J.R.R. Tolkien: Creator of the Modern Fantasy

J.R.R. Tolkien: Creator of the Modern Fantasy

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's hatred of industry and machines in his literature (Doughan). The Tolkien family quickly relocated to Birmingham so that Tolkien could attend King Edward VI School. As an avid reader, Tolkien was influenced by some of the great writers of his day including G.K. Chesterton and H.G. Wells (Rayment). Mabel decided to join the Roman Catholic Church, splitting herself and the children from both sides of the family. In 1904, Mabel Tolkien was diagnosed as having diabetes. She passed away in November of that year leaving the two orphaned boys destitute. The family's priest, Father Francis took over, and took care of the children. Already, Tolkien displayed a remarkable skill for language. He proficiently learned Latin and Greek and was quickly became competent in a number of other languages, including Gothic and Finnish. He was already busy making up his own languages solely for entertainment (Doughan). At his boarding house, Tolkien fell in love with a young woman named Edith Bratt. Tolkien and Edith were caught in affectionate circumstances and so their relationship was frowned upon. Edith began to distract Tolkien's studies, and so Father Morgan split the young couple. At first try, Tolkien failed to enter college. Tolkien temporarily ended his affection and worked fruitfully and was awarded a scholarship to Oxford (Rayment).

While attending Oxford, Tolkien found Edith Bratt and proposed. Edith accepted the proposal and the couple married in 1906. World War I arrived in 1914. Tolkien saw many of his comrades pass away, and he himself would serve as an officer in the front lines at the Battle of the Somme (Rayment). Tolkien's works often include valiant battles, and one can only wonder if his experiences in the war to end all wars helped the creation of the battles. He caught trench fever in 1917 and was sent back to England to recuperate. He would not see front line service again. While grading exam booklets, he saw an exam with the first page blank. In that space he began his work on The Hobbit. The complete work of The Hobbit fell into the hands of George Allen and Unwin which decided to publish the work. "The Hobbit" soon became a best seller and made Professor Tolkien famous. In the late 1930's Tolkien started his sequel to The Hobbit, the Lord of the Rings which he worked on for over ten years. After much turmoil, the story was ultimately published Allen & Unwin once again. The success of the series was far greater than Tolkien or the publisher had hoped (Doughan). After retiring from Oxford, Tolkien and his wife moved to Bournemouth where Edith died in 1971. Tolkien lived on for two years until his death from pneumonia in September of 1973.

The English literature style during most all of Tolkien's lifetime is the modern period of literature. Many works during this period include lonely individual fighting to find peace and comfort in a world that has lost its absolute values and traditions. The literature of the period had an idea that man is nothing except what he makes of himself (Adams). The period brought along the loss of the hero in literature, the destruction made possible by technology, and thanks to Tolkien, the mixing of fantasy with nonfiction (Adams). Tolkien wrote about mythical experiences in somewhat unfamiliar lands. However, unlike those before him, he included blended his works with nonfiction. Tolkien's works were often quite lengthy and unorganized. Many of his works actually included portions of the languages he had developed. And most distinctively, Tolkien's works surrounded the battle of good against evil.

Tolkien's works included consistent themes. The most distinctive of these is of course that good always triumphs over evil. Frodo experiences this triumph when the evil Sarumon falls after the evil ring of power is destroyed in Mount Doom (Tolkien, King 370). His novels often elude to the reader his view that power corrupts the individual. Tolkien's character Gandalf fears corruption when he tells Frodo, "Do not tempt me! For I do not wish to become the Dark Lord himself," after Frodo offers the ring to Gandalf (Tolkien, Fellowship 95) His heroes perfectly illustrate selfless sacrifice for the greater good. Boromir, a knight of Tolkien's tale gives his life to defend two hobbits and the quest to destroy the ring. "Boromir is dead. He fell defending the hobbits," said Aragorn, another hero of The Lord of the Rings (Tolkien, Towers 19). His belief of the