J.R.R. Tolkien, Nature Writer.

[W I S N E R !]

Between other books I’m slowly re-reading The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit.  Started with The Hobbit, finished The Fellowship of the Ring, currently about halfway through The Two Towers.

Anyhow, coming back to these works later in life, and especially with many miles and nights of backpacking under my belt, I’m really struck by the fact that so much of Tolkien’s work is essentially a celebration of nature…or relies upon nature to create a sense of dread and danger.  I think it’s safe to say that 75% of The Fellowship of the Ring consists of nothing but wandering descriptions of the party journeying through forests, peaks, and rivers.  And then there’s Tom Bombadil, living in Tolkien’s highly poetic and descriptive forest paradise on the outskirts of the Barrow Downs…

I find a lot of similar enthusiasm and energy in Tolkien’s written descriptions as I do in John Muir’s…I have to presume he spent considerable time quietly observing the outdoors as there are just so many minute details about the character of the land…

 

 

[Jerry Adams]

great books, I first read maybe 1966 or so.  Just re-read last summer.  Yeah, he must have had a lot of experiences in nature.

[Phong D]

Tolkien is great, and was an inspiration for not only my view of nature but to view life as a giant road from which all adventures spring.  This viewpoint was really what inspired me to get out of my petty life and get on the PCT.

Some might argue modern fantasy…like GOT and Mistborn…are better but nothing has effected me personally as Tolkien.

Parents, if you don’t want your kids wandering the mountains in search of the Misty Mountains or Lothlorien…don’t let them read Tolkien!

 

[W I S N E R !]

I’m glad you see it too Phong!

Its also been an interesting metaphor in the time of COVID, especially the message that we do not choose the age and circumstances in which we live, but only how we will respond to them.

Ive been backpacking every weekend for the last month and can’t help but see my walks through the eyes of Tolkien to some extent.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

All,

When I first backpacked the glacial valley of Lamoille Canyon and saw small waterfalls off the sides of the canyon I was instantly reminded of Rivendell.

And when backpacking Pennsylvania’s 80+ mile Susquehannock Trail System (STS) I  entered a gloomy ironwood glade and saw a mossy hand carved wooden sign that said “MIRKWOOD” with a warning to traverse it quickly to avoid the “creatures” that lurked there.

The Lord of the Rings often permeates and informs our view of Nature, whether we are conscious of it or not.

 

 

 

 

[Paul McLaughlin]

I’ve read a couple of Tolkien biographies, and am a big fan of all his books. He was a lover of nature but more specifically of rural countryside. Tolkien spent nearly all his life in England, except the first few years. If I recall correctly he may have visited the Alps once or twice but that was it as far as anything in the wild or mountainous way outside of the British Isles. It’s actually rather surprising to me, given the vast variety of natural environments he describes in his books, that his own experience of the world was not very wide. But his appreciation for nature shines through all of his works – especially trees, I think. He had a love for, and appreciation of the beauty of, trees that was very deep. There is a great photo of him leaning against the foot of an old tree that is the picture of him in my mind – pops up any time I think of him. It was either on the cover of a paperback version of one of the biographies I have read, or just one of the photos within.

[Jerry Adams]

I believe the evilness, Sauron and so forth was a metaphor for Hitler and the war was a metaphor for WWII

[MJ H]

You didn’t read his introduction, did you?

[Jerry Adams]

Okay, it must have been in the introduction:)

I’ve read those books many times.  I like the maps.  As I’m reading the book, go back to the map to see where they’re going

[MJ H]

The opposite. He did not like it when people saw his book as a allegory for World War II.  See here.

[Tom K]

“https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/john-ronald-reuel-tolkien-1698.php”

Nothing in this distillation of his life to indicate Muir-ian tendencies, FWLIW.

[Jerry Adams]

Tolkien’s formative years included Hitler and WWII so that was bound to influence his books, regardless of whether he intended to be be metaphor for it

Regardless, when I read his books, I was captured and became part of the story in my head, well written.

[Paul Wagner]

I read these books in 1965 as a teenager on a family camping trip through the Canadian Rockies.  I’ve always associated those mountains with the Misty Mountains of Tolkien’s books…

[Ken Larson]

[jscott]

“Many men who are lost won’t stop and ask for directions.”

Mrs. Tolkien

[Bruce Tolley]

“Tolkien’s formative years included Hitler and WWII so that was bound to influence his books, regardless of whether he intended to be be metaphor for it.”

Tolkien served in the infantry on the western front in WWI, the war to end all wars. Many of his friends died, and some came back damaged.

 

From Cambridge or Oxford, you can walk and get into the country and walk on signed footpaths that have been in use since the middle ages.

There also mountains in the UK, they just are not as tall and ours here in North America.

[Jerry Adams]

his books seem more like WWI with trench warfare and chemical warfare

[Matt Dirksen]

If anyone is ever near the Forest of Dean in Wales, I highly recommend visiting Puzzlewood.  Apparently Tolkien worked here in his youth, and may been a source of inspiration for him.

[obx hiker]

The Secret Life of Trees was such a revelation. Much of the same scientific information is again covered in The Overstory.

Trees are sentient beings.

Both bring Fangorn to mind. How did he (Tolkien) know?

[W I S N E R !]

Trees are sentient beings.

Both bring Fangorn to mind. How did he (Tolkien) know?

I love it.  I was just having a conversation with a friend about the Ents, surrounding historical mythology, and contemporary views on the behavior of trees. It’s fascinating how much of a lag there is between our scientific appreciation of things and what many very, very old cultures have been telling us all along.

[Jerry Adams]

I like how trees communicate with each other.  If one is attacked, it’ll warn it’s neighbors to prepare a defense.

But, they can’t walk around : )

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Hmmm…  well, the eagles coming to the rescue of the elves, dwarves and hobbits to me, at least, represents the Americans coming the rescue of England, and later most of Europe and Russia.

So I’ve always felt like Jerry, that his life experiences informed his writing, however subconsciously.

[Nick Gatel]

I read these books nearly 50 years ago. I read them for pure entertainment, nothing else. They were fun. All this interpretation removes the value for me.

Reminds me of some of the Beatles’ songs with all the dissection, playing songs in reverse, etc. Then Lennon and McCartney would say it was just making the words rhyme and be in meter with the music — nothing more. But some of their songs did have meaning, usually not hidden, allegorical or metaphorical.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Nick, the first time i ever even saw a Tolkien book (“Lord of the Rings”) was in 1966 in the Peace Corps in the Philippines. It was in a box of a dozen or so books some literary wonk in Peace Corps bureaucracy saw fit to include, and I’m so glad they did.

[Mike M]

I’m starting to reread the Hobbit and Lord of Rings after 30-ish years.  I finished the Hobbit some time back and gave it to my grandson for him to read.  Just recently finished the Fellowship and starting on the Two Towers.  I’ll forward the Fellowship to my grandson (I think he just finished the Hobbit).

While the plot was pretty clear in my mind (enforced by the movies), there were a lot of good surprises that I didn’t recall.  I was also surprised by the numerous changes (and omissions) in the movies vs the books; the movies were very well done, but man the books!  :)

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