[Arwen Melian]

Actually beren....what I meant was that his life influeced it. For example...daeth was a common theme(his family and also his friends died,the latter during the war0. Therefore I believe he made a story based on love, friendship and bonds because of this. I didn't mean that he actually went to a place that resembled mordor....but the devestation he encountered during the war was very close.I actually remember seeing a t.v. special on Tolkien and it showed a picture of him and a fellow soldier standing by a huge heap of dead bodies. Now if you cant tell me that did not influence his story in a small way...then ...I don't know what to say.