Of Tolkien and Fantasy

                                                      Written by Maya Lackman November 2016

I WROTE THIS ESSAY A LONG TIME AGO. THOUGH MUCH OF THE INFORMATION IS FACTUALLY CORRECT IT IS INCOMPLETE, SKEWED AND OUT OF CONTEXT. MY KNOWLEDGE AND RESPECT FOR PROFESSOR TOLKIEN AND HIS WRITING HAS ONLY INCREASED SINCE I WROTE THIS ESSAY. AS SUCH MY OPINIONS HAVE MATURED AND I NOW REALIZE THIS ESSAY IS EXTREMELY BIASED TOWARDS THE INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY ON PROFESSOR TOLKIENS WORK. CERTAINELY CATHOLICISM HAD A MAJOR IMPACT ON TOLKIEN'S WORK BOTH THEMATICALLY AND EXPLICITELY BUT IT WAS BY NO MEANS THE SOLE INFLUENCE OR AS CUT AND DRY AS I PORTRAY IT HERE. PLEASE GO AHEAD AND READ THIS ESSAY BUT REMEMBER IT IS BIASED IN MANY WAYS.

In 1937, an obscure Oxford Professor published a book which would catapult him into fame as a children's author, but before long he was forgotten and returned to relative obscurity. In 1955, a sequel was released, and the professor returned to the spotlight. The critics were offended by the book's very existence, but the masses were captivated by its myth and magic. Today it is one of the bestselling books in history with over 150 million copies in print. It has been adapted into films, videogames, cartoons, radio shows, and even a Broadway musical. The author was Professor J.R.R Tolkien, and the book was The Downfall of Lord of the Rings and the Return of the King (usually shortened to The Lord of The Rings). Despite its success, most readers are unaware of the depth and symbolism of the work. In creating this tale, Tolkien drew upon Christian theology, pagan mythological traditions, and his own experiences. By combining these elements, then applying them to universal, yet intangible human experiences, J.R.R. Tolkien created something entirely unique in the fantasy genre, which still resonates with us today.

The fantasy genre proper is less than two centuries old, but it's origins date back much further. People have always told stories about the supernatural, whether it be the tales of the Wendigo among the Ojibwa Tribe, a story in epic verse like the Odyssey, or the fairy tales of Germany as compiled by the Grimm Brothers. But these stories had several key differences from the fantasy genre, and especially the early fantasy genre. First, they all took place in our own world, albeit in the distant past or a faraway place. Additionally, these stories were believed, at least to a degree. Depending on the culture, the account, and the individual, they were taken as either literal or allegorical truth. An example of a story taken as allegorical truth is John Milton's epic poem "Paradise Lost." These factors: being set on Earth, and understood as truth, make these tales, fantastic though they are mythology, rather than fantasy (Moorcock 24-25).

Fantasy as a literary genre did not begin to emerge until the 19th century. As the western world grew less superstitious, most people stopped believing in magic or supernatural forces altogether, apart from religious beliefs. However, people still wrote stories about the supernatural. These stories were divided into two varieties: those for children and those for adults. The stories for adults retained an element of allegory, though not to the degree of earlier mythology. Also, fantasy authors writing for adults did not want to seem to be rejecting rational thought, and nearly always had a protagonist that was initially skeptical of the goings on of the story, believing it to have a natural explanation. For example, in Charles Dickens "A Christmas Carol," Ebenezer Scrooge tells the ghost of John Marley, "You may be an undigested bit of beef, a blot of mustard, a crumb of cheese, a fragment of underdone potato. There's more of gravy than of grave about you, whatever you are! (Dickens 16)". Though Ebenezer Scrooge is incorrect, and Marley is in fact a ghost, in many such novels the protagonist's initial skepticism is proven to be correct at the end of the tale. Children's fantasy was similar, though less allegorical. Sometimes the character was not skeptical, and the fantastic was real, but this is far from a constant. Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz awakens to discover it was all a dream, after all (Pricket 56-59).