My analysis is over "The Hobbit" the prequel to the famous "Lord of the Rings". "The Hobbit" was the first book that Tolkien wrote that takes place in middle earth and tells the story of Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo is a hobbit, half sized humanoid creatures, that lives in the quiet town of The Shire. Bilbo is a simple living hobbit who dreams only of easy days smoking his tabacco and living the good life. This is all ruined when his humble home is ransacked by a dozen dwarfs, among them major character Thorin, and a wizard that goes by Gandalf the Grey. Bilbo is thrust into the dwarves journey to the Lonely Mountain. They are going to reclaim their rightful treasure which is being hoarded by the dragon Smaug. When Bilbo gets lost in the tunnels of the Lonely Mountain he comes across a magical ring and its rightful owner, Gollum. This is how the ring comes into play throughout "The Lord of the Rings". From here Bilbo follows the dwarves throughout their adventure meeting the elves in Mirkwood and the humans in Lake Town. When Bilbo finally returns to The Shire he is a changed Hobbit full of adventure and wonder. These are the experiences and lessons that he instills in his nephew, Frodo, that perpetuates all of the events in the following "Lord of the Rings".

Works Cited

-Tolkien J.R.R. The Hobbit, New York: Houghton Mifflin 1997 Print

-"About J.R.R. Tolkien", http://www.lord-of-the-rings.org/author.html,2009

The summary of Tolkien's major works can be summarized into two words: Middle Earth. Tolkien worked for over 40 years on creating a vast mythology built around Middle Earth and its inhabitants. The Hobbit, Fellowship of the Ring, Two Towers, Return of the King, The Silmarillion and more all surround the wonder of the Middle Earth. Tolkien's most noteable works is 'The Lord of the Rings', a novel broken into three parts, 'The Fellowship of the Ring', 'The Two Towers', and' The Return of the King' and its prequel 'The Hobbit'. This takes place during throughout the third age of Middle Earth and is the most popular of its history. This chronicals how a simple living hobbit, Frodo, attains the one ring of power and his and his friends journey to save middle earth from being taken over by Sauron. 'The Fellowship of the Ring' tells the story of Frodo's journey to Rivendel with a few of his hobbit friends, hoping to meet with Gandalf the wizard and decide what needs to be done with the ring. It is there that a council meets and decides that Frodo must take the ring to Mount Doom and destroy it. Many famous characters including Aragorn, Gimli, and Legolas, as well as others, decide to accompany him and the fellowship of the ring is formed. During their journey the Fellowship breaks up and only Frodo and Sam are left to continue on to destroy the ring. The Two Towers focuses on two fronts. One follows Frodo and Sam as they continue to Mount Doom while the others follows the remaining members of the fellowship and their struggle against Sauron's grip over middle earth. To resist spoiling more, The Return of the King is the summary of the leading events.

Tolkien's books have created more than a cult following and many more books are considered to be major works by those that love the mythology of middle earth. The Silmarillion, The History of Middle Earth (containing 12 volumes), The Children of Hurin, and The Legend of Sigurd and Gudrun all span Tolkien's vast world.

Works Cited

Rogers, Debra Webster. "J.R.R. Tolkien" In Twayne's English Authors Series Online, New York: G.K. Hall & Co. Online, 1999.

-"J.R.R. Tolkien", Encyclodeadia Britannica Online. 09 April 2010.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/598643/J-R-R-Tolkien

Tolkien's themes and major influences stem from his love of mythology and his love for storytelling. Starting with "The Silmarillion" Tolkien began creating a the vast world of Middle Earth and even made up an entire elvish language to go along with it. Tolkien also loved to tell stories and in 1930 he started working on a story that was geared towards a younger audience, the book becoming "The Hobbit". The major themes encountered in "The Hobbit" are very similar to a coming of age story. Bilbo goes from a simple-lived hobbit to a grand adventurer. "The Lord of the Rings" is a heroic epic story and even themed by the Shamonic journey through many of the characters. Tolkien often told stories of wild adventure that always had purpose.

Tolkien's writing subject did not become a hit right off the bat. At the time publishers were mainly concerned with a new style of writing: realism. But over time Tolkien's storys of fantasy and adventure took off and to this day are still the cornerstone of todays fantasy writing. In fact when "The Lord of the Rings" was published in paperback in the U.S. it received cult status within the college community and many of the fantasy writers of today cite Tolkien as an influence in their writing (including my favorite R.A. Salvatore).

Works Cited

- Rogers, Debra Webster. "J.R.R. Tolkien" In Twayne's English Authors Series Online, New York: G.K. Hall & Co. Online, 1999.

-"J.R.R. Tolkien", Encyclodeadia Britannica Online. 09 April 2010.

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/598643/J-R-R-Tolkien

J.R.R. Tolkien had a three official professions in his life; military member, teacher, and writer. Tolkien faught on the western front of France during World War I. He saw action at the Battle of Somme and was injured. When World War II rolled around he was aproached to become a codebreaker and even went as far as taking classes in London. Ultimately he was told that he would not be needed.

Tolkien's first job after the war was to work on the Oxford English Dictionary where his specialty was working on words of Germanic origin. In 1924 he became a profesor at the University of Leeds. Here he and a collegue worked on a new edition of Sir Gaiwan and the Green Knight, a version that is still considered one of the best editions today. He then moved back to Oxford where he became the Profesor of Anglo-Saxon. It was here that he wrote the Hobbit and the first two portions of the Lord of the Rings. The rest of his career is defined by his relationship with C.S. Lewis and the furthering of Middle Earth mythology.

Tolkien has 5 blue plaques commemorating places associated with him and his writing. Four of them are in Birmingham and one is in Oxford.

Works Cited

- Rogers, Debra Webster. "J.R.R. Tolkien" In Twayne's English Authors Series Online, New York: G.K. Hall & Co. Online, 1999.

- "About J.R.R. Tolkien", http://www.lord-of-the-rings.org/author.html, 2009

Biography

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was bor in South Africa in 1892 to Arthur Tolkien, a banker, and Mabel Suffield Tolkien. John moved to England when he was three, and after his father's death just a year later, was raised by his mother, along with his brother Hilary, on a farm. Their mother taught them many things (of which Tolkien enjoyed Latin and drawing) until her passing when John was twelve years old. He fell under the care of his mother's priest Father Francis Xavier Morgan. By the time Tolkien finished school he was able to marry his long time sweet-heart Edith Bratt, but their time together was cut short when England was plauged by World War I.

Tolkien was sent to France in the spring of 1916. There he was exposed to the many horrers of the war and was eventually sent home when he contracted trench fever. Even though he was spared the physical harshness of the war he, like all soldiers, would retain the psychological effects of the war for the rest of his life. After the war ended Tolkien got a job working on the New English Dictionary. He then moved his family to Leeds for a time where he taught in the English Department. Tolkien finally moved his family to Oxford where he met C.S. Lewis, another prominent British author that would become his long time friend.

Tolkiend and Lewis would often meet together. During these meetings each writer thoroughly influenced each others work. Tolkien helped bring Lewis back to christianity, which would be the basis of the rest of Lewis' work, and Lewis gave high praise to the excerpts Tolkien would read from "The Silmarillion", "The Hobbit", and "The Lord of the Rings". Tolkien publishd the Lord of the Rings in 1948 and, after some reprinting issues, Tolkiens popularity took off. Britians and Americans couldn't get enough of his work, to which Tolkien continued to expand his vast LOTR universe for the rest of his life. Tolkien's fame grew and grew from his retirement in 1959 to his death in 1973, at times a little bit to much, especially to the idol-like praise that he was receiving from the American 'hippie' movement. John and Edith eventually passed living a quiet life in Bournemouth.

Works Cited:

- Rogers, Debra Webster. "J.R.R. Tolkien" In Twayne's English Authors Series Online, New York: G.K. Hall & Co. Online, 1999.

Link

- Doughan, David "Who was Tolkien", www.tolkiensociety.org, web. 2006

Link

Tolkien Symbol: Source