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Environmental Sciences

Marquette University

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

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Environmentalism In J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings, Sophie Butler Jan 2022

Environmentalism In J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings, Sophie Butler

4610 English: Individual Authors: J.R.R. Tolkien

The theme of environmentalism within Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, while sometimes underlying, is an ever-present background to the characters and actions of Middle-Earth.The hero’s movements through nature contrasted with the criminal destruction of nature by the villains presents two clear perspectives about the treatment of nature, but Tolkien also inserts his perspective through the inclusion of Tree characters, like Ents. Trees and tree characters are an essential part of Tolkien's legendarium that help to illuminate the author's claims about environmentalism and the impacts of progress on the world. How characters interact with nature inform their ethics and point …