A Comparison Of J. R. Tolkien's Life And Work

“All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; the old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost.” – J.R.R. Tolkien. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in Bloemfontein, South Africa, on January 3, 1892. Throughout his life, the man endured poverty, war, loss, and was still able to forge literary works that would resonate in the hearts of many. To this day, J.R.R. Tolkien is a beacon of success and is praised by a worldwide audience.
The days of toddler Tolkien’s life were spent in South Africa. However, after his father died in 1896, Tolkien and his mother and sister moved to the West Midlands region of England. The West Midlands of that day were the stereotype of a rural England. Tolkien’s house was backed onto the edge of a railroad. He once admitted that his imagination for strange words developed here, where he would see railroad cars bearing uncommon names like “Senghenydd”. Tolkien’s family was afflicted by poverty, but they carried themselves as a proud and noble people. In 1904, Tolkien’s mother was diagnosed with diabetes. Unfortunately, the medical advancements at the time could not treat diabetes; as a result, his mother passed away that same year. Soon after, Tolkien pursued other interests to get his mind

He works a number of jobs, from Assistant Lexicographer of the Oxford dictionary to Associate Professor of the English Language at the University of Leeds. Finally, Tolkien returns to Oxford College as a full-fledged Professor. His most influential lecture was “Beowulf, the Monsters, and the Critics”. He changed perceptions of the Welsh interpretations. However, Tolkien’s academic life paled in comparison to his social life. He founded an organization known as the “Inklings”, a group consisting of other authors like Owen Barfield, Charles Williams, and C.S. Lewis. It was around this time that Tolkien began his little venture into the world of the