The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, GD thoughts

[OLD1953]

As I've said before, the popular literature will show the generational themes of the current generation. While I'm sure other literature is submitted, perhaps even published, it will not be popular or remembered as classic.

That in mind, lets look at the Hobbit. The Hobbit is a basic quest novel, published in 1937, but of course written prior to that, it was actually finished in 1932. (Similar to Superman, who was created about that time, but did not see the light of day until much later.) So what is the purpose of this quest? To steal a treasure from a greedy dragon, who has devastated a large number of dwarfs and their town for the sole purpose of enriching himself.

This is so obviously relevant to the stock market crash and the subsequent collapse of soverign debt across Europe and the World that it hardly needs comment. The Hobbit is a reflection of the underlying concerns of the time, whether the author was aware of it or not.

So what about "The Lord of the Rings"? Most of this trilogy was written during WWII, during the depths of the crisis. Also a quest story, the quest in this case requires the mobilization and cooperation of several more or less antagonistic races, dwarfs, elves, men and hobbits. Moreover, not all the individuals share the same goals, some want to use the ring as a weapon against evil, others just want to hide it, and some want to destroy it so it can't be used at all.

Eventually, cooperation wins out and the ring is destroyed, by the action of the least of the characters in the story, Gollum, who destroys it by accident while trying to steal it, an act which actually has no chance at all of success in the larger scheme of things.

And again, Lord of the Rings is obviously relevant to the generational themes of its day.

This has become so plain to me that I'll go so far as to say that virtually any truly popular literature with large scale public approval will have to match the generational cycle. It's nearly impossible to find a clear counter example.

[JR_in_Mass]

One obvious possibility would be Uncle Tom's Cabin.

The Hobbit was originally written for very private circulation only, until a friend happened to share it with a publisher, who intended it as a children's book. So it seems fair to say that there was no intentional parallel to current events, yet it did become very popular very fast among both children and adults. Bilbo, as an adult suddenly deprived of his comfortable life and forced to use his wits and his luck in a series of difficult circumstances and privations, may have had a particular appeal. It's interesting that the major event of the happy ending is that Bilbo returns just as an auction is in process for his home and all his personal property, but he is able to stop the auction and eventually recovers most of what had been sold.

In the preface to the 2nd edition of The Lord of the Rings, Mr. Tolkien expressly disclaims allegorical connection to the events of the WWII, but acknowledges that readers may find stories applicable to their own experience. The earliest parts of the book were written even before The Hobbit had been published - so no later than mid-1937.

Specifically on alliances, the Council of Elrond was written by mid-1940, so all the major alliances had been initiated before the USSR and the USA joined the war.

Fun fact related to GD - the time between the Battle of the Five Armies and the Council of Elrond is 77 years.

[poomi]

well, in that case, it sounds like the younger generation won those struggles as well.