John Ronald Reuel Tolkien
*born on January 3, 1892 in
South Africa
*died September 2, 1973
*English father worked as a bank manager in South
Africa - died unexpectedly of complications from
rheumatic fever when Ronald was 4 yrs. old
* His mother didn’t return to South Africa - moved
with her young children to be near her own family
in Birmingham and began to educate Ronald and
his brother, Hilary, at home
*Mrs. Tolkien died in 1904 of complications related
to diabetes, leaving the two boys in the
guardianship of a benevolent Catholic priest, Fr.
Francis Morgan.
* Ronald became interested in the study of language
and began to invent languages of his own.
* When he was sixteen, he met Edith Bratt, but she
was 3 yrs. 0lder – Father Francis forbid them to see
each other – Ronald reluctantly obeyed
* In 1910, on his second attempt, Ronald Tolkien
succeeded in winning a scholarship to Exeter
College, Oxford, where he studied philology with the
legendary Joseph Wright.
* On his 21st birthday, he wrote to Edith and
renewed their relationship – they became engaged
* WW I broke out in 1914 - Tolkien enlisted in the
armed service in a special program that allowed
him to complete his degree. In 1915, he took a First
in English at Oxford, an accomplishment that
assured him of a professional academic position.
* Edith & Tolkien were married in March 1916 - in
June he joined the war in France.
* He was engaged in active combat at the front - in
November he was sent back to England to recover
from trench fever - he suffered a relapse and was
never sent back to France.
* During his recovery he began writing the
work that was eventually published in 1977
as The Silmarillion. He called it The Book of
Lost Tales and conceived it on an epic scale
as a mythology for England.
* Their 1st child, John, was born in November 1917.
* Year later, he took a job as a researcher for the
Oxford English Dictionary project – they moved to
Oxford.
* Their 2nd child, Michael, was born 1920 and their
3rd , Christopher, in 1924.
* In 1925, Tolkien was appointed Professor of the
English Language at Leeds - in the same year, he
was hired as Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Oxford.
* They moved back to Oxford, where their youngest
child, Priscilla, was born in 1929.
* Edith died in 1971 from complications of gallbladder illness - Tolkien moved back to Oxford,
where he died in 1973.
The origin of The Hobbit is almost a fantasy story in itself.
Tolkien graded School Certificate exams in the summers to
supplement his rather meager faculty salary. It was boring
work, and one day, finding a blank page in one of the exam
booklets, he wrote impulsively, "In a hole in the ground there
lived a hobbit." Nothing much happened to that sentence for
several years; Tolkien continued to tell stories to his own
children, to write poems, and to do scholarly work. In the
early 1930s, he began to write down much of what he had
been telling his children in an effort to integrate it with his
more intellectual interest in mythology, and it became the
book that is now known as The Hobbit. It was published by the
British firm of Allen & Unwin in 1937 with eight of his own
illustrations. To a remarkable degree, the tale of the hobbit
does constitute a kind of mythology of the English people,
whose history Tolkien knew well as a scholar and as an
Englishman of his generation. He once said, "I've always been
impressed that we are here, surviving, because of the
indomitable courage of quite small people against impossible
odds."
* The Hobbit was quite successful as a children's
book, and for the next twelve years, Tolkien worked
on The Lord of the Rings trilogy in an effort to create
an epic-scale context for the adventures recounted
in The Hobbit. When The Lord of the Rings was
finished in 1949, he toyed with the idea of finding a
different publisher for it. Ultimately, however, the
trilogy was published in 1954 (The Fellowship of the
Ring and The Two Towers) and 1955 (The Return of
the King) by Allen & Unwin. It became an
astonishing international bestseller, and Tolkien
achieved world renown as a literary figure.
* FULL TITLE · The Hobbit, or There and Back Again
* AUTHOR · J. R. R. Tolkien
* TYPE OF WORK · Novel
* GENRE · Fantasy, heroic quest, satire, comic epic,
children’s story
* LANGUAGE · English
* TIME AND PLACE WRITTEN · Roughly between 1929 and
1936 in Oxford, England; since the story was first
told orally to Tolkien’s children, there is some
doubt as to the exact dates of its composition.
* NARRATOR · The anonymous narrator is playful and
humorous. He tends to speak in a comic voice
with frequent asides and humorous descriptions
of the characters. Bilbo, for instance, is often
called Mr. Baggins or “the poor little fellow.”
* POINT OF VIEW · The novel is narrated in the third
person, almost exclusively from Bilbo’s point of
view. The narration is omniscient, which means
that the narrator not only relates Bilbo’s thoughts
and feelings but also comments on them.
* TONE · The narrator’s tone is light and casual, and
he encourages his readers not to take his story too
seriously by making frequent jokes at his
characters’ expense. The narrator’s tone
periodically becomes darker when the company
faces great danger or defeat (as in the chapters
taking place in Mirkwood), but for the most part,
the story is brightly and warmly narrated.
* TENSE · Past
* SETTING (TIME & PLACE) · The Third Age of MiddleEarth, 2941–2942 - various locales in the
imaginary world of Middle-Earth
* PROTAGONIST · Bilbo Baggins, a hobbit
* MAJOR CONFLICT · Bilbo’s timidity, complacency,
and uncertainty work against his inner strength
and heroism. As he travels and embarks on
adventures, he must gradually learn to rely on
his own abilities and to take the initiative to do
what he feels is right.
* RISING ACTION · Gandalf visits Bilbo and orders him
to act as the burglar for the dwarves’ expedition
to regain Thorin’s treasure from Smaug. Bilbo
reluctantly departs, and with each increasingly
difficult adventure, he accepts more
responsibility for the welfare of the group.
* CLIMAX · After Bilbo kills a spider in Chapter 8, he
finally has enough confidence in his own
abilities as a leader and hero. The Battle of the
Five Armies in Chapter 17 is the climax of the
expedition.
* FALLING ACTION · Bilbo and Gandalf begin the
journey home after regaining the treasure,
resolving the differences between the dwarves,
elves, and men, and defeating the Wargs and
goblins. They first spend time with Beorn, then
sojourn in Rivendell before returning to
Hobbiton. Bilbo has a newfound appreciation for
the comforts of his dwelling, but he recognizes
that his view of society and his surroundings has
undergone profound change.
* THEMES · Bilbo’s heroism; race, lineage, and
character, contrasting worldviews, the nature
and geography of Middle-Earth
* SYMBOLS · Named swords, hobbits
* Oral Tradition: universal human practice of
memorizing & performing stories – ie: myths,
folktales, heroic epics
* Faerie (fay-ree): dangerous realm of magic &
enchantment that overlaps human sphere
**Tolkien argued that a “fairy story” is
characterized not by diminutive sprites called
“fairies” but by an encounter between human &
Faerie realm – from Faerie spring dragons, ogres,
giants, trolls, gnomes, elves, dwarves, witches,
wizards, & goblins
* Myth: traditional story about relationship between
mortal beings & supernatural realm of gods,
goddesses, wizards, enchantresses, & monsters
* Folktale: traditional episodic narrative
transmitted orally w/in a society & between
cultures
* Heroic Epic: long poem recounting deeds of valiant
warrior or courageous ruler – hero represents best
in nation
* Eucatastrophe (yew-cat-as-tro-fee): term invented
by Tolkien for “good catastrophe” that typically
resolves plot of a Faerie narrative – is joyous &
wholly unexpected turn of events that delivers
hero or heroine from disaster
AS YOU READ, KEEP TRACK OF SPECIFIC DETAILS ON THE
FOLLOWING:
CHARACTERS:
RACES:
1. BILBO BAGGINS
1. DWARVES
2. GANDALF
2. ELVES
3. THORIN OAKENSHIELD
3. HUMANS
4. GOLLUM
4. TROLLS
5. SMAUG
5. GOBLINS
6. BARD
6. WARGS
7. BEORN
8. ELROND
9. DARK LORD SAURON
10.THROR