John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in South Africa in 1892 and later moved to England with his mother and brother after his father died. He studied classics and English literature at Exeter College. Tolkien met his future wife Edith Mary Bratt at age 16 and married her in 1916 despite his father's disapproval. His first Lord of the Rings book, The Hobbit, was published in 1937 as a bedtime story for his children. Many aspects of Tolkien's mythology parallel concepts in Catholicism, such as Eru representing God and the Ainur representing angels. Aragorn, who was descended from kings, took the name Strider but ultimately fulfilled his destiny by marrying Arwen and

1. A summary from a fan’s viewpoint Lord of the Rings

2. He was born John Ronald Reuel Tolkien in 1892 in South Africa. At the age of three, his mother, brother, and himself returned to England, his father having died prior to getting to return from South Africa, and the three moved in with his grandmother in King’s Heath. He attended Exeter College studying first Classics and then English Literature, graduating in the year 1915 About the author

3. Tolkien met his future wife, Edith Mary Bratt, at the age of 16. Tolkien’s father considered her a distraction, and forced him to cut off contact with her until he turned 21. He obeyed this prohibition, with the exception of the night he proposed to her, for which his father threatened to cut off his funding for school. They married in Warwick, England On March 22, 1916. The Hobbit, his first of the Lord of the Rings series, was published in 1937. It was written originally as a bedtime story for his children. About the author (continued)

4. The films were for the most part faithful to the vision, though some things were not so much. The treatment of Faramir is one very good example. In the books, he was courageous, faithful in contrast to how Boromir had fallen to the Ring’s temptation, where in the film version of the Two Towers, he took Frodo back into the city of Gondor, wishing to use the Ring for his own purposes. Though I do well understand that many times films of such grand works suffer from adaptation decay, that particular point disappointed me. An analysis of the films

5. However, there were many good points of the films. The visuals were very well done, and true to the story, and went far toward drawing in new fans to the series, something which to many scholars is a good thing because the series encourages critical thought. Analysis of the films (continued)

6. It is well known by most fans of the books that JRR Tolkien was firm in the Catholic fate, and many have made comparisons between the mythology of the series and the symbols of Catholicism itself. Eru, the God of the series, shares many traits and qualities of the God of the Christian faith. He is the great Creator of the world of Arda, which is the setting of the series, and holds with Himself the Imperishable Flame, which was the source of life and self awareness for the creatures and races of that world. The Ainur are in many ways comparable to Angels, in that they were servants and helpers to Eru, composing parts of the Theme with which He made the world Arda, and all that fell within it. The Valar, those of the greater Ainur which descended into Arda, would be more as the Archangels, who were the commanders and managers of things, while the Maiar would be more like the normal angels who worked under the Archangels’ direction. Allegory: comparison between story mythos and real life faith

7. Aragorn was the direct descendent of Prince Isildur of Anor, heir to the throne of Gondor. When the reader first encounters him, he has taken the name of Strider, a ranger who had been living in the wilds of Middle Earth helping protect others. It was when he met Frodo in the Prancing Pony inn that he began on the path to his destiny. After the quest of the Ring, he wed Arwendaughter of Elrond, and took up the crown of Gondor, which he ruled for many years, taking up the name Elessar when he did so. He produced two sons, and un named daughters. He died in the 120th year of the Fourth Age, at which point his son Eldarion took the throne. He was, notably, not affected by the Ring’s temptation, one of the few who were not. Aragorn: Descendent of Kings

8. The Lord of the Rings series is a great literary work, but more than that, if one looks deeper, they will find that there is much more behind it, a mythos rich and deep taken from many sources, and made Tolkien’s own, that ability the mark of greatness as befits one of the most renowned authors of the 20th century. In conclusion