When some people hear the name Tolkien, they either say "Oh yea, the guy who wrote about those silly Hobbits." or "Oh Tolkien, he's heavy". I would say that both statements comments are true.
His first The Hobbit, is a lighter story. Of course I would recommend that someone read it first. It gives you the feeling of Middle Earth and the peoples who dwell there. While reading this wonderful book, you will be pulled in to the story and care about the characters. This seems simple enough. It appears to be just a straight forward, simple story. So what's the big deal?
Middle Earth feels perfectly natural and all the characters feel very real. Even though some of the characters are not "human". They are "human related". In order for Middle Earth to feel so natural, he had to build a history of the country. He also did this with the different races in the story. By giving them a history, he could then "know" his characters. Which gave him a basis to how a character would act in any circumstance. That is why they feel so natural. We, as readers, don't know all the work that goes into putting together a saga such as this. It seems very simple, but that is what makes him a "master" of his craft.
When you read The Hobbit with an open mind and just go with it, you will find that his characters are deeper than what you thought at first glance. Bilbo seemed to be just a simple little character, who is soft and simple. And he was, until he was confronted with serious danger. He then had to use his brains to figure out how to get out of trouble. We are all like that. As long as things are going along at an even pace, we just sort of flow with it. But, when serious problems arise, that's when we find out what we are made of. How we face these problems builds our own character. Gandalf represents the all knowing "hero" that we are in "awe" of. Of course even Gandalf was not perfect. But he was a wise man, who represents the good. These characters seem simple on the surface but if you think about them for a while, you should realize that they were really pretty complex.
The Hobbit is a far lighter story than the following Lord of The Rings. This trilogy is complex. There are a lot of things going on. You have the Hobbits, with their problems. Frodo is burdened with the whole of Middle Earth on his little shoulders. Gandalf is trying to gather information and advise everyone. The men of Middle Earth have a war to contend with. The Elves and dwarves are in the middle of this turmoil. There are different characters that have to choose the right course to take. There is the Evil one who wants to take over all of Middle Earth and have all worship him. He has his own problems. He needs the "one" ring to accomplish this. There are a lot of different stories going on that is all related to the war.
This is a very long story, but when I finished reading it, I wanted it to go on. I would say that that is what lets me know that it is great. I have read these stories many times. Usually about once a year. Every time I read them, I come across something that I either didn't remember or I just didn't think about that part very much and now it stems a more total picture in my mind.
This saga was not written over night. Actually it took many years to
write.
JRR Tolkien began working on the histories of his Middle Earth in the 1910's.
However, Silmarillion was not completed until the late
1920's. Developing from single fragments of tales as presented in "The History of
Middle Earth". In the 1930's, The Hobbit was written. It
was such a success, that Tolkien began to work on another story about the Hobbits.
It developed into the great tale of the Third Age, focusing on the War of the Ring.
"The Fellowship of the Ring"
"The Two Towers"
"The Return of the King"
The trilogy complete is known as "The Lord of the Rings" was completed in the 1950's. It was not a big success commercially. But in the late 1960's, its popularity increased. There began an underground fad. With the words "Frodo lives!" popping up in all kinds of places, such as subways and bathroom walls. Tolkien opened a whole new field in literature. Of course we now know that he is the "master" of his craft and is the "Father of Fantasy Literature".
In his later years, Tolkien turned back to work on the background of Middle Earth, restructuring and organizing his many writings on the First and Second Age. But alas, his sudden death put an end to it.
His son Christopher published "The Silmarillion", presenting the old tales in their most recent and fitting versions. After "The Silmarillion" did well, he published the "Unfinished Tales", presenting writings that were still developing when his father died.
Later, Christopher Tolkien took on the great task of organizing the many older versions of the Silmarillion and Lord of the Rings. This great work is now completed in "The History of Middle Earth".
I have not read "The History of Middle Earth". I hope to read it in the near future.
Graphics by: Backgrounds by Debbie
