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Liam Neill Ms. Caruso English 1103 October 22, 2012 Inquiry Paper Once in a blue moon, a story is written with the power to change the way people think about the world. The Lord of the Rings is one such story. Since its inception, it has been influencing people the world over. The books stunning success and critical reception allowed the novel to spread to the far corners of the earth to affect millions of eager minds. The values and ideas expressed within the story are universal ideas of good vs. evil that create an enticing read for a diverse group of readers. How has this book in particular risen above the sea of books written in a similar vein? The Lord of the Rings has become deeply ingrained in pop culture since its publication over 50 years ago. Its immense backstory and mythology have caused the book to be regarded as the bible of fantasy literature and an inspiration to the many who care to read it. To understand how it has spread its fingers in society, one must look to before the book was even written. J.R.R Tolkien was born in South Africa in 1892, however he moved to the West Midlands of England three years later, shortly after the death of his father. His scholarly achievements were impressive even when he was young, specializing in languages (Loos). When war broke out in 1917, he was shipped off to fight, and his work on The Lord of the Rings began. Tolkien fought in the famous Battle of the Somme, one of the bloodiest battles of WWI. It was in these trenches that many of his closest friends, and a large portion of the literary group he was greatly invested in were killed. Also in these trenches was written the first beginnings of the

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histories of Middle-Earth, the intricate setting of his imagination. His involvement in the Battle of the Somme is shown to have impacted his writing a great deal, as well as the pain and hopelessness he felt with the loss of most of his friends (National Geographic). Although it was a tragic event, it may have been the inspiration needed for the story to happen. Tolkiens hobby of creating new languages started when he was still very young. At the age of 13 he had already started to develop his first invented language, which he called Naffarin. By mixing grammar rules from languages like German and Spanish, he was able to create a system that would allow him to figure out his own language, rather than simply making it up ("Tolkien's Languages"). This hobby of his would obviously go on to serve him well in later life, as a professor of Anglo Saxon at Oxford University (Loos). He used his talent to create over a dozen separate working languages to be used in his fantasy world of middle earth. His skill in creating a working language and a complete backstory to support it is unmatched. The most prominent of his invented languages are the elven tongues Quenya and Sindarin. Tolkiens work stands apart from others due to his dedication to the world he imagined. Generally, when literature is created it starts when one has an idea for a specific character or event. The plot is developed to fit with that original idea, and a story is revealed. Tolkien, however, chose an alternate starting point. His original plan was to invent a new language, which he had done several times in the past. Knowing that his earlier attempts at manufacturing languages lacked the depth to give them a genuine feel, Tolkien furnished an entire history and culture for his new linguistic creation, Quenya. Throughout his lifetime, he built upon the history until an entire world emerged. The Elves were introduced as the native speakers of Quenya, and inspired many of Tolkiens early tales. After writing thousands of poems and countless myths

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and stories about the elves, he was satisfied that his language had the depth it deserved. Luckily, he did not stop there. Quenya is related to Sindarin in the same way that Latin is related to English. The languages are based off a combination of Finnish and Welsh ("Tolkien's Languages"). One of the most impressive parts about these languages is that they are the ultimate premise for writing the Lord of the Rings. Tolkien wanted to create an entire history for his languages to give them body and life, and he succeeded beyond all expectation (O'Hehir). In the forward of The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien claims that he did not write the book; he says he found the original copy written by Bilbo and Frodo Baggins, and translated it from their language to English. The language he supposedly translated it from, Westron, is a language that he invented. Had he wished, he could have literally translated all of his work into Westron and back to English (Westron Language). To some fans, the lines between Tolkiens reality and our own begin to blur due to its immense history and culture. Throughout his life, Tolkien worked on chronicling the world of his imagination into the Red Book of Westmarch, which he claimed was written by the Hobbits in his tales. The Red Book is ultimately Tolkiens bible; it holds the creation myth of his world. While the cultural impact of the Red Book at present is small (very few people would actually believe that Tolkien found a book written by a hobbit) there are a few websites dedicated to Aridian Tolkienism, a religion that believes that a woman in 14th Italy prophesized JRR Tolkiens coming, and that his books are based on lost history ("THE FAERIE GROVE"). The book has inevitably been compared to the real world and several allegories have been found. The more popular belief is that the hierarchy of men, dwarves, and elves are stand ins for the allied powers while the Dark Lord Sauron represents Adolf Hitler and the wizard Saruman is

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equivalent to Stalin. It has long been considered that the good v. evil struggle in Middle Earth is directly related to that of our own history in WWII (Frazetti). This connection is ultimately wrong, however. For some reason, when people read a great story, they feel the need to link it to the real world. The concept of good v. evil is one that most people can relate to, and since most people know about WWII and how horrible that mess was, it seems reasonable that one would find some parallels between their violent struggles. What doesnt make sense is that WWII was chosen as the prime relative of the story. The book was written during WWI, and it was published during the Vietnam War. WWII has the smallest physical connection, and only due to its infamy has it been compared to the Lord of the Rings. Many literary discussions have centered around this concept, however Tolkien himself has denied the correlation. The second, and probably more accurate belief is that the Shire represents the area that Tolkien grew up in, and the progression through the story was akin to the industrial revolution which was changing his familiar landscapes. The industrialization in the novel is done by the wizard Saruman, who destroys the ancient forests of Middle-Earth in order to power his machines and factories of war. His influence extends into the peaceful countryside of the shire, parallel to the urbanization of Tolkiens beloved Warwickshire, particularly during times of war (O'Hehir). Immediately after publication, some critics attacked Tolkien for writing an extremely long childrens story. Tolkien is quoted as saying, Some who have read the book, or at any rate have reviewed it, have found it boring, absurd, or contemptible; and I have no cause to complain, since I have similar opinions of their works, or of the kinds of writing that they evidently prefer. (O'Hehir). The negative criticism ultimately had little impact and would be proven wrong or ignored for the rest of the novels history. W.H. Auden, considered by many as one of the best writers of the 20th century, is quoted as saying The first thing one asks of an

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adventure story is that the adventure should be various and exciting . . . Tolkiens invention is unflagging." ("Houghton Mifflin Harcourt") The Lord of the Rings was published around the same time as the start of the Vietnam war. Those who read it at this time would easily see the negative view of war and compare it to the anti-war protests happening all over the United States. While it was not intended to be a piece of anti-war literature, it was received by many as such. The want for peace exhibited by the Hobbits in the central storyline mimicked those of the protesters at the time, making the story a popular one in that niche of society. This audience was definitely not Tolkiens target, and he himself did not support their culture. Tolkien was not a fan of the anti-war movement, and he saw the lot of them as uncivilized and anarchistic. While he would have preferred his work to be made popular by a more respectable crowd, he owes a lot to them. Without their help, the Lord of the Rings might have simply disappeared. The 1960s counter culture was essential in incorporating The Lord of the Rings into American Pop Culture. While the book would likely have done fine as an icon of British Pop Culture, it would never have reached the global market. When one thinks of the Hippie culture, they might not necessarily associate it with The Lord of the Rings. In fact, the Lord of the Rings is tied in to the culture almost as tight as tie dye. In the 1960s, after a pirated version of the hardback was released, the book was much more available to people in America, for cheap. As a result, it was picked up by groups of teenagers and passed around to everyone, including hippies. In the novel, they saw ideas that coincided with their own belief systems; they saw much of themselves in the nature loving race of hobbits. A hobbits favorite pastime is sitting outside in nice weather enjoying a long pipe, not being bothered by anyone. It is easy to see how hippies could identify with their peaceful culture (Ratliff).

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As much as hippies loved The Lord of the Rings, they loved LSD more. Combined, they were a gold mine for hippy thought and exploration. While it may seem strange to everyone else, many hippies enjoyed taking acid and reading passages from the book. Tolkiens masterful writing style and vast wisdom create a breeding ground for expansive thought, and some hippies believed that by reading certain parts of the book, they could reach a state of spiritual enlightenment (Ratliff). At this time, the book became a popular trip guide for hippies nationwide, and a head shop of that era would not be complete without at least one corner of the store decked out in merchandise from middle-earth. For this reason, in its early life in pop culture, The Lord of the Rings was commonly associated with pot smokers. Included in that head shop merchandise would likely be a pirated copy of The Lord of the Rings. This is often considered one of the reasons that the novel did so well. After it was published, it never received much attention in American crowds until it became cheap and available. The current popularity of The Lord of the Rings is directly tied to the films. While many many people have read the book, even more have seen the movies. The story gained a lot of attention in 2001 with the release of the Fellowship of the Ring, and since then has become what we know today as The Lord of the Rings franchise. The Return of the King, the third movie installment of the book, made over 370 million dollars at the box office, ranking number six in worldwide sales. The Tolkien fan base exploded over the course of the three years of movie releases, making it one of the most widely known fantasy epics worldwide (Mathijs). The release of the movies reintroduced The Lord of the Rings into the foreground of pop culture in a big way. Most negative connotations that came with being a fan were forgotten at the box office, allowing the franchise to grow unhindered. Although the Hippie culture had the biggest foothold in the door to middle Earth, the book was being enjoyed by people of other groups as well. Fans range

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from President Obama, Nicolas Cage, and soccer player Fernando Torres, who has a tattoo written in the elvish script, Tengwar ("Tolkien Library"). People all over America read the book for their own reasons, but most can agree that the values and stories containing them would affect their lives deeply. The extent of its influence varies from person to person, and can be seen in many different ways; from full body tattoos dedicated to Middle Earth, to a new wave of fantasy writers attempting to use Tolkiens writing formulae. There has been a rise in Tolkien inspired art and music, especially. Many artists owe their success to their desire to imitate the art style of the elves, or to imitate the music of the hobbits, etc. Especially after the release of the films, there has been a rise in the number of people who have learned to speak Sindarin or Quenya, the languages of the elves. While useless in the real world, many feel a deeper connection with the story when they know the foundation of the myths and legends that make up the roots of the book. With a little dedication, one can take online courses that provide you with the knowledge to read and write in Elvish (Renk). It is the intricacies of the world of Middle-Earth such as the depth of the language that set it apart from the swathes of fantasy literature crowding used bookstores. The sheer enormity of the world that Tolkien has created ensured its spot in history, and it will without a doubt be retold in another 50 years or so to a new generation of green minds. While the typical fan base of The Lord of the Rings has changed throughout its history, it has reached all different types of people all over the world. A refreshing message that differs from the pro industrialization attitude of powerful governments awaits those who would delve into the pages of Middle-Earth. With a following as large as it is now and constantly growing, the ideas that Tolkien wished to share with us will unavoidably manifest in the real world, as they have been for the past few decades. The Lord of the Rings will be read for generations to

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come, and will set the bar for those who would call themselves writers of fantasy. A story of this magnitude only comes around every couple hundred years, and those who chose to ignore it are missing out on a potentially life changing read. The Lord of the Rings is tied deeply into western pop culture, and it will be for at least the rest of our life time, if not longer.

Works Cited Frazetti, Daryl. Anthropology of Lord of the Rings. 2011. PowerPoint. Academia.edu, San Francisco. Web. 18 Sep 2012. "INFLUENCES ON THE LORD OF THE RINGS."National Geographic. n.d. n. page. Web. 1 Oct. 2012. Mathijs, Ernest. The Lord of the Rings: Popular Culture in Global Context. illustrated. Wallflower Press, 2006. 160-195. eBook. Ratliff, William. The Hobbit and the Hippie. 1968. 142-146. eBook. Loos, William D.B.. "Who was J.R.R. Tolkien anyway?."Tolkien. Cirdan, n.d. Web. 6 Nov 2012. Renk, Thorsten. "So you want to learn Elvish?." Learn Elvish. Duke. Web. 5 Nov 2012. "The Tongues of Middle-Earth." Tolkien's Languages. Webs, n.d. Web. 4 Nov 2012 "The Tongues of Middle-Earth." Westron Language. Webs, n.d. Web. 4 Nov 2012 "WHAT IS TOLKIENISM/ ARIDIAN TOLKIENISM?."THE FAERIE GROVE. Angelfire.

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Web. 12 Nov 2012. O'Hehir, Andrew. "The book of the Century." Salon. Salon Media Group, 04 2001. Web. 12 Nov 2012. "Press Release." Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Houghton Mifflin Company. Web. 12 Nov 2012. <http://www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/booksellers/press_release/lotr/praise.shtml>. "Famous Tolkien and Lord of the Rings fans." Tolkien Library. Disqus, 24 2009. Web. 12 Nov 2012.