EN119 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: J. R. R. Tolkien, Hobbit, Industrial Revolution
Document Summary
The hobbit fantasy i: of wars, words, and worlds. Context since first publication until about 20 years ago, considered a standard work of children"s literature since film adaptations of lord of the rings, the hobbit has transitioned into a fiction for adults too. Both parents and children enjoy and benefit while reading this book together. Tolkein wrote for a generation torn apart by war. Lost his son in one of the great wars. First hand experiences of war and the industrial revolution. His own childhood urban home was torn up during industrialization. For tolkein, the hobbit symbolizes a flight from modernity: light, playful, nostalgic, retreat into idealized and fantasized past. Linear: event after event and so on beginning, middle, end. Recently, emphasis on dialogue and internal thoughts: more 2 dimensional, round characters. A type of quest narrative which recounts the episodic escapades of a rascal the picaro who lives by his wits and wears a mask of false bravado.
