Parallels between LOTR and WWII? - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

01-31-2001, 04:21 PM

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Parallels between LOTR and WWII

Gilthalion, I like your explanation of the Hobbits' real-world analogy in WWII best. Both literally and metaphorically the "little guy"! (It's clear from history and literature of the 1930s on that loss of freedom, individualism, and tradition were symptoms of Modernism, in the West just as much as under totalitarianism. Cf. "Brave New World" and Auden's poem "To the Unknown Citizen.&quot

You make a good point that any meaningful story will contain insights that are applicable to the world around us, even if there is absolutely no attempt at either realism or allegory. (As Tolkien himself said in the letter the previous poster shared.)
It's interesting to speculate how LOTR might have turned out if Tolkien *had* made it follow the course of WWII, at least to the extent of the Good Guys keeping the Ring for their own purposes rather than destroying it. JRRT makes it quite clear that the Ring will only work evil in the long run, although its effect will be muffled by a wearer's lack of interest in exerting its power. From his point of view, any ending other than destroying the Ring would have been an unmitigated tragedy for Middle-Earth -- even if it had been wielded by someone as radiantly good and wise as Galadriel, or as kindly and harmless as Sam, because it would have perverted all their best intentions.
I wonder what he might have thought of the nuclear arms race, or the United States' rise to superpower status. What if Boromir and Denethor had succeeded in snaffling the Ring for Gondor? Imagine Middle-Earth counterparts to Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, John Foster Dulles, Khrushchev, Kim Philby, J. Edgar Hoover, Ho Chi Minh, etc. etc. (No, too mundane and depressing...)

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01-31-2001, 04:21 PM	#8
Heliotrope Guest Posts: n/a	<font face="Verdana"><table><TR><TD><FONT SIZE="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Newly Deceased Posts: 3</TD><TD></TD></TR></TABLE> Parallels between LOTR and WWII Gilthalion, I like your explanation of the Hobbits' real-world analogy in WWII best. Both literally and metaphorically the "little guy"! (It's clear from history and literature of the 1930s on that loss of freedom, individualism, and tradition were symptoms of Modernism, in the West just as much as under totalitarianism. Cf. "Brave New World" and Auden's poem "To the Unknown Citizen.&quot You make a good point that any meaningful story will contain insights that are applicable to the world around us, even if there is absolutely no attempt at either realism or allegory. (As Tolkien himself said in the letter the previous poster shared.) It's interesting to speculate how LOTR might have turned out if Tolkien had made it follow the course of WWII, at least to the extent of the Good Guys keeping the Ring for their own purposes rather than destroying it. JRRT makes it quite clear that the Ring will only work evil in the long run, although its effect will be muffled by a wearer's lack of interest in exerting its power. From his point of view, any ending other than destroying the Ring would have been an unmitigated tragedy for Middle-Earth -- even if it had been wielded by someone as radiantly good and wise as Galadriel, or as kindly and harmless as Sam, because it would have perverted all their best intentions. I wonder what he might have thought of the nuclear arms race, or the United States' rise to superpower status. What if Boromir and Denethor had succeeded in snaffling the Ring for Gondor? Imagine Middle-Earth counterparts to Eisenhower, JFK, LBJ, John Foster Dulles, Khrushchev, Kim Philby, J. Edgar Hoover, Ho Chi Minh, etc. etc. (No, too mundane and depressing...) </p>