Essay On The Hobbit

Behind the Creatures and Monsters Hobbits, dragons, orcs, goblins… that is what most people think of when they think J.R.R Tolkien. What they do not think about is Tolkien as who he is: a human. J.R.R Tolkien was obsessed with learning. It was instilled in him from early on. The different ways that learned in his life, including his travel, the death in his life, family religion, linguistics, and, of course, academia, have influenced his work such as The Hobbit. From an early age, Tolkien had major events going on in his life that would shape his literary experience for years to come. Notably, Tolkien moved around often for a variety of different reasons, he moved from South Africa, to England (“Biography.”). His family traveled to various parts of England and after his mother’s
When he was three, his father died, forcing his mother to raise him and his siblings himself. Death within a family is brought forward in The Hobbit. For example, Fili and Kili died defending Thorin. In The Hobbit, it says “Of the twelve companions of Thorin, ten remained. Fili and Kili had fallen defending him with shield and body, for he was their mother’s elder brother” (Tolkien 202). Tolkien’s father, himself, had died in an effort to protect his family and to help them have a better life. Not only that, but there is many wars and battles ensnared throughout The Hobbit. Tolkien’s experiences with death in war and battle could have played a major role in this. “They knew that the joined armies of the Lake-men and the Elves were hurrying towards the Mountain” (Tolkien 259). This ever looming threat of doom and war meshes itself into Tolkien’s story so easily in this situation. Death inches its way into Tolkien’s writing. Tolkien was homeschooled after the death of his father, so Tolkien was heavily influenced by his mother’s views. One such way was the family’s heavy involvement in the Roman Catholic