The Struggle of Good vs. Evil in J.R.R. Tolkien’s the Lord of the Rings Trilogy

The Struggle of Good vs. Evil in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings Trilogy J.R.R. Tolkien is one of the most influential fantasy writers of all time. He has been referred to as the “father” of modern fantasy literature. Tolkien was an English writer, poet, philologist, and a professor at Oxford University. He has written The Hobbit, The Silmarillion, the famous Lord of the Rings trilogy, and more. The Lord of the Rings has inspired literature, artwork, music, film, videogames, and television. In The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Tolkien suggests that the ends do not justify the means. J.R.R. Tolkien was born on January 3rd 1892, the child of Arthur and Mabel Tolkien. Arthur Reuel Tolkien was 31 years old when he proposed to 18 year old Mabel Suffield. She gladly accepted, but her father was not too happy. He thought Mabel was too young to be married, so the wedding was put off for a few years. In 1891, the two finally got married. Mabel’s father was not pleased, he didn’t think the Tolkien family was good enough for the respectable Suffield family, but he gave the couple his blessing. Arthur’s banking business in England was not doing well, so he decided to move to the city Bloemfontein, South Africa because it would be more profitable. Mabel wasn’t too thrilled about the move. In a letter to her family she called Bloemfontein a "Owlin ' Wilderness! Horrid Waste!" (Doughan). They would end up staying there for a while. Arthur Tolkien wrote the following to his mother on January 4th, 1892:
My dear Mother,
I have good news for you this week. Mabel gave me a beautiful little son last night (3 January). It was rather before time, but the baby is strong and well and Mabel has come through wonderfully. The baby is (of course) lovely. It has beautiful hands and ears (very long fingers), very light hair, 'Tolkien ' eyes and very distinctly a 'Suffield ' mouth. In general effect immensely like a very fair edition of its Aunt Mabel Mitton. When we

Cited: Armstrong, Chris. "J. R. R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis: A Legendary Friendship | Christian History." ChristianityToday.com | Magazines, News, Church Leadership & Bible Study. 8 Aug. 2008. Web. 09 Jan. 2011. . Doughan, David. "J. R. R. Tolkien: A Biographical Sketch." The Tolkien Society. Web. 7 Jan. 2011. . Fair, Kay. "Analyzing The Lord of the Rings: Good Vs. Evil." Associated Content from Yahoo! - Associatedcontent.com. Web. 09 Jan. 2011. . Gilsdorf, Ethan. "J.R.R. Tolkien and C. S. Lewis: A Literary Friendship and Rivalry Made in Oxford LiteraryTraveler.com." Literary Traveler, Literary Tours, Travel Writing, Travel Literature, Ereaders, EBooks, Travel, HemingwayLiteraryTraveler.com. Web. 09 Jan. 2011. . "J.R.R. Tolkien :: Biography." Arwen-Undomiel.com :: Dedicated to J.R.R. Tolkien 's Lord of the Rings ::. Web. 07 Jan. 2011. . Tolkien, John R. R. The Lord of the Rings [one Volume Edition with the Index and Appendices]. London: HarperCollins, 1995. Print. "Tolkien, J.R.R. - Fun Facts and Information." Fun Trivia Quizzes - World 's Largest Trivia and Quiz Site! Web. 09 Jan. 2011. .