Tom Bombadil's Nature

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When reading any fictional writing by J.R.R. Tolkien, there is no doubt that he deeply admired and paid close attention to the environment. In light of this common observation, there is a conversation to be had as to what purpose this showcase has. While part of the reasoning may be that he simply can not help injecting such a potent influence in his life into his work, I would argue that there are more underlying reasons. In this essay, I will delve into the idea that, through his depictions of nature and his character’s interactions with this environment, Tolkien is personifying and memorializing his deep respect for nature and value of stewardship. With the support of various scholarly discussions along similar veins, as well as writing …show more content…

One of the most prominent examples of stewardship, and explanations of its meaning to Tolkien, is the character of Tom Bombadil. Although “"the trees and the grasses and all things growing or living in the land belong each to themselves[,] Tom Bombadil is the Master" (Fellowship 161)” Being “the master” here, however, does not imply that Bombadil manipulates the land to work for his own purposes. He instead leaves nature to be its own being, with its own morals and goals. Being “the Master” of the land means that he has been appointed to take care of it, to help it grow in conjunction with animals and humans, ensuring a symbiotic relationship. Former English professor Lucas Niiler points out physical and behavioral tendencies of the hobbits in Tolkien’s writing that show their stewardship in the Shire. The hobbit’s short stature and constant barefootedness physically link them to their environment, and their agricultural work requires faithful stewardship of …show more content…

The second function that fantasy serves, pertaining to perceptions of nature, is “escape.” This ties almost directly into the idea of recovering a new sense of amazement in nature, as Tolkien was (and is) well-known for his dislike of industrialization and its creations of highly mechanized and technologically advanced cities. For Tolkien, fantasy was an escape into a world where these developments could be — in his eyes appropriately — villainized. Throughout his most famous works, such as The Lord of the Rings (1954-55), the epitome of evil is consistently those who have no care for the environment, those who destroy the nature they are surrounded by, and those who will stop at nothing to reach their goals. In light of this opinion on his world, fantasy for Tolkien provided an escape, and he wrote it in such a way that he hoped his readers would feel disconnected from the real world enough to understand the values of it despite its downfalls. The third and final action that Tolkien wrote in his book was

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