J.R.R. Tolkien was born in South Africa, although he considered himself a British man throughout his adulthood. He experienced World War I firsthand in the trenches. He was a professor of Old English and other archaic languages and had a strong love for such languages. Tolkien also felt a strong tie for his homeland, England, and desired to create mythology for England. Tolkien was able to write the first modern fantasy novel through his life experiences and his love for archaic languages and British lore.
Tolkien's mother, Mabel Suffield, left England in March of 1891 for South Africa to marry a man by the name of Arthur Tolkien. They had been engaged for years; however Mabel's father had denied Mabel her marriage due to her young age. Tolkien's father, Arthur Tolkien, had sailed to South Africa a few years earlier to try out his luck in the diamond discovery craze. Only a few short years later, Arthur and Mabel gave birth to a son, named none other than John Ronald Reuel. Tolkien lived in a village surrounded by wilderness in his first few years and faced several adventures. Three of his pinafores were chewed off by a monkey. He avoided several snakes. He stumbled upon a tarantula, and ran around until his nurse grabbed him and sucked out the poison. Perhaps this is why Tolkien includes poisonous spiders in his future tales (Carpenter 13). Mabel and Arthur gave birth to a second son, and within two years Arthur passed away from a severe case of rheumatic fever.
After Arthur's death, Mabel and Tolkien's younger brother Hilary returned to England to the West Midlands of England. Tolkien was exposed to the rural and industrial sides of England. The area was heavily polluted and could be the reason for Tolkien...
... middle of paper ...
...orld of JRR Tolkien. URL: http://www.indepthinfo.com/tolkien/biography.shtml (8 May 2005).
Rosebury, Ryan. " Tolkien, J. R. R. ". The Literary Encyclopedia and Literary Dictionary. Ed. Robert Clark, Emory Elliott and Janet Todd. URL: http://www.litencyc.com/
(8 Jan. 2001).
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring. New York: Ballantine Books, 1977.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit. New York: Ballantine Books, 1977.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Return of the King. New York: Ballantine Books, 1977.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Two Towers. New York: Ballantine Books, 1977.
This story begins with a small fellow by the name of Bilbo Baggins. This fantasy story was written in 1956 by J.R.R. Tolkien. It is about a hero’s journey through the dangers and wonders of Middle Earth. Although it was not meant to become such a well-known book, it is filled with much literature. Throughout the book, Tolkien uses literary devices such as repetition, similes, and metaphors to develop the theme of cunning and cleverness.
J.R.R Tolkien was born January 3rd, 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa to a British couple. Tolkien was also known as John Ronald Reul Tolkien. Both of John’s parents passed away when Tolkien and his siblings were young and they were put into foster care for about five years. Tolkien was an author, scholar, assistant on Oxford English Dictionary, and many other important occupations. Ronald won many awards for his works. He won the Children’s Spring Book Festival award for The Hobbit, the International Fantasy Award for The Lord of the Rings, and the Locus Award for The Silmarillion, which is given out for having the best fantasy novel. While in college, Tolkien published some of his studies and translations. Tolkien married Edith Mary Bratt and had four children (John, Michael, Christopher, and Priscilla).Tolkien’s family were Roman Catholics.He gained his
· Urang, Gunnar. "J. R. R. Tolkien: Fantasy and the Phenomenology of Hope" Religion and Fantasy in the Writing of C. S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and J. R. R. Tolkien. United Church Press, 1971
Kroeber, Karl. "Tolkien, J. R. R. (1892-1973)." British Writers: Supplement 2. Ed. George Stade. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1992. 519-536. Literature Resources from Gale. Web. 3 Mar. 2014.
Movies are an important part of modern entertainment and is a great way to pass on myths and stories from earlier times. Most movies follow a similar pattern in the plot process. There is a hero, trials, and the hero eventually saves the day and possibly a damsel in distress. This common plot line is mainly called the Hero’s Journey, and is used in myths, books, movies, and even T.V shows. The cycle is important if you are trying to create a plot for a movie about a hero or a group of heroes and how they saved the day. This cycle is even used in some of the most popular movies these days. Movies like Avengers, Batman, Star Wars, and even Harry Potter. The movie that I chose that fits the ancient formula of a hero’s journey is titled The Hobbit
According to The return of The Kings, “known as The Lord of the Rings, was so immediately successful that a new, larger printing was required, and soon another, still larger printing became necessary. The Hobbit, under wartime pressure of paper shortages, went out of print in 1942, and its subsequent popularity largely derives from the success of The Lord of the Rings” (Kroeber). According to The return of The Kings, The Lord of The rings was successful because people read it and liked it. JOHN RONALD REUEL TOLKIEN (always called Ronald by his family) was born on 3 January 1892, at Bloemfontein, South Africa, where his father Arthur had taken a position with the Bank of Africa (Firchow). The Tolkien family had been prosperous piano manufacturers, but the business had failed. Mabel Suffield, Arthur’s wife, was the daughter of a once successful drapery manufacturer in Birmingham, England, who had gone bankrupt and survived by selling disinfectant to shopkeepers around the city. According to the Background, Sauron always sought pleasure in whoever has interest in the ring and whoever had possession of the ring was called the ring Barer. Sauron is a giant eyeball sitting on top of a tower. From there, he watches every move anyone takes but he is mainly looking for the ring bearer. Once Sauron finally obtained possession of the ring, he then transformed into his omnipotent transformation meaning he makes all that is afraid of fear, fear him. He was then so powerful to the point that no man can defeat him only women. The first of Tolkien’s four children was born in November 1917. After the Armistice Tolkien joined the staff of the Oxford English Dictionary, and in 1920 he was appointed Reader in English Language at Leeds University, whe...
John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born on January 3, 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa. He studied at Oxford pursuing a degree in English language and literature. This later gave him the thought of creating his own imagined world known as Middle-Earth. He then later married Edith Bratt, had four children, and became a professor at Oxford. The Hobbit, first published in 1937, had some of Tolkien’s invented language and mythology. The plot and character’s of The Hobbit combined the ancient heroic Anglo-Saxon and Scandinavian epics, which he studied at Oxford. The Hobbit “is immersed in folk tradition” (Matthews). The character Bilbo Baggins was inspired by the rural Englishman of the 1930s. Tolkien was inspired by ancient European myths leading him to write Lord of the Rings, a prequel to The Hobbit. On September 2,1973, J.R.R. Tolkien died at the age of eighty-one.
The Dangerous Consequences of Possession in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit and “Farmer Giles of Ham”
The Hobbit, written by John R. R. Tolkien, is a fantasy novel published on September 21, 1937. It was written as a prelude to the famous series, The Lord of the Rings, written seventeen years later. The Hobbit introduces the reader to an incredibly immersive fantasy world, that enriches the reader into its epic storyline. The story takes place in a land called Middle-earth, a land filled with enchanting surprises and magical wonders. It was the perfect playground for Tolkien to develop his main character Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo Baggins was a small hobbit, who unaware in the beginning would become a large role in the plot. It is through this character that Tolkien implemented the theme of heroism into the story. Bilbo’s unexpected adventure with the dwarves and the wizard gave him the opportunity to develop into the ultimate hero of Tolkien’s tale. Bilbo’s epic journey to become the hero of the story begins when Gandalf, the wizard, tells Bilbo of an expedition that would soon change his life forever.
Therefore the focus of this talk will be the question that Tolkien himself emphasized as central to our perception of works of fantasy: what is "the effect produced now by these old things in the stories as they are" (32); in other words, how are the elves, orcs, the Dark Lord and the magic ring relevant to the here and now? However, I do not believe that the answer to this question should be sought in the circumstances of the author's own life.
The Hobbit in the movie ‘The Hobbit’ by J.R.R Tolkien, the protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, displaying a hero’s journey starting as a weak and cowardly person with no knowledge of the world outside his comfort zone. As a trilogy the movie only follows part of the hero’s journey to the ORDEAL.
Robert Louis Stevenson was born on November 13, 1850, in Edinburgh, Scotland. He developed a desire to write early in life, having no interest in the family business of lighthouse engineering. He was often abroad, usually for health reasons, and his journeys led to some of his early literary works. Publishing his first volume at the age of 28. After that Stevenson became a literary celebrity during his life when he worked on the Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde novels which were released to eager audiences.
The family only stayed there for two years, moving to Haworth, a small village on the moors of West Riding, Yorkshire, in northern England, shortly before Maria Bronte’s death. Emily would remain at Haworth for the rest of her life, excluding occasional attempts at formal education. When Emily’s mother died shortly after the move to Haworth, her sister, Elizabeth, moved in to help take care of the children and the ho... ... middle of paper ... ...
Tolkien, J.R.R.. “Now Read On…” Interview by Dennis Gerrolt. BBC Radio 4. BBC, 1971. Web. 11 Jan. 2014.
Roald Dahl was a famous British Writer. He was born in Llandeff, Wales on September 13th 1916. His parents, Harold and Sofie, came from Norway. He had four sisters, Astri, Affhild, Else and Astra, His father died when Roald was only four years old. Roald attended Repton, a private school in Derbyshire. He did not enjoy his school years, “I was appalled by the fact that masters and senior boys were allowed, literally, to wound other boys and sometimes quite severely. I couldn’t get over it. I never got over it…” These experiences inspired him to write stories in which children fight against cruel adults and authorities.