philosophies. In literature, the process that characters go through in order to grow and change is referred to as the hero's cycle. This cycle is marked by three major events: departure, fulfillment, and return. In his novel The Hobbit, author JRR Tolkien uses a small hobbit named Bilbo Baggins in order to illustrate this series of events. Bilbo Baggins' actions at the beginning of the Hobbit mark "departure" in the hero's cycle. Bilbo is at first portrayed as a weak and insecure character. He is
The Character of Sméagol in Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings Although JRR Tolkien is notorious for his numerous, and often seemingly irrelevant, minor characters - the necessity of an index of names in The Return of the King proves this without a doubt - one of the most crucial and fascinating characters of The Lord of the Rings physically appears in barely more than one-sixth of the novel. The character Sméagol, often referred to by his alter ego Gollum, on a basic level serves only to
JRR Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers The Lord of the Rings is set in Middle-earth, a fictional world created by Tolkien. Mystical creatures such as Hobbits, Orcs, trolls, ents, elves, wangs, wizards, dragons, dwarves and men inhabit middle-earth. Middle-earth is a magical world in which imagination rules, but it exists very much like "real" society, with political and economic problems and power struggles. Each of the races that inhabit this world have their own territories and are
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. That there should be similarities between the presuppositions of of The Lord of the Rings and Tolkien's Catholic faith is to be expected given Tolkien's own views on Christianity and myth. Regarding the gospel story Tolkien wrote, "The gospels
and pets or their best friends, I wrote about becoming birds or about ducks building robots. Truly. I suppose I could blame it on my parents – my father for trying to teach me how to read when I was too young and my mother for reading The Hobbit by JRR Tolkein to me as my bedtime story – but I know, truthfully, that it wasn’t their fault. It is no one’s fault, for I do not see my strange imagination as a terrible, abnormal thing. I do know that no one in particular influenced my creativity when I
The Hobbit This hobbit was a hobbit, and his name was Baggins. Baggins had lived in the neighborhood of ”The Hill” some time, and people considered them very respectable, not only because most or them were rich, but also because they never had any adventures or did anything unexpected. You could tell what a Baggins would say on any question without the bother of asking him. This is a story of how a Baggins had an adventure, and found himself doing and saying things altogether unexpected. He may have
Tolkien's Lord of the Rings as a Catholic Epic 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. To begin with, it must be remembered that Catholic culture and Catholic faith, while mutually supportive and symbiotic, are not the same thing. Mr. Walker Percy
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. He was raised in Birmingham, England in a poor Roman Catholic family. Tolkien had fought in World War l (1916). After the war, he became a professor of English at Oxford (1925-1959). When his children were young, he would tell them tales about an imaginary place called “Middle-Earth”. Oxford urged him to write these tales down and he did. He published the first ones in 1954-1955 and made a very successful series. The Fellowship
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
loving care they seem almost real, it is easy to forget there is another world outside, the world in which John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, an Oxford don, lived and wrote his monumental series of fantasy novels. It is, after all, natural to want to escape humdrum reality. Literature that offers a simple pleasure of a different time, a different place has nothing to be ashamed of. Tolkien in the same essay describes "escape and consolation" as one of the chief functions of the fairy-tale by which term he understands
them all and in the Darkness bind them" (1 Lot R II, 2 The Council of Elrond) One of the masters of British Literature, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien has the unique ability to create a fantasy world in which exists a nearly endless supply of parallelisms to reality. By mastering his own world and his own language and becoming one with his fantasy, Tolkien is able to create wonderful symbolism and meaning out of what would otherwise be considered nonsense. Thus, when one decides to study The Ruling
A Medieval Contest In comparing and contrasting the Arthurian Legends and J.R.R. Tolkien’s book The Fellowship of the Ring, it is almost like a medieval contest between the two with many of the similarities coming from the customs of the Middle Ages. A look at the make up of the groups involved, the moral code, the protagonist, the antagonist, the use of supernatural elements and the knightly quest involved in each book shows how alike they are but yet different. The Arthurian Legends revolve
Introduction 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
Analyzing Characters in Tolkien's The Hobbit The Hobbit (1937) by J.R.R. Tolkien is an exciting novel, an adventure that takes on a whole new meaning. At the start of the novel, Bilbo Baggins, an ordinary hobbit, is doing what the ordinary hobbit does, just staying at home. Hobbits are very comfortable with life and look for no excitement or change whatsoever. When Gandalf shows up on the doorstep of Bilbo Baggins' cave (home), it was a major shock to him. Slowly dwarves show up at his doorstep
Magic and the Supernatural in The Hobbit The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, is full of magic and things having to do with magic. There are all sorts of supernatural creatures in this novel, including dwarves, trolls, goblins, elves, wizards, and the main character is a “hobbit”. Overall, magic and the supernatural plays a very big part in The Hobbit. One major magic entity in the book is Gandalf. He shows his magic power a few times. One of those times was when the little party was in the Misty
The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien For this report I have chosen to write on The Fellowship of the Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien. This book is a classic that every individual should read. This book is also part of a trilogy, and the story becomes more exciting as you read the other two books in the series. For this character analysis report I will focus on the character Frodo Baggins of the Shire. Frodo Baggins is a Hobbit, a dwarf-like creature. He comes from the Shire, an area inhabited
J. R. R. Tolkien is a very accomplished writer who has had many published works. Tolkien uses his life experiences in a creative way to portray meaning into his text. Evidence of this is clearly presented through his most notable work, The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. He used these books as a medium, to express events and experiences that he lived through first hand. All of his books are a timeless way for him to express himself and his ideas to generations to come. J.R.R. Tolkien was born in 1892
In JRR Tolkien’s novel The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, the protagonist, undergoes the five stages of the hero’s journey: departure, initiation, the road of trials, the innermost cave, and return and reintegration into society. When the adventure is all done, Bilbo takes away an important lesson about who he is from his travels. Thus The Hobbit, the novel by JRR Tolkien is an example of a heroic quest for identity, because the protagonist, Bilbo goes through each aspect of the hero’s journey and learns
A Battle of the Heart In the book The Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R. Tolkien Frodo Baggins was raised by Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit that disappeared without a trace and came back with wild stories and a ring, which he kept a secret from almost everyone, and the Ring helped him disappear during his 111th birthday. As his heir Frodo inherited not only the Bag End but the ring, too. The responsibility Frodo inherited with the ring, lead the young hobbit to a journey in which he
following has grown. People from different cultures, different languages, and different political ideologies gravitate together forming a cohesive group that helps to spread the word about the work of Robert Jordan. In much the same manner that J.R.R. Tolkien created a myth for the modern ages with his saga "The Lord of the Rings" and George Lucas has done with his "Star Wars" series of movies, so has Robert Jordan entered into the realm of mythology with his work "The Wheel of Time". And this myth, like