Ronald Reuel Tolkien Influences

“In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit hole, and that means comfort” (Tolkien). These are the words that started it all. They are the beginning of a whole new world for people to explore and that is exactly what Tolkien invited them to do. His books inspired many and will continue to do so for many generations to come. On January 3rd, 1892, in Bloemfontein S.A., John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, “Ronald” to family and early friends was born (Doughan). Though the name Tolkien is German in origin, and scholars believed Tolkien’s ancestors migrated from Saxony, Tolkien’s family became “thoroughly Anglicised” (Doughan). Tolkien’s father, Arthur Reuel Tolkien, considered himself “nothing if not English” (Doughan). Arthur was a bank clerk, in the 1890s he and his bride, Mabel

“Tolkien is my favorite author because he is the king of fantasy.” As he continued on, he said “I don’t think anyone has been able to write the way Tolkien does. His writing transports me into those fantasy worlds. When I read his books I am amazed at the magnitude of the worlds he has created; he developed other races and societies, and has created the language, the mannerisms and the history of those races.” When I asked which book or series was his favorite he said it was too hard to choose a specific book, which I feel is how it is for most people, and said he prefered the the trilogy The Lord of the Rings. His reasoning is that it encompasses all three books and has an amazing adventure and takes you on many different storylines. He says the depth of the background and the information he provides on each character makes him feel like he is a part of middle earth and going on the adventure with