Themes of Life in Lord of the Rings - Essay Example

Themes of Life in Lord of the Rings J. R. R. Tolkien’s epic adventure collectively en d The Lord of the Rings has been examined by critics and fans alike from a variety of viewpoints, approaches and assumptions. It has been argued that he was writing a religious adventure, with parallels drawn between Tolkien’s Catholic faith and the biblical analogies made throughout the text. It has also been argued, as convincingly, that his goal was to bring attention to environmental concerns, illustrating the dichotomy between the nature-nurturing elves that remained a force of good and the nature-destroying and nature-altering evil of Sauron’s armies.

To me, Tolkien’s concern for the environment is undeniable and probably stems from his faith in God as he considered every living thing as worthy of respect. Tolkien believed in the veneration of things in the natural world as manifestations of God’s work, so it should be no surprise that environment plays a large role in the world of Middle Earth. It also serves as a handy symbolic device to reveal the political leanings of some of the characters involved. The House of Elrond, for instance, is described to have been built in such a way as to take greatest advantage of the beautiful scenery around it.

Vistas overlooking the river, gardens topping the steep banks, terraces that afford optimal observance of the sunrise and courtyards full of the sounds of falling water are among the natural terms used to describe the Elven homes and the important role of nature in contributing to their beauty and richness. The hobbits also revere the elements of the natural world as they live in “a well-ordered and well-farmed countryside … They do not and did not understand or like machines more complicated than a forge-bellows, a water-mill, or a handloom, though they were skillful with tools” (Fellowship, 20).

These two races, the hobbits and the elves, are considered to be the most resistant to the evils of the ring and are the two races living closest to nature. In Tolkien’s terms, living close to nature would equate to living close to God, therefore the hobbits and elves, in their close relationship with nature, are closer to the protections of God’s goodness in attempting to reject the pull of the evil ring. Mankind is shown to have made an attempt to live in close harmony with nature, as in the horsemen of Rohan or the elaborately carved city of Gondor, but continue to enforce their will upon nature rather than working in collaboration with it.

As a result, they live further from the protectiveness of God and fall more readily under the spell of the ring. The condition of the land and the association the race of man enjoys with it is directly related to the health of the community. Finally, those forces associated with evil can be seen to have no respect at all for nature. This is most evident in the acts of desecration committed by Saruman at the White Tower that finally angers nature to such an extent that it fights back in the form of the awakened Ents.

Nature, as an expression of God as well as of justice, is shown to be an unstoppable force, unleashing vast destruction on the armies of Saruman while proving able to withstand the floods they’ve unleashed just as the volcano of Sauron’s land destroys his people completely once his power over it has been broken in the destruction of the ring within the heat of its inner fires. While it can be argued that Tolkien planted an environmental message within his trilogy, it can as easily be seen that a naturalistic approach taken to religion, such as the approach Tolkien himself took, would have similar results.

Whether Tolkien wrote from the perspective of a Christian faith that equated harmony in nature with harmony with God or from an environmental perspective in an attempt to preserve the beautiful places on earth, it is undeniable that his use of nature to help tell his story is powerful and beautiful.