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The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
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La Tonya
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May 30, 2018 07:13PM
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Who Was J.R.R. Tolkien?
Born on January 3, 1892, in Bloemfontein, South Africa, J.R.R. Tolkien settled in England as a child, going on to study at Exeter College. While teaching at Oxford University, he published the popular fantasy novels The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The works have had a devoted international fan base and been adapted into award-winning blockbuster films. Tolkien died in 1973 at 81.
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Tolkien enlisted as a lieutenant in the Lancashire Fusiliers and served in World War I, making sure to continue writing as well. He fought in the Battle of the Somme, in which there were severe casualties, and was eventually released from duty due to illness. In the midst of his military service, he’d married Edith Bratt in 1916.
Continuing his linguistic studies, Tolkien joined the faculty of the University of Leeds in 1920 and a few years later became a professor at Oxford University. While there he started a writing group called The Inklings, which counted among its members C.S. Lewis and Owen Barfield. It was also at Oxford, while grading a paper, that he spontaneously wrote a short line about "a hobbit."
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https://www.biography.com/people/jrr-...
Thanks so much for providing so much interesting info La Tonya! I have a copy of "The Hobbit" on the bookshelf. I'll have to dust it off, and start reading...
You really see much more of Tolkien's experiences in WWI influence the LOTR trilogy than The Hobbit. Which makes sense when you consider that LOTR is really more of an epic, a struggle between good and evil, and The Hobbit is more of an adventure story for children - not to say that it isn't just as fantastic as LOTR or that adults can't enjoy it also.Something I feel worth noting is that Tolkien is widely considered to be the father of modern fantasy. Much of what we know in fantasy today (from video games, other books/movies, role playing games, etc, etc) can trace their roots, at least in part, to Tolkien's Middle Earth (either through races, world rules, mythologies, etc.).
It's generally accepted that Tolkien invented the hobbit race, although they are quite similar to, and even he sometimes refers to them in his works as, "halflings". More people argue over whether he invented orcs, elves, and the other races that populate his world. Where ever you fall in those debates, I think pretty much everyone can agree that he at least reinvented them into the races we know today, and the images we immediately call to mind when stumbling across them in other works of literature or games.
Maureen, this is very interesting. I will follow the discussion; I read the book, but no longer have it.
