John Ronald Reuel Tolkein Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

John Ronald Reuel Tolkein - Essay Example Tolkien asserted his creation of Middle-earth occurred a long time prior to the October Revolution of 1917. Tolkien's mother taught him Latin, French, and German, and in school he picked up Old and Middle English as well as Finnish, Greek, Italian, and Spanish. Furthermore, J. R. R. learned some Danish, Dutch, Norwegian, Russian, Swedish, among a list of other dialects. In his honor, certain things have been named after J. R. R. Tolkien. One is the Tolkien Road in Eastbourne, East Sussex, and another is an asteroid named in 1982. A doctoral position at Oxford also bares his name. John Ronald Reuel (J. R. R.) Tolkien has become one of the most celebrated English authors of our time. Investigating details about him helps us better appreciate the accomplishments of this writer. In so doing, it is helpful to review his life and work. Many are familiar with his literary work, but who was J. R. R. Tolkien as a person J. R. R. Tolkien was born January 3, 1892 in Bloemfontein, South Africa (Carpenter 14). His father, Arthur Reuel Tolkien was an English bank manager who moved to South Africa with his wife Mabel for a promotion (Carpenter 14). When J. R. R. was small, a baboon spider bit him in the garden. That moment is represented in The Hobbit as the giant spider (Carpenter 13). When J. R. R. ... When J. R. R. was three years old, he and his mother went on an extended visit to England. While they were there, his father died of fever in Africa. Summary, p. 24 Card 11: Family Carpenter When he was only 12, Tolkien's mother died of diabetes. She was only 34 but insulin had not been discovered yet and at she could not be treated. Paraphrase, p. 31 Card 12 Racism "Racism" Some of Tolkien's critics accused him of racist undertones n his early writings. As a result, he deliberately mitigated these interpretations in later works. Paraphrase, p. 557 Card 13 Friendship Carpenter Tolkien was known to have been good friends with C. S. Lewis. Tolkien even convinced Lewis to turn from Atheism to Christianity. Summary, p. 119 Card 14 Views New Line Cinema Tolkien disliked the dangers and licentious nature of the modern world. He saw them as a scourge upon the environment and rode a bike instead of driving a car most of his life as an adult. Paraphrase Card 15 Views New Line Cinema This attitude was much apparent in the forced mechanization of the Shire from Lord of the Rings. It was one of the more serious undertones of the epic. Summary Card 16 Religion Bofetti Tolkien admitted to being deeply influenced by the Catholic Church. It is evident in much of his imagery and style. Summary, p. 32 Card 17 Spiders Carpenter When J. R. R. was small, a baboon spider bit him in the garden. That moment is represented in The Hobbit as the giant spider. Summary, p. 13 Card 18 Books Carpenter Tolkien did not like Treasure Island . To him, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland was amusingly distressing. Paraphrase, p. 22 Card 19 Wife Carpenter Tolkien met Edith Mary Bratt when he moved into the rooming house where she