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Logan R. Hunt
Jane Blakelock
15MARCH2016
Research Paper Assignment

20th Century References within the work of J.R.R. Tolkien

In terms of iconic authors who have made a large impact on English literature and
composition, John Ronald Reuel Tolkien clearly stands out. The work of Tolkien has started a
worldwide study and learning of a world much similar to ours, Middle-Earth. The world that
J.R.R. Tolkien created can be presented as a modern day Middle Ages that includes references
from the Victorian Era and the growth of industrial capitalism.
Before understand the iconic imagery J.R.R Tolkien places within his work, one must
understand how Tolkien found his passion. Following his involvement in World War 1, Tolkien
decides to pursue an education in literature. This pursuit of education found Tolkien desiring to
learn more about language, history, and Old English literature. Tolkien uses his passion within
the literature field of study to develop a world unlike any before. Tolkien develops a world of
magic and mythology that displays a resemblance to the modern world. This magical world is
known as Middle Earth.
What is Middle Earth? Middle Earth and its contents is a science fictional world that
J.R.R. Tolkien created. Middle Earth houses much of the fruits of labor that Tolkien worked on
during his lifetime. The primary fruits are The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. These two
iconic novels have created a phenomenon across the world for some time now. Furthermore, The

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work of Tolkien has inspired many literature professionals and fans to study and analyze the
many areas of Tolkien.
The Hobbit is a novel concerning the journey of one Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo
begins as a simple man living a humble lifestyle in Hobbiton; the land of Hobbits. Bilbo is
approached by a wizard and a company of dwarves, this company wishes too hire Bilbo for an
adventure of a lifetime. Initially, Bilbo is reluctant to join the company but eventually accepts the
offer. During Bilbos time with the dwarves, Bilbo discovers a gold ring within a cave. Bilbo
pockets this ring and uses it to his advantage through the book. This ring becomes a foreshadow
for the next installment of Tolkien's work; The Lord of the Rings.
The Lord of the Rings picks up where the Tolkiens The Hobbit left off. The Lord of the
Rings creates the journey of the ring and the discovery of its power. The wizard, Gandalf retraces
the steps of Bilbo and his precious ring. Gandalf discovers the true nature of the ring and devises
a plan to destroy the ring. A fellowship or alliance is formed of men, hobbits, dwarves, and elves.
This unification is created to destroy evil once and for all throughout Middle Earth. The ring and
the characters that accompany it partake in a journey that identifies many aspects of the modern
day world outside of the fantasy world of Tolkien.
Tolkien was raised in South Africa, Tolkien and family eventually moved to England. The
migration from South Africa to England was a formative event for Tolkien. The migration of the
Tolkien family to England meant a new beginning and view on life; one that would change him
completely. As for England, it was in the early stages of the climatic Industrial Revolution which
played a key role in the formatting of J.R.R. Tolkiens literature

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The Industrial Revolution had a very large impact on England. During this time, new
advances in technology were being created. This new institution of inventions shifted agriculture
areas of England into industrial areas. The new advance in technology allowed for a rural area to
develop into an advanced urban like setting. This shift in culture is a key identifier within
Tolkien's land of Middle Earth (Shippey 57-68).
The Shire is located in the Northwest portion of Middle Earth. The Shire is depicted as
rural England during the Industrial Revolution era. The Shire is a land of no machines; the
inhabitants of the Shire are hard working farmers of West Midland, England. Machines were
depicted as a work of evil in Tolkien's work and put the enemy with the evilness. The Orcs,
Saruman, and Sauron all had the aspect of evil and machines. For example, during the siege of
Minas Tirith (Ancient human castle), the antagonist of the story releases his forces and equipped
them with bombs, war machines, and crude language. This is a reference to the to the rising
Industrial Era of England.
In Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers; Treebeard and Hobbits discover many trees cut
down and burned. Treebeard yells and says Saruman! A wizard should know better! There is no
curse in Elvish, Entish, or the tongues of men for this treachery. This quote said by Treebeard
shows how the hand of industrialization affected not only the men of Middle Earth but also the
creatures. This imagery represents what Tolkien saw from the shift of agriculture to industry in
England. In order to preserve what was dear to him, created the English descendant; a Hobbit to
keep balance within the ever-changing world.

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The Hobbit is an anti-imperialistic creature. This anti-imperialistic phrase refers to an
individual who upholds the rules of preserving and maintaining the natural worlds resources and
creations. Author Joseph Pearce wrote in his book Tolkien: Man and Myth:

same
the

The Shire is based on rural England and not any other country in the world The
toponymy of the Shireis a parody of that of rural England, much are the
sense that of its inhabitants: they go together and are meant too. After all
book is English, and by an Englishman. (154)

The anti-imperialism found within the Hobbits and their local patriotism represents them
as small Englanders. The area where Tolkien lived was more anti-imperialistic compared to the
whole country of England. Piece quotes Tolkien in his book that "I am indeed English in terms a
West-Midlander at home only in the counties upon the Welsh Marches; and it is, I believe, as
much due to descent as to opportunity that Anglo-Saxon and Western Middle English and
alliterative verse have been both a childhood attraction and my main professional sphere." This
strong quote by Tolkien, directly connects the relationship of his work and with the formulation
of Middle Earth (150-160).
Tolkien drew heavily upon memories of his childhood experiences in a small nonmechanical age village. This memory was fostered with him throughout much of his later years.
As Tolkien matured, the stored memories of his prelude to the Shire (rural England) began to
shape his view on society and his creativity as a writer. This view of the world is seen in
Tolkiens work The Lord of The Rings. Lord of The Rings symbolizes the complete cultural shift
(Industrial Revolution). Pearce presents this as developed portions of the Middle Earth is
depicted as polluted industrial waste lands and the under developed portions of Middle Earth
are seen pre-industrial societies. (155-156) Furthermore, Arthur Hunt III in his article dictating

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the natural flow of change, presents fact on how Industrialization transforms cities into large
artificial habitations, giving a false sense of exercising power over the natural world.
The Shire is presented as a representation to J.R.R. Tolkiens home. It is the land
uncorrupted by industry and mechanized means of life. The Shire holds what is dear to Tolkien;
the memory of individual craftsmanship and the art of humility. This idealism is seen as a
directly within The Hobbit. The Hobbit presents two main character synapses. Character One is
the Hobbit of the Shire. The Hobbit demonstrates the individual craftsmanship and respect for
the simple lifestyle that one lives. Arthur Hunt III brings to light the how people of the Shire are
a community of people dependent upon each other and on the land that contains it, striving to
live in continual state of harmony and peace with nature and Gods nightmare. Character Two
presents the wealthy populace that relies on others and their money to aid them through life.
These individuals are seen as helpless and a burden to society. The Hobbit brings to life these
two different character portfolios while also presenting a small amount of corruption before
Industrialization took full affect.
(New Paragraph) The Hobbit is classified as Character One, the simple life folk who
make a living off of individual craftsmanship and humility. Character Two is presented as Smaug
the dragon. Smaug protected his stolen riches of the dwarves inside the Lonely Mountain. Bilbo;
a Hobbit, steals a golden two-handed cup from Smaug. Smaug notices the disappearance of the
cup and becomes furious. This rage is only seen in individuals who have too much of an item but
never once wanted or needed it. (Pearce 156-157)
J.R.R. Tolkien can be portrayed in his novels as a Hobbit. The hobbit created to represent
Tolkien was Bilbo Baggins. The following are a few examples of Tolkien and Bilbo's similarities.

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Bilbo, son of Belladonna Took, is one of three. Tolkien, son of Mabel Suffield, is also one of
three. Bilbo and Tolkien both prefer plain food, waistcoats, and do not like to travel. Humphrey
Carpenter quoted Tolkien on the talk of Hobbits in his book saying: "The Hobbits are just rustic
English people, made small in size because it reflects the generally small reach of imaginationnot the small reach of their courage or latent power" (179-188). The incorporation of Tolkiens
life within Bilbo allowed readers to identify the common simplicities seen in both modern and
mythological worlds.
Furthermore, Tolkien began to incorporate more of his education into his work. This is
presented through Tolkien's passion for literature and ancient texts. The presence of ancient
literature within Tolkiens work is very identifiable. By using the ancient literature and medieval
context, Tolkien had something to draw upon. Tolkien was able to generate a pool of familiarity
and common experiences for his readers to feel when immersed with in his text. Tolkien relates
much of work to his experiences with the medieval literature from a common source. The older
literature is a collection of Old English and Old Norse fairy tales and mythological stories. These
child-like tales allow for the creative mind of Tolkien to develop his work of a lifetime (Leeland
and Solopova 28-40).
Continuing with the English disposition within Tolkiens work, Tolkiens references do
not have to directly come from life events but from other sources as well. A source that has made
an impact on Tolkiens work is the Victorian Era. Furthermore, the Victorian Era connects
Middle Earth to the fundamentals that were practiced during this time. The Victorian Era was a
time period in England during 1830 1900. This time period was named after Queen Victoria
and her steadfast rule. The Victorian Era incorporated a strong use of technology. During this
time period, the advancement of the machine was highly regarded as the most important

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outcome. The creation of the steam locomotive changed the world and industrialization, as we
know it. With the advancement in industry, also came the progression of the humanities; social,
science and literature aspects (Palgrave and Chance 150-160).
An iconic figure during the Victorian Era was Charles Darwin and the development in the
field of science and the creation of mankind. Charles Darwin and his research altered the classic
blue print of society and how to direct it. This radical view of science and creationism developed
across the world. Along with the radical views of science, many other progressive reforms such
as literature and language were incorporated into daily lives.
The East India Tea Company was now under direct rule of the English government. This
allowed for a total occupancy of English across the world. This impacts both Western countries
and the Eastern countries. The East India Company creates a direct link of English culture within
the Eastern part of the world. Englands course of action to incorporate the English doctrine was
through colonization and the extraction of resources. Once the process begins, a market is
established and thus the beginnings of English commerce and culture. Now that the English
aspects of life have spread throughout the world thanks to the radical developments under the
Victorian Era, new literature and theories of thought are introduced. Tolkien uses this time period
heavily in his work within Middle Earth (Palgrave and Chance 150-160).
J.R.R. Tolkien has developed a monumental industry through his creation of the of
Middle Earth. The creation of Middle Earth has developed a particular thought process in regards
to the imagery used by Tolkien. By investigating the key components of Tolkien and Middle
Earth we are presented with two components. Component One is the The Victorian Era. This is
an era of globalization and the spree of the hand of England across the world. This is critical to

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how Tolkien is able to attain knowledge for his fantasy. The Victorian Era creates a connection
with Component Two; the Industrial Revolution. This connection demonstrates how a new era of
mankind has arisen. The cultural shift of agriculture to industry affected Tolkien in his view on
the preservation of life and simplicity. These two critical points of focus are the backbone to
creating the distinct connection between Tolkiens work and historical time periods. The
connections create a strong shadow behind Tolkiens train of thought and what was formulated
within his books. Identifying connections with the modern world and J.R.R. Tolkiens work has
been a task many professional scholars have formulated their work behind.

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Works Cited
Carpenter, Humphrey. J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,2000. Print.
Pearce, Joseph. Tolkien: Man and Myth. San Francisco: Ignatius, 1998. Print.
Shippey, T. A. J.R.R. Tolkien: Author of the Century. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 2001. Print.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit: Or, There and Back Again. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1966. Print.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings. Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1974. Print.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Silmarillion. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1974. Print.
Hunt III, Arthur W. Back to the Shire: From English Village to Global Village and Back Again.
Modern Age. 2009.
Staurt Leeland and Elizabeth Solopova. The Keys of Middle Earth. Palgrave Macmillian, 2005.
Print.