In James Cameron’s movie Avatar, the world of Pandora comes alive to fight against oppressive human invaders. Fans of Tolkien might recognize this theme from The Lord of the Rings. Both Peter Jackson’s movies and the original novel let nature have a hand in changing the fate of Middle-earth.
Since the publication of The Hobbit in September of 1937, J.R.R. Tolkien has been a beloved fantasy author and illustrator. With his books being published worldwide in over fifty translations, Tolkien has influenced millions with his craft. Though Tolkien insisted his books contained little allegory or resemblances to the real world, his books do include consistent moral themes. These themes, seamlessly interwoven with story and often tied to the natural world, are what give Middle-earth its true meaning. Today, critics might have labeled him an environmentalist, but at the time the green movement had yet to begin.
Tolkien’s Schoolboy Wish
During a reading of Macbeth, a much younger Tolkien had grown excited at the coming of “Great Birnam Wood to high Dunsinane hill.” Readers of this Shakespearean play may know that the wood did not truly come to Dunsinane, but the march of the wood was merely a ruse used by enemy soldiers. Tolkien described this as a bitter disappointment and sought a setting to have the forest truly march to war.
Fangorn Forest, home to tree herders called Ents, reflects this wish in The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. When the forest is invaded by axe-wielding orcs under the control of Saruman the wizard, the trees of the forest are awakened and march against Saruman’s tower fortress. However, Tolkien knew such a setting would not happen in the real world and also focused his writing on humanity’s responsibility as stewards of nature.
Stewardship
Tolkien placed a high value on stewardship, especially of the natural world. He often used the term “steward” in his writings. Denethor, Steward of Gondor, was meant to protect and care for a kingdom which had lost its king. Gandalf, the famous wizard, claimed “all worthy things that are in peril as the world now stands, those are my care…For I too am a steward.” Tolkien wished to protect nature and all things which “grow fair or bear fruit and flower.”
Fighting for Environmental Renewal
Modern ideas of environmentalism are bereft with political opinions, but Tolkien came before such partisanship. One of Tolkien’s childhood homes was an inspiration for his creation of the home of the Hobbits in his books. Tolkien iterated his displeasure of the industrialization of his pastoral home at the end of The Lord of the Rings. Upon returning from his journey, Frodo Baggins finds his home overrun by greed. Trees and gardens had been dug up in favor of cropland and buildings and homes ravaged to make room for machinery. Once a quaint wooden waterwheel, Sandyman’s Mill was torn down to make a larger, more mechanized brick building.
Tolkien insists there will always be a need to fight against the nature of humans to oppress the natural world in favor of efficiency and profit. The Hobbits are forced to take up arms to oust the greedy overlord before they can begin rebuilding their fair Shire homeland. Certainly, Tolkien was a steward of nature through his writings. He fought for the preservation of things which “grow fair or bear fruit and flower.”
Sources
Carpenter, Humphrey. 1977. J.R.R. Tolkien: A Biography. George Allen and Unwin, London.
Tolkien, J.R.R. 1991. The Lord of the Rings. HarpersCollins Publishers, London.
Tolkien, J.R.R. 1981. The Letters of J.R.R. Tolkien. Ed. Humphrey Carpenter. George Allen and Unwin, London.
Brian Daughtry - With a degree in biological sciences, experience in science education, and a life of avid reading and writing, Brian enjoys writng for the ...
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