The Christian references in the story are too numerous to list in the limited space of this forum, but it is easy to point out how Jesus (Gandalf), papal authority (Galadriel), Judas (Boramir) and sin (the ring) are portrayed in the series. Tolkien and the people he worked and lived with were experiencing the very same threat themselves.
#Jrr tolkien the two towers series#
The series was written during WW II, so it is easy to understand why the fears of the Free Peoples come so alive. Marx, Steinbeck, HG Wells and other great authors all wrote about certain aspects of this time, but only Tolkien covered the entire 150+ year period. When Aragorn is crowned King, Tolkien was prophesizing the ultimate victory over oppression that happened in the 1980s with the fall of communism. At this time, the industrialists (Sauroman) and dictators (Sauron) enslaved the people (Orcs) and threatened to destroy human rights (the Free Peoples Gondor and Rohan). The nobility fell from power (Elves leaving Middle Earth), the influence of the guilds was minimized (Dwarves hiding in their caves) and the Church came under siege (Galadriel refusing to leave Lothlorien). The Industrial Revolution destroyed a 1000 year culture. His original world can be found in "The Simerillian" and other works published after his death by his son Christopher. It is for this reason that The Hobbit, even after being substantially re-written, does not fit as smoothly with LOR as one would expect for a "prequel". In the end, he compromised and adjusted his own ideas to accept the hobbits as major characters. The Hobbit, however, was too popular and he was forced to write "another halfling story". He had been working on the histories and stories of Middle Earth for decades and wanted to use them as the background for what would be the final, and greatest, story of that mythos. The series was not originally what Tolkien wanted to write. Finally, it is a story of Christianity in general and Catholicism in particular.
It is an allegorical history of the fall of the feudal society, the rise of industry and the struggle for human rights. It is a series filled with a rich history of unpublished works he had been working on. LOR is first of all a Fantasy Adventure story, filled with mighty heroes, strange monsters, fantastic cultures and powerful magic. There are many different layers to the story and something in their depth is bound to appeal to anybody. Finally, although brutal beasts have existed for centuries in fantasy and legend, he was the first to call the most powerful ones Orcs.īut The Lord of the Rings (LOR) would not have had the influence it does if all he did was invent monsters or fantastic words. He created the Ents, commonly called Treefolk in Dungeons and Dragons and Magic: The Gathering. The concept of creating a real language for other races (popularly used in Star Trek) was started when he wrote the language of the elves. It should be noted that Tolkien, unlike Bill, has no cloud of controversy as to whether he wrote his works or not. The influence of JRR Tolkien to the works of English Literature can only be rivaled by William Shakespeare.
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