DIRECT Symbolism in LOTR - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

davem · 02-01-2005, 03:38 AM

I think its easy to find these similarities - too easy - & that's the problem. Take Frodo - we can see in his withdrawal from the world after his return an echo of what happened to servicemen returning from WW1, many of whom became 'tramps', or 'Gentlemen of the Roads'. Was Tolkien deliberately allegorizing their experiences? Perhaps he was just drawing on that experience that some of his comrades had had.

Yet we can jump 'forward' to 'vets' returning from Vietnam - there are stories of some of them being unable to re-integrate themselves into 'society' & going to live in the wilderness.

Or we can jump 'back' to the story of Merlin in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Vita Merlini. Merlin fought in the Battle of Arfderydd, where two of his close kin were killed. He went mad with grief as a result & went to live in the Caledonian Forest.

What I'm saying is that you can find all kinds of 'echoes', specific & general, if you look for them. That doesn't make LotR an 'allegory' of anything, Its what makes the work timeless & 'applicable': its why we keep going back to it...

02-01-2005, 03:38 AM	#11
davem Illustrious Ulair Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: In the home of lost causes, and forsaken beliefs, and unpopular names,and impossible loyalties Posts: 4,240	I think its easy to find these similarities - too easy - & that's the problem. Take Frodo - we can see in his withdrawal from the world after his return an echo of what happened to servicemen returning from WW1, many of whom became 'tramps', or 'Gentlemen of the Roads'. Was Tolkien deliberately allegorizing their experiences? Perhaps he was just drawing on that experience that some of his comrades had had. Yet we can jump 'forward' to 'vets' returning from Vietnam - there are stories of some of them being unable to re-integrate themselves into 'society' & going to live in the wilderness. Or we can jump 'back' to the story of Merlin in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Vita Merlini. Merlin fought in the Battle of Arfderydd, where two of his close kin were killed. He went mad with grief as a result & went to live in the Caledonian Forest. What I'm saying is that you can find all kinds of 'echoes', specific & general, if you look for them. That doesn't make LotR an 'allegory' of anything, Its what makes the work timeless & 'applicable': its why we keep going back to it... __________________ “Everything was an object. If you killed a dwarf you could use it as a weapon – it was no different to other large heavy objects."