The Influence of War and Industry in Tolkien’s The

Lord of the Rings

J. R. R. Tolkien

• Born 1892

• Orphaned by the time he was a teenager

• Grew up in England

Nature

• Tolkien loved the countryside

• Appreciated the beauty of nature

• The English countryside influenced his creation of The Shire

World War I

• Tolkien fought in the war

• He lost many of his friends

• He realized the evil that war can bring and always remembered it

Industry

• Made war a bigger machine

• Destroyed natural resources

• Caused a thirst for power

World War II

• New technologies allow for greater destruction

• Nazis commit genocide

• The atomic bomb is invented

The Lord of the Rings

• Sauron wants to control Middle-Earth

• Uses war to conquer

• Technology allows for war machines

Saruman

• Attempts genocide of Rohan

• Uses industry to raise a new more technologically advanced super army

The War of the Ring

• The human race in danger of being destroyed

• Sauron uses war and industry to fight the battle of the age

The One Ring

• Ultimate Weapon

• Corrupts any who bear it

• Culmination of the influences of war and industry

Effects of War and Industry

• Orcs originated from elves that were tortured and militarized

• The Shire was almost destroyed

• Forests were lost and the environment strained

Outcome

• Forces of evil eventually defeated, though at a high cost

• Nature itself fought back and cleansed the “factories” of Isengard

Tolkien

• Did not care for technology

• Believed technology would only bring man down

• Presentation by Eric Scott

• Eng 1102

• Professor Owens

• I do not own any images shown

• Works cited