In Defense Of Humanity-on The Literary Mania Of The Lord Of The Rings

The Lord of the Rings trilogy is a fantasy epic written by renowned Britishphilologist and writer John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. After the publication of the threevolumes in the1950s, the trilogy has swept the world, fascinating millions of readers,and it has aroused the unprecedented literary mania of the work and the cult of theauthor. With its huge success, Tolkien is respected by critics and global readers andThe Lord of the Rings obtained its unique status in literary history.Traditionally critics and researchers are prone to study the fascination of TheLord of the Rings from the perspectives of mythology and religion, probing into thearchetypes and the religious significance reflected in the work. Traditional approachesfocus on the specific aesthetic factor of the work; the stereotyped interpretation ofreligion and mythology attributed the literary mania to the return of myths and thecontribution of religious salvation, which are insufficient for the explanation to theuniversal mania which fascinates multicultural readers in the world.This thesis analyzes the universal attraction of the work—the defense of thehumanity, illustrating author’s contemplation of human destiny, concerns about theexistence of human and the consolations to primordial wishes of human being. Theliterary mania of The Lord of the Rings is attributable to the humanistic concernsabout unremarkable individuals, the contemplation over the issues of human destinyin modern times, the systematic consolations to readers’ wishes guided by Tolkien’sfairy-story poetics, and the literary industrialization of external social-economicmanipulations of the work.This thesis consists of four chapters. In introduction, current researches arereviewed; the lack of intertextual analyses and the stereotyped interpretations of theauthor and the work are indicated. Chapter One covers the humanistic concernsreflected in the work: it highlights the heroism and virtues of the common people incrisis, the oppression of women and the feminist appeal for self-fulfillment.Meanwhile, through the split personality of Gollum the monster, the distortion andalienation of humanity which are exerted by power, are manifested. Chapter Twodiscusses the significant issues of human destiny in modern times reflected in thenovel: the cruelty of the war is indicated by its kin-slaying nature, the fruitlessness ofvictory and the incurable trauma of individuals; through the plot of Ents’ uprising, Tolkien explored the tension between environment and human, and the ruthlessretaliation to pollution; with the multicultural settings in the work, the interculturalconflicts and communication in reality are rehearsed. Chapter Three introducesTolkien’s fairy-story poetics and emphasizes its guidance to the work: the trilogyconsoles the primordial wishes of readers by recovering human’s vision of awe,helping them escape from the misery in reality and offering them consolation witheucatastrophe. Chapter Four analyses the social-economic manipulations on the work,which meet readers’ consumption of literature: besides the optimization of publication,The Lord of the Rings is commercialized in the industrialization of literature.Professional enterprise is established to franchise literary properties of the trilogy,developing marketable and serial literary commodities for readers and enhancing theinfluence and promotion of the work.