Posted on 01/13/2003 11:58:14 AM PST by Enemy Of The State
This is a common misconception of LOTR. Tolkien was not an environmentalist or a left-winger of any stripe but, in his own term, an "anarcho-conservative" (probably similar to a libertarian over here). His views on the environment would fall into the conservationist camp—he would prefer to preserve privately what we have (and he would have loathed getting the government involved, especially if it meant higher taxes!). I'm sure many American conservatives like to camp or take a hike through natural woodland, and Tolkien would have wanted those woodlands to be available for just that purpose—not to worship nature by any means.
He did, however, have a decidedly anti-industrial bent. He despised machines, for some reason, feeling that the machine had led civilization down a road toward oblivion. In many ways, the ring itself represents the machine and the evil ways it can be used to enslave and corrupt free people. The fellowship, then, is an effort by those free people to remain free and live as they are accustomed, that is, in their agrarian-based societies.
As for the trees (Ents) getting into the action, Tolkien was very fond of trees, and it was this fondness that probably spurred the idea of the Ents. Their coming in on the side of the free peoples and fighting with them is "natural," in that the Ents primary enemies were ax-wielding orcs commanded by Saruman. I don't think it was any kind of environmental statement.
I mostly meant fans of the book. I have nothing against the "Just Married" comedy (at least not yet, if I ever see it I might). But I think it is safe to say it can not have the impact of Tolken's work.
Even though I have waited decades to see a good movie version of "The Lord of the Rings", I was being a bit toungue-in-cheek about the uncultured swine. Just my reaction to finding out that so many otherwise fine people out there had not read, reread and loved these books.
I don't really agree. If you know Tolkien's paradigm for all of Middle Earth, it is not platonic at all -- and the one ring is not really like Plato's at all. I think the connection with Augustine at the end is a little more solid, but only because both Tolkien and Augustine share a Christian worldview and theology, not because Tolkien was imitating or borrowing from Augustine
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