. His novel shows a large number of examples of inspiration taken from mythological tales and legends. He incorporates his interest such Celtic and Nordic mythology through characters who reflect figures such as Odin, the god and ruler of Asgard. The god is known for being associated with war, battle, victory, death, wisdom, magic, poetry, prophecy and the hunt. While Tolkien may have other sources of influence from other writings, his use of Norse and Celtic mythology can be seen in a number of ways; characters that heavily parallel with the god Odin as well as his ravens given a part of influence the story.
During the war of the ring Saruman used crebains, large black birds relatively a counterpart of real life crows and ravens, as spies. A flock of Crebain from Dunland first appeared when the Fellowship were traveling in Hollin and hid from them to avoid detection. Since they are seen working for Saruman, black birds are initially though as a group of creatures associated with evil and have some level of intelligence. Similarly with Odin, the Norse god has two ravens–one named Huginn and the other Muginn to serve as messengers and bring him information. One example of raven...
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The Lord of the Rings the Motion Picture Trilogy. Dir. Peter Jackson. Perf. Elijah Wood, Ian McKellan, Viggo Mortensen, Liv Tyler, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett, John Rhys-Davies, Billy Boyd, Dominic Monaghan, Orlando Bloom, Christopher Lee, Hugo Weaving. New Line Cinema, 2004. DVD.
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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.
Imagine yourself in a pre-industrial world full of mystery and magic. Imagine a world full of monsters, demons, and danger, as well as a world full of friends, fairies, good wizards, and adventure. In doing so you have just taken your first step onto a vast world created by author and scholar John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Tolkien became fascinated by language at an early age during his schooling, in particularly, the languages of Northern Europe, both ancient and modern. This affinity for language did not only lead to his profession, but also his private hobby, the invention of languages. His broad knowledge eventually led to the development of his opinions about Myth and the importance of stories. All these various perspectives: language, the heroic tradition, and Myth, as well as deeply-held beliefs in Catholic Christianity work together in all of his works. The main elements of Tolkien’s works are Good versus Evil, characters of Christian and anti-Christian origin, and the power of imagination.
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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Throughout his works, Tolkien includes, in varying degrees, every major component of our Primary World: landforms, minerals, weather and climate, natural vegetation, agriculture, political units, population distribution, races, languages, transportation routes, and even house types. “He did more than merely describe these individual comp...
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The Hobbit shows J.R.R. Tolkien’s belief in the ancient heroic tales of the Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian epics. He asserts that a being goes through many adventures with the help of friends who believe that anything can happen. Tolkien reveals how bravery and courage make ordinary individuals succeed at ordinary tasks.
...s character, makes him one of the most interesting god in Norse mythology because he is comical, entertaining, and relatable, in a sense that he is neither all good nor all bad.
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The Vikings have garnered attention over the years not only for their raiding and trading, but also for the Paganist gods and religion. Similar to many other ancient civilizations, the Vikings leave behind many myths containing tales of their gods and their beliefs. Marvel’s 2011 film Thor serves as an introduction to Norse gods and mythology, but it does fall flat in term of accuracy and detail in certain areas. Despite various large and small-scale changes to its overall plot and characters, Thor has been well-adapted to portray Norse myths as best as possible within an existing Marvel franchise.
In the The Lord of the Rings, by J. Tolken, there are many things that make the story symbolic of a Christian influence. The constant emphasis of good vs. evil brings forth reason to suspect that this novel has a Christian basis. In this paper I will prove and backup my personal opinion through sighting specific examples of the influences from the book.
The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Dir. Peter Jackson. By Fran Walsh, Philippa Boyens, Guillermo Del Toro, and J.R.R Tolkien. Perf. Martin Freeman, Ian McKellan, and Richard Armitage. 2012. DVD.
...sions of the mythology, it is easy to tell what the cultures held in high regard. The Greeks were a civil people; their chief deity was a god of law, justice, and morals. The Norse, on the other hand, were a people of war. Their chief god was a god of war and death, and the only way to Valhalla was to die honorably in battle. Examining these mythologies is an excellent way to show the similarities and differences of the two cultures.