J.R.R.Tolkien

Table of contents

- Prologue

- Biography

- The Hobbit

- The Lord of the Rings

- Book 1
- Book 2
- Book 3

- The Silmarillion

- Tolkiens World

Prologue

J.R.R.Tolkien is one of the most read fantasy authors in the world. His unconventional style is responsible for his great success and his books are even bought in millions today. What sets him apart from other authors is, that he created a universe of its own in which his fantasy stories play. This is the reason why a kind of kult emerged out of Tolkien´s works. Thousands of fans all over the world celebrate tolkien´s stories and poems and many painters are inspired by his imaginations and creations.

Very interesting is, that he wrote his two most well known books „The Hobbit“ and „The Lord of the Rings“ only to read them out to his children at first. Later he published them because they were liked very much by many of his friends. In this following pages I don´t only want to tell something about Tolkien´s live and write some book-reports, but also turn attention to his ethnic world-creation called Middle-earth.

The fantasy genre is normally not the place to find demanding literature, but Tolkien told me another lesson. His language is high leveled and even the german translation is not easy to read. He often uses a kind of aristokratic, old fashioned english which lets the reader feel the pride of the figures in his stories. The chatacters, especially the elves, have a kind of code of honour what gives them something glorious.

His tremendous imaginativeness not only arised continents, seas, lands, rivers, lakes, mountains and woods, he also invented different races, animals, religions and even languages! One of these languages, which is known as Quenia, has in fact its own letters, which are called „The Anghertas“. This almost incredible variety is the legacy of only one man: Tolkien.

A closer look to „The Silmarillion“, in which the creation of Arda, the world Middle-earth is a part from, is discribed, gives a better imagination of the pride and the glory of the inhabitants of Middle-earth.

Of course I know all this is fiction, but its truly not to compare with the common trash found in this genre. In England for example there are two different groups which put themselves in the position to continue Tolkien´s fantasies and dreams: The „Tolkien Society“ and the „Tolkien´s Ring“. In these groups fans meet to discuss matters, related to Tolkien´s works and artists try to express Tolkien´s thoughts and imaginations in poems and paintings.

So here is some information about the person who created his own universe from the beginning of the act of creation on.

Biography:

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born 1892 in the small town Bloemfontein, which was in the Oranje-Free-State in Africa. He was the first of two children of Arthur and Mabel Tolkien. Arthur moved to Africa because he got a job in the Bank of Africa, which was searching for qualified bankers in England. A few months after J.R.R.Tolkien, his mother and his brother moved back to England in the village Sarehole near Birmingham as a result of John´s bad health his Father died of an Peritonitis (Bauchfellentzündung).

Later, Sarehole became Tolkiens beloved „Shire“, the home of the „Hobbits“. His mother, a former governess and missionary, teached him to read and write and later even Ancient Greek and Latin.

The second stroke of fate in his youth was the death of his mother in 1904 when Tolkien was 12 jears old. After her death Father Morgan, a friend of the family Tolkien took care of the two children, what ensured a continuing good education and their catholic believe in future.

After a few jears, Father Morgan sent them to a kind of pension in Birmingham, where he began to learn walesish and old Anglo-Saxon and his interest for the Middle-Ages raised in him the first time. Before he attended the Exeter-Collage in 1911 he met his first and only love Edith Mary Bratt, who was in the same pension with him, but their relationship was not tolerated and he had to leave her. In addition to that he visited swizerland with Father Morgan as a reward for his good school qualifications.

1911 he attended collage as an Exhibitioner, whitch is the name for someone who comes from a normal school to collage after makeing several entrance- exams. 1913 he made his final exams in „Moderns“ which includes Anglo- Saxon in contrast to Latin and Ancient-Greek. 1915, one year after the the beginning of World War One, he made his final exams in English and Literature- Honours-Grade.

On the 7th of July, 1915, Tolkien joined the British army as a sub-leutnant, and was trained to a communication-officer because of his English-knowledge. In his last holidays before he was sent to the front, he married Edith Bratt on March 22nd , 1916. In France, where he and his battailon was sent, he got a kind of shell-shock and was brought back to England in the same year and had to stay in hospital for a long time. There he began to write the story of three stones of power, the „Silmarillion“. It dealt with the end of a paradise and innocence. 1917 his first son John was born.

The war definitly was one of the most important experiences in Tolkiens live. The cruelty and the hopelessness returns in passages of „The Hobbit“ and „The Lord of the Rings“.

1918 he returned to Oxford with his wife to continue his interrupted academic career. He became a professor and made himself a name as a good language and literature teacher.

In the following 12 years he gave lectures at the University of Leeds and the Pembroke Collage. In this period, his second son Michael, his third son Christopher, who published several of Tolkiens works after his death, and his fourth child Priscilla were born, and he met his best friend, Clive Staples Lewis, and a life-long friendship raised. In the beginning of the 30´s Tolkien started to work on the story about „The Hobbit“ which is not a book for children at all (against the main opinion).

1936 „The Hobbit“ was complete and he got mainly a good press. Despite the good press the book was hardly sold at first, but later they were sold in millions all over the world.

In the time from 1937 till 1945 Tolkien wrote two rather unimportant books „Leaf by Niggle“ and „On Fairy Stories“. At the same time he began to write his most successful book „The Lord Of The Rings“ .

1945 he became Merton Professor of English language and literature at Oxford, a position he held untill his retirement in 1959.

1954 „The Fellowship Of The Ring“ and „The Two Towers“, the first two portions of the Trilogy „The Lord Of The Rings“ were published and 1955 „The Return Of The King“, the last portion was published. Now the full expance and complexity of his imaginative land „Middle-earth“ came clear.

1957 Tolkien was to travel to the United States to accept honourary degrees from Marquette, Harvard, and several other universities and to deliver a series of addresses. The trip was cancelled due to the illness of his wife Edith. Tolkien never made the trip before his death.

After his retirement he worked as a collaborator in the translation of the Jerusalem Bible from the French and started to work on his book „The Adventures Of Tom Bombadil“ which was published in 1962.

A year later Tolkiens best friend, C.S.Lewis, died. This was a hard stroke of fate for him and in addition his wife began to feel ill too. Later in 1968 the Tolkiens moved to Poole near Bournemouth, where Tolkien bought a house with the money earned with the selling of the original manuskript of „The Lord Of The Rings“ to the Marqette University. In the time from 1968 to 1971 he lived happily in Poole with his wife and enjoyed every minute with his children and grandchildren. He was often asked to join clubs and shows or to give interviews, but to most of them he refused to go, because he didn´t like the big fuzz they made about him. He also tried to complete the „Silmarillion“, but he never finished the book, that was later published by his son Christopher.

On the 29th of November, 1971 Edith Tolkien dies at the age of 82 after a short, but serve illness attributed to an inflamed gall-bladder. After that Tolkien returned to Oxford where he received some additional awards and hounours.

On the September 2nd, 1973 he died during his holydays in a small private clinic in Bournemouth.

1977 the „Silmarillion“ was published after his son Cristopher completed it.

The Hobbit

„The Hobbit“, Tolkien´s first successful book, is the story of a hobbit, named Bilbo Baggins. Hobbits are small people with lot of hair on their feet. Bilbo is a „normal“ hobbit who wouldn´t even think about going on an adventure-journey.

But unfortunately he sees his small house full of dwarfes, who want him to join them in an adventure. They are with Gandalf, the wizard, who has brought them to Bilbo. But Bilbo doesn´t react like expected, but joins them in the quest for a lost treasure, stolen by a dragon called Smaug. So they leave Hobbiton, were Bilbo lives, in terrible weather conditions. During their first night-camp they are captured by Trolls, which are taller than men and eat men-flesh. But Gandalf, who comes just in time rescues them by diversing the trolls untill dawn when they turn to stone (Trolls must hide in caves during the day otherwise they turn to stone).

After this short rest, they hike towards the valley of Rivendell, where the house of Elrond is. Elrond is half elve and half men, or simply a half-elve. At elronds´ place they rest about two weeks and then start their attempt to cross the Misty Mountains to reach the Wilderland behind. But the weather gets worse. After they find a cave to spend the night, they are captured by a crowd of evil Goblins, but Gandalf rescues all of them except Bilbo.

Bilbo wakes up in a tunnel and finds a small golden ring, which will change his entire life (which he dont know yet). The ring belongs to Gollum, who lives at a underground lake deep below the mountains. Bilbo meets Gollum, who wants to eat him, but they make a riddle-game which Bilbo won. Now he flees out of the Goblin´s caverns with the ring, that has the ability to cloak it´s carrier.

So he reaches his frends at the other side of the mountains, trough the backentrance of the Goblin-cavern. After telling them what happened they go down to the valley towards the Wilderlands. But the Goblins are behind them and wolfes in front of them. In the last minute a few eagles, who knew Gandalf, save them and bring them deep into the Wilderlands, towards their aim.

They land on a big rock called Carrock. From there they follow Gandalf to Beorn, a powerful human who gives them something to eat and new ponies. The next day they ride north to the entrance of the Mirkwood, which they have to cross to reach the Lonely Mountain, where Smaug, the Dragon lies. The woods are dark and uncomfortable and Bilbo and the Dwarfes are full of fear. In the middle of the woods, they come to a river, which is dark and cursed. But they cross him with a little boat. Later the Dwarfes are captured by giant spiders, but Bilbo is able to help them out with his elven-sword „Sting“. All but Thorin, the leader of the Dwarfes, who was captured by Wood-elves. But not a long time after Thorin´s capture, the others are captured too. But with bilbo´s help again, the Dwarfes escape in empty barrels, which are throwen into a river for refilling in the near town of Esgaroth, the Lake-City.

After a wet half day-journey, they (Bilbo cloaked with the ring, the dwarfes locked in the barrels) reach the city.

The citizens help them with food and ponies and even offer a transport near the Lonely Mountain. They reach the mountain a few days later and begin the search for the secret entrance, discribed in Thorin´s map. With luck they find the door and open it with an ancient key. Behind the door, a long dwarfen corridor is leading down to the main hall, where Smaug, the mighty lies upon the treasure of the „King under the Mountain“, which was Thorins grandfather. Bilbo is sent down, to recon the situation, what he isn´t happy to hear. As he reaches the hall, he finds Smaug sleeping, grabs a golden cup and hurrys back up to his company. But dragons know their property up to the last coin. So the dragon awakes and flies out the cave to attack the thiefs, but Bilbo and his friends are save in their tunnel and so he decides to have some ponies for supper before he creeps back into his cave and falls asleep again. In this night Bilbo goes back down again and starts to play a kind of riddle-game with Smaug. So Smaug thinks that the humans from Esgaroth helped them to steal his treasure and he swears revenge! But Bilbo catches a view to the Dragons´ chest and sees a large patch, which isn´t protected with iron and gems. The next day he leaves his home and flies towards Esgaroth. There, he attacks the city and burns down the houses. But when Bilbo comes out of the tunnel again he tells the dwarfes what happend, a thrush hears what he says and tells it Bard, who is one of the best archers in the town. And this Bard kills Smaug with one of his last arrows above the city (what Bilbo and the dwarfes dont know).

In the meanwhile the dwarfes build a kind of wall in front of the main entrance, to keep their trasure save. In the same time, Bard and the men from Esgaroth and the Elven-king and the woodelves break up to the mountain where they think to find the treasure unguarded. After they reach the mountain suddenly a dwarf-army arrives near the mountain to support their brothers. Right as they want to begin a fight a Goblin army aproaches. So they turn their united forces against them and they fight heavily for hours when suddenly eagles come and attack the rest of the Goblins that. This tremendous battle later is called „The Battle Of The Fife Armys“. During this battle Thorin dies and is later buried beneath the mountain. Bilbo returns back home in his compfortable Hobbit-hole in Hobbiton with two chests full of silver and gold and is from that day on called the bravest hobbit ever lived. Eventhough he isn´t respected by his neighbours anymore because Hobbits are not supposed to go on adventure journeys at all.

The Lord of the Rings

Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,

Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,

Nine for mortal men doomed to die,

One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne

In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.

One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,

One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them

In the land of Mordor where the shadows lie.

„The Lord Of The Rings“ was Tolkiens real breaktrough and made him to one of the most known fantasy-authors. The story is about the young hobbit Frodo, who lives in a sleepy village in the Shire and is the cousin of Bilbo Baggins and is entrusted with an immense task. He must make a perilous journey across Middle-earth to the Cracks of Doom, there to destroy the Ruling Ring of Power - the only thing that prevents the Dark Lord´s evil Dominion. The story is divided into three part and each part in two books.

Part One: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING

The story begins with the 111th birthday of Bilbo in Hobbiton, who disapears there in a suspicious way. But before that he gave the magic ring to Frodo. About thirty years later, Gandalf comes again and wants Frodo and his friend Sam to go with him. As they leave Hobbiton to go to Rivendell, where Elrond lives, they take another two friends with them: Mary and Pippin. They cross the Old Wood and come by accident to the house of Tom Bombadil, who is a very old person. From there they go to Bree where the spend the night in the famous tavern „To The Prancing Pony“, where they meet Aragorn the ranger, and from there they hike on to Rivendell with him as leader. The reach Rivendell after a few complications and they meet Gandalf and Bilbo again. Then they take part in a council of Elrond in which is spoken about the Ring, Sauron, the dark lord and the destruction of the One Ring, which should be Frodo´s task. On the same day they meet their new friends Legolas, the elve, Gimmli, the dwarf, Boromir, the man from the south. Together with Gandalf, Mary, Sam, Pipin and Aragorn, Frodo starts his quest to destroy the Ring of Power.

First they try to cross the Misty Mountains in the north, but the winter doesn´t allow to go this way and so they decide to cross the mountains through an ancient dwarfen underground city called Moria. As they are near the east- entrance they are surprised from by a Balrog, an old demon-race, and on a stone bridge Gandalf and the Balrog fight untill both fall down into the darkness. The rest of the group runs out of Moria and go to Lothlórien, a wonderful elven village where Galadriel, a very old elve, lives. From there they follow the river Anduin with tree little boats. From Galadriel they received some presents before they left, for example elfen-cloaks or plant-seeds. During the rowe down the river, the are chased by goblins. As they reach Parth Galen, a wonderful green place near the river, it happens that Frodo sticks the ring on his finger and sees the eye of Sauron. So he decides to walk to Mordor allone, without bringing the others in danger. But Sam finds out what he is up to do and joins him. Boromir, who wanted to steal the Ring of Power is later killed by goblins and Mary and Pipin are captured by them.

Part Two: THE TWO TOWERS

Aragorn, Legolas and Gimmli decide to follow the Orks, that have taken Mary and Pippin with them. But as they reach the camp of the goblins, they are all dead and the two hobbits are gone. In the meantime Mary and Pippin meet Treebeard, an Ent, which is a kind of tree with human marks in a near wood and after they told him their story the ents decide to attack Isengart, where the traitor Saruman, a former member of the White Council, has his Tower and armys. Meanwhile Aragorn, Legolas and Gimmli meet Gandalf again and they ride to the halls of the King Théoden. There is the battle of Helm´s Deep. After that they break up to Isengart, which was destroed by the ents, and meet Pippin and Mary again. The reach Isengart and find it destroyed. Gandalf talks with Tree- beard and after a short rest they break up to Minas Tirith, where a big battle is supposed to be.

Now the story continues with the fate of Frodo and Sam. As they go through the land between the river Anduin and Mordor they catch Gollum, who has been on the search for the Ring of Power for a long time for he was his former owner. They force him to show them the passage to Mordor through the Dead Marshes. But the Black Gate is closed and so the have to find another way into the land of Mordor. Then they meet a patrol from Minas Tirith and Faramir, who was the leader. They join them on their march back south to their home-town for a while and then go east where they think to find a path over the mountains of Mordor. Finaly they find a stairway which leads up to an old cave. This cave was the lair of Shelob, a giant spider. Frodo is attacked and tied up by the spider, but Sam attaks her after drinking a phial that Galadriel gave him during the farewell from Lothlórien. Then, powered and brave he attacks the spider and chases her away back into her cave. Unfortunatly Frodo seems to be dead as a consequence of spider-poison. Suddenly goblins come round a corner and Sam had to hide himself in a rock-niche. The goblins take the body of his master with them and Sam follows them. Then he sees Frodo breath just before the goblins take him inside an old guard-tower. Frodo is alive, but captured.

Part Tree: THE RETURN OF THE KING

Now Gandalf, Pippin, Mary, Gimmli and Legolas ride to Minas Tirith, but Aragorn decides to walk on the Path of the Dead through the mauntains of Anorien which sepearates Anorien from Gondor in the south.

After they reached Minas Tirith, the city is started to be besieged. The Rohirrim, riders from Rohan,who were called for help came just in time for the Battle of the Pelennor Fields. During the battle Aragorn comes with ships on the Anduin, to everyone’s surprise and helps the people of the city to defend it and win. But many brave men die in this great battle, but Aragorn, Gimmli, Legolas and Mary are not wounded. After this battle they bury Denethor, the king of the Rohirrim. Later the army of Minas Tirith gathers to march against the Black Gates of Mordor. Gandalf, Aragorn, Gimmli, Legolas join them, but not Mary, who was left in the city.

In the meantime, Frodo is freed by Sam and they make their dangerous journey through the Land of Mordor to Mount Doom, where the the Ring of Power once was made. There Gollum tries to steal the ring again and bites it from Frodo´s hand including his finger. But then he gets dizzi and falls into the crater of Mount Doom. The Ring is destroyed and the earth shocks, but just as the mountain starts to crumble down Frodo and Sam are saved by the eagles and brought back to Minas Tirith. All come to celebrate the end of Sauron´s power and the destruction of the Ring of Power. Aragorn gets the new King of Ithilien, Gondor and all kingdoms of the west. Then they say farewell and the hobbits and Gandalf break up back to the Shire. But when they arrive ther they find the shire ruled by Saruman, who has come here to build another evil empire. But frodo forces the hobbits to revolute against him and when he is told to leave the Shire, he is killed by Wormtongue, his servant.

The story ends with the departure of Gandalf, Elrond, Galadriel, Bilbo and Frodo. They say farewell and sail to the west, away from Middle-earth to Valinor, the land of the Vala.

The Silmarillion

The Silmarillion was not finished by J.R.R. Tolkien and nobody knows if he wanted to publish it anyway, but his son Cristopher published it 1977. The Book is built up like the Bible, as it is about the creation of Arda (the world) and Gods. It contains mainly short-stories.Therefor a summary is impossible, but the the first story of the book, the creation of Arda, is summed up here.

Ilúvatar, the one, frees fiftheen of his thougts and begins to learn them a great theme: Arda. After they finished their song, they see that it has turned to reality. As they see the beauty of their creation, they want to live on Arda and make it even more beautiful. The name of this fiftheen “Vala”, as they are called are: Manwe, Ulmo, Aule, Orome, Lorien, Tulkas and the Valier (the female gods) are: Yavanna, Nienna, Este, Vaire, Vana, and Nessa. And the last one, who got evil, is Melkor, later Morgoth. This Gods start to build up Arda until the First- born arrive, the Elves.

From this point on the story is told in short-storys, which are:

- Of the Beginning of Days
- Of Aule and Yavanna
- Of the Coming of the Elves and the Captivity of Melkor
- Of Thingol and Melian
- Of Eldamar and the Princes of Eldalie
- Of Feanor and the Unchaining of Melkor
- Of the Silmarils and the Unrest of the Noldor
- Of the Darkening of Valinor
- Of the Fight of the Noldor
- Of the Sindar
- Of the Sun and the Moon and the Hiding of Valinor for Men
- Of the Return of the Noldor
- Of Beleriaand and its Realms
- Of the Noldor in Beleriand
- Of Maeglin
- Of the Coming of Men in the West
- Of the Ruin of Beleriand and the Fall of Fingolfin
- Of Beren and Luthien
- Of the Fifth Battle
- Of Turin Turambar
- Of the Ruin of Doriath
- Of Tuor and the Fall of Gondolin
- Of the Voyage of Earendil and the Warb of Wrath

Tolkiens World

The really fascinating thing on Tolkien´s books is that they play in their absolutely own world: Middle-earth. Tolkien created a new world of its own, which is detailed up to the last little thing. His stories all play in Middle-earth, which is only a kind of a continent in Arda:

Abbildung in dieser Leseprobe nicht enthalten

This is the original map of Middle-earth, as it was painted by J.R.R. Tolkien himself.

He created lots of races to live in his world as there are Men, Elves, Dwarfs, Hobbits, Goblins, Trolls, Warge and many more. This ethnic world-creation makes him with right to one of the best fantasy-authors ever.