Joe Dragoo

Publication Date

11-1987

Advisor(s) - Committee Chair

Joseph Survant, Joe Glaser, Dorothy McMahon

Comments

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Degree Program

Department of English

Degree Type

Master of Arts

Abstract

Tolkien's position in the tradition of English literature has been an ambiguous one. Critics believe he reflects not only Christian values, but a nostalgia for the medieval period as well. However, a close reading of Tolkien's major work, The Lord of the Rings reveals that Tolkien's true concerns rested in the Twentieth Century. His hero faces a psychological battle as well as physical danger. The imaginary landscape of the work, Middle-earth, is a world in danger of destruction and annihilation, much like our world today. It is only through a kind of "escape," not a denial of the world but a looking beyond it, which has with it the hope of return, that Tolkien hopes to find the modern world redeemed.

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Creative Writing | English Language and Literature | Literature in English, British Isles

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