Just war, 9/11 and the lord of the rings.

• Main Author: Lim, Vera Jiahua.
• Other Authors: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2011
• Subjects: DRNTU::Humanities::Literature
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/44349
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This essay will examine Tolkien’s choice to write the war story of The Lord of the Rings in the heroic tradition and how its consequent popularity reflects the political climate of a post-September 11 world. 1. Tolkien’s essay On Fairy-Stories sums up the appeal of The Lord of the Rings in troubled times, as the qualities of a fairy-story (fantasy, recovery, escape and consolation) result in the creation of a timeless and global myth about the triumph of good over evil. 2. The Lord of the Rings is a cautionary message for America in its war on terror, as evil in the novels is portrayed as the corruption of ideals, since the lure of the Ring rises from the desire to do good. Also, I will address Tolkien’s choice to end the trilogy with the anti-climactic chapter ‘The Scouring of the Shire’, which is removed from Jackson’s film adaptation because it brings the reality of war into the solace provided by the peaceful settlement of the Shire. 3. Finally, the main section of my essay will be concentrating on Jackson’s film adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, and how it doubles up as propaganda in support of a just war against an absolute evil, providing justification for the war on terror led by America.