Blog Fantasy
Post 5 - The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
Why is one drawn to Fantasy Worlds? What properties or qualities do these worlds posses that make them so captivating to one?
Perhaps, one of the properties that Fantasy Worlds posses that make them so appealing is that it generally is: A world without the Dominion of Mankind. In The Hobbit, by JRR Tolkien, Bilbo, the protagonist goes through many adventures and sees many thingys that are completely out of this world. Bilbo’s many dangerous adventures include: fighting goblins and evil wolves, traveling through an ever-changing dark forest, fooling giant spiders, and confronting a powerful, infamous dragon named Smaug. Through these numerous adventures, Bilbo meets many beings of different species. He meets Hobbits, West Elves, High Elves, Wood Elves, Dwarves, Goblins, and Trolls. Yet one race of being that Bilbo has not confronted is Mankind; Mankind is mentioned in the book, but Bilbo is told little about them. One of the first mentions of mankind in the book is found on page 167 which states:
“In the Wide world the Wood-elves lingered in the twilight of our Sun and Moon, but loved best the stars; and they wandered in the great forests that grew tall in lands that are now lost. They dwelt most often by the edges of the woods, from which they could escape at times to hunt, or to ride and run over the open lands by moonlight or starlight, and after the coming of Men they [fled] ever more and more to the gloaming and the dusk. Still elves they were and remain, and that is Good People” (167).
This passage indicates that Mankind is greedily pushing the Wood-Elves “ever more and more to the gloaming and the dusk.” Tolkien seems to suggest that Mankind is a race of glutinous beings that continuously take land and have no regard for any other races other than their own. Although Mankind is not the dominant race of beings in the world, Tolkien seems to suggest that they are becoming so.
What separates a Fantasy World from the real world?
The real world is subjected to the dominion of man. Mankind has control of the world. In a Fantasy World, Mankind is not dominant; of all the race of beings, none is in absolute control. Instead, all of the races of beings contain themselves within their own kingdoms. Power over the world is shared and spread through out the whole Fantasy World.
What makes these properties or qualities so captivating?
The thing that makes a world without the Dominion of Mankind so interesting is the fact that man has little or no power over the Fantasy World. Compared to the real world, Man has little to no power. This quality of Fantasy Worlds suggests that man is a negative force in the world; man is dangerous. I connected this idea to the ideas of the Enlightenment Ages. In the passage in line 167, Tolkien writes, “after the coming of Men they [fled] ever more and more to the gloaming and the dusk” (167), implying that Mankind is an evil domineering race. This view on human nature is similar to the Cartesian view of mankind, which states that man is born innately evil and greedy. In a Fantasy World with little or no Mankind, the amount of problems that they cause and the troubles that plague themselves would decrease, and the world would be a better place.
A Fantasy World without the Dominion of Mankind is so interesting to one, because it allows a reader to escape from a world run by Mankind.
Mankind: Reduced to Little or Nothing
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2 comments:
Timmy: I like how you made a clear difference between the creatures/ characters of a fantasy world and mankind. When you mentioned the part on page 167 of how Tolkien views men as greedy and glutinous, continuously taking lands, it reminded me of when Columbus sailed from Europe to the Americas and tried to convert all the natives to Christianity. In essence, they hold the same idea that men have always been portrayed as dominating for their own self benefit. If I may suggest, I like how you made a reference to Tolkien’s opinion on mankind but perhaps you could include his own personal experience during World War 1. Perhaps, going to war and witnessing his friends die in front of his eyes impacted him to such an extremity that he grew this conception that the role of mankind wasn’t to make the world a better place but rather create wars for their own self benefit.
I forgot to add: I believe Tolkien's motive for creating stories with creatures/ fantasy characters rather then mankind is because society already has this preconceived notion of mankinds motives. Obviously, through the centuries of war and struggles men have created upon themselves, it would be difficult to depict them as pure and essential like Tolkien's fictional characters.
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