J.R.R.+Tolkien

Max & Kellen

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=__Major Accomplishments:__=

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit..." This the sentence, that J. R. R. Tolkien wrote on a blank page left by a student on an exam he was grading, was the spark that created the stories of //The Hobbit// and //The Lord of the Rings// (Willett 5-6). A sheer moment of inspiration. He had no idea what it meant, but he would soon find out. To figure out what it meant, Tolkien wrote //The Hobbit//, published in 1937. It was instantly a hit, and sold copy after copy after copy.

Tolkien's publisher then asked him to write a sequel, which he did. Through sixteen years of intermittent bursts of writing, some holidays with his kids, and the Second World War, Tolkien finally finished his epic sequel, //The Lord of the Rings//. This epic tale was split into three novels, //The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers,// and //The Return of the King//, and published over the course of two years. They all got excellent reviews, or just the opposite. Tolkien wrote this short poem about them: ==

"//The Lord of the Rings// is one of those things: If you like it you do; If you don't, then you boo!" (Taylor)

In 1957, //The Lord of the Rings// was awarded the International Fantasy Award (Willett 79). Once the books were finally published in paper back in 1965, they sold even more. Tolkien got more fan mail and phone calls than he had ever dreamed.

Tolkien died on September 2, 1973, but his legacy had not ended. Tolkien had entrusted his son Christopher to his works when he had died. Christopher, with some help from friends, began editing and publishing as many of Tolkien's works as he could. Tolkien's works, most notably //The Lord of the Rings// and //The Hobbit// were well loved by his readers.

This newfound love of fantasy had unlocked the public interest in the genre. This interest was recognized in America by many publishers, and the genre of fantasy has been growing ever since. As further proof, Tolkien's books were adapted into films in the early twenty-first century, and //The Return of the King// alone won eleven Oscars(Willett 95).

=__Interview about "The Inklings" and C.S. Lewis:__= media type="custom" key="5593059" = = =__Political, Social, and Economic Background:__=

Political Background:

 * 1) J. R. R. Tolkien was a battalion signaling officer during World War I. There he experienced trench warfare and the deaths of[[image:Tolkien_1916.jpg width="195" height="281" align="right" caption="Tolkien during WWI"]] many of his friends and officers. He was able to survive by catching Trench Fever, and was taken back to England just before the end of the war.(Willett)
 * 2) In the Lord of the Rings, the enemy was coming from the East, which is written as to have been the enemy during both world wars.(Willett)
 * 3) Tolkien worked on the Oxford English Dictionary, which was a major push on getting a mass dictionary with words in English in which people used, as well as their origins and definitions. Tolkien said that he had learned more about words then than he ever had at any other point in his life.(Willett)
 * 4) Tolkien detested Communism, and would had called Stalin a "bloodthirsty old murderer."(Tolkien)
 * 5) His writing in the fantasy genre sparked a mass interest of the genre. This allowed more authors to get their work in the genre published.(Willett)

Social Background:

 * 1) England's nationalism fueled a condescending attitude toward foreign powers(Lambert). This can be seen in //The Lord of The Rings (1954)// when Gondor is portrayed as superior to all other nations.
 * 2) During the early 1900's women gained more power in English society. In 1928 women were given the right to vote at the age of 21.This could have moved him to make Éowyn, the princess of Rohan who appears in //The Lord of the Rings//. She is a strong woman who is active politically and socially in the affairs of Rohan (Lambert)
 * 3) J.R.R. Tolkien was a devout Catholic. He portrays places in his novel, such as Mordor, based on Christian descriptions of holy or hellish places.
 * 4) Tolkien's involvement with various writing groups could have affected his writing. One of his close friends, C.S. Lewis pushed him to publish his works.
 * 5) In 1896 Aurthur Tolkien, J.R.R Tolkien's father, died in Africa(Willett 15,16). This would contribute to his making the people from the south, who ride "oliphants" the enemy of Gondor in //The Lord of The Rings.//

Economic Background:

 * 1) Tolkien grew up with his mother, who made very little money and was no stranger to being poor.(Willett)
 * 2) Tolkien's family stopped supporting his education when he was eight because his mother had converted to Catholicism.(Willett)
 * 3) With the help of a scholarship he had won, and the man who had helped raise him, Father Francais, Tolkien was able to go to college.(Willett)
 * 4) Tolkien, in need of spare cash, graded School Certificate papers during the summer while he was teaching at Oxford. While grading these papers, he wrote on one, "In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit." This line became the inspiration for his greatest successes.(Willett)
 * 5) His books brought him great financial success.(Willett)

=__Timeline:__=

media type="custom" key="5599581"
=__Test Your Knowledge of Tolkien Quiz__= = = 1) What year was J.R.R. Tolkien born a) 1917 b) 1845 c) 1894 d) No year because he was never born.

2) When was //The Lord of The Rings// published? a) 1956-57 b) 1973-74 c) 2000-01 d) 1954-55

3) What group did Tolkien join where he met C.S. Lewis? a) The Inklings b) The Thinklings c) The Narnians d) The Lord of the Rings fan club

4) Which is a famous quote from //The Hobbit.// a) "In a burrow there lived a hobbit" b) "I don't know half of you half as much as I'd like and like half of you half as much as you deserve." c) "In a hole in the ground there lives a hobbit" d) "A hobbit lives in a hole in the ground."

5) What school did Tolkien teach at? a) Cambridge b) Oxford c) Harvard d) UCLA

6) Where was Tolkien born? a) England b) Scotland c) U.S.A d) South Africa

7) How many Oscars did //The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King// win? a) 12 b) 11 c) 10 d) 9

8) Who did J.R.R. Tolkien marry? a) Edith Bratt b) Susan Copper c) Alice Carnety d) Mrs. Ebersole

9) What award did //The Lord of the Rings// win? a) International Fantasy Achievement Award b) Fantasy Genre Award c) International Fantasy Award d) White and Lindsy Award

10) When did J.R.R. Tolkien die? a) March 16, 1982 b) September 2, 1973 c) Yesterday d) December 9, 1973

Answers- c, d,a, c, b, d, b, a, c, b = __Works Cited__ =

Carpenter, Humphrey. //J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography//. 1977. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2000. Print. Doughan, David. “Who Was Tolkien?” //The Tolkien Society//. The Tolkien Society, 2009. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. . Lambert, Tim. “Life in the 20th Century.” //Local Histories//. N.p., 2008. Web. 10 Mar. 2010. . Lynch, Doris. //J. R. R. Tolkien: Creator of Languages and Legends.// N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print. Taylor, D J. //"The Lion, the Witch and the Boardroom."// The Indepenent. N.p., 2009. Web. 27 Feb. 2010. . Willett, Edward. //J. R. R. Tolkien: Master of Imaginary Words.// N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.

Associated Press. //Author Tolkien//. 1967. Associated Press. AP Images. Web. 22 Feb. 2010 Carvalho, Álida. Túmulo de J.R.R. Tolkien e sua esposa Edith Brath. Repare nas inscrições Beren e Luthien na lápide. N.d. Wikimedia Commons. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. //J.R.R. Tolkien in the Army//. 1916. //Wikimedia Commons//. Web. 23 Feb. 2010 Ninnet. //Silmarillion Cover//. N.d. //Flickrcc//. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Feb. 2010. Playadura. //The One Ring//. N.d. //Flickrcc//. Web. 23 Feb. 2010.