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Christopher Tolkien, and Priscilla Tolkien (Sale 27). But, the war was not full of pleasurable incidents. He acquired a dreadful case of “trench fever” and was hospitalized. After the war, he moved back to Oxford and became a professor. While working at Oxford he translated works such as Beowulf. While still a student he began working on The Silmarillion, a book that he would not finish before his death. His works include: The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, and The Lord of the Rings (Kurska 66).
Tolkien was a very unique writer. Many well respected critics praise and have praised Tolkien’s work. One says he is “not a philosopher or a theologian but a literary artist who thinks” (Kocher 11).
J.R.R. Tolkein made a lasting impression in the literary field of fantasy genre. Tolkein will live on through his superb writings and the recent movie trilogy founded on his life’s work. “What really makes Tolkien’s province a world of it’s own is the large population of sundry creatures, for Tolkien has put the monsters and the critters at the center of his story” (Gasque 4). All of his fans seem to connect with the fantasy world put around them because it seems realistic. “As a philologist and medieval scholar, Tolkien is stepped in traditional northern mythology” (Gasque 4). “After [we] have accepted the existence not only of hobbits but even Gandalf the wizard and of Dwarfs, Tolkien drops [us] in on another tavern conversation, at The Green Dragon” (Gasque 5).
All of Tolkien’s works are filled with riddles, songs, and lays that compliment the characters and setting of Middle Earth (Sale 34). Throughout
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Tolkien’s career he composed three books that compliment each other well. The first, The Hobbit tells of a shy and peaceful Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins, who has many great adventures with dwarfs, trolls, and dragons. Later, he stumbles upon the great ring of power. Second, The Lord of the Rings tells of the battle for Middle Earth and the struggle for the ring of power. Tolkien’s last book was The Silmarillion. He died writing this book that explains the full story of Middle Earth including what the creatures are and how they came to be. Tolkien creates his own world that the reader surrounds himself or herself in; he was truly a gifted writer in this aspect. Very few writers have the creativity to create a fantasy world and then write a 900 page novel based there.
Tolkien’s first book, The Hobbit, is commonly thrown in the category of children’s fiction tales. In this book Gandalf the wizard basically drags the main character, Bilbo Baggins, through many adventures. He has many adventures that include Trolls and such. This book can also be looked at from the aspect as an introduction to The Lord of the Rings. This book prelude’s The Lord of the
Rings well with Bilbo’s discovery of the ring of power (Kocher 11). Tolkien had trouble publishing this book at first, but obviously it later became a great success.
Tolkien’s next and most famous book, The Lord of the Rings, begins with the discovery of the great ring of power. It begins with the passing of the ring from Bilbo to Frodo Baggins. This book is undeniably Tolkien’s best work. His other books can be seen as support and basis for this novel. For this book he
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received thousands of flattering letters, The Order of the British Empire (one level below knighthood), and recently a multi million-dollar movie trilogy based on his writings. Many critics believe the character Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings is symbolic of Tolkien and his war experience. Both seem to have been aimlessly caught up in a bad situation, which came to them without any warning. Frodo’s adventures follow Tolkien’s life pretty closely. Similar instances include wounds and camaraderie (Sale 27). This work is the classic example of a fairly unimportant and rarely recognized member of society who shapes the lives and fortunes of every character on Middle Earth. The Lord of the Rings was originally one book. When Tolkien was trying to get this book published, his publisher Raynor Unwin decided to split the book into three parts: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King (Belz 27). Tolkien really didn’t like this idea but went along with it. The first of the three, The Fellowship of the Ring, tell of the ring coming to Frodo Baggins and the fellowship of men, dwarfs, elves, and wizards who will share the task of destroying the great ring. The second, The Two Towers, tells of the hardships of the journey and the classic heroic battles between good and evil. The final book in the series, The Return of the King, consists of the destroying of the great ring and the defeat of the evil forces of Middle Earth. This book in particular is filled with many dramatic ironies that are foreshadowed in the previous books. The Lord of the Rings is by far Tolkien’s most popular work. It is commonly agreed that if Tolkien had lived longer he would have been knighted. Due to Tolkien’s dislike of
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publicity, it was said that it was harder to get an interview with him that the British Prime Minister (Belz 27).
His last and least well-known work is The Silmarillion. This book basically tells the stories and history of Middle Earth. This book explains well how each race came about and depicts the setting for his other books. These books also contribute to the ironies of the previous books, and how more powerful forces control the characters. Although Tolkien does not call them gods, the controlling forces basically fit the name’s requirements. This book is an essential to any of Tolkien’s serious readers. Even though Tolkien started this book as a young lad, he died before completing it. The book was finished and promoted by his son Christopher and has sold over a million copies.
In conclusion, Tolkien’s works raised the bar for the modern fantasy field. His books will be hard for any upcoming writer in this field to match.
