From: craig@b11.b11.ingr.com (Craig Presson)
Subject: Re: Tolkien a Racist?
Organization: Intergraph Corp. Huntsville, AL
Date: Wed, 16 Dec 1992 05:06:21 GMT

jchokey@leland.Stanford.EDU (James Alexander Chokey) writes ">":

>In article <1992Dec15.135547.14456@lgc.com> mbs@zycor.lgc.com (Matt Shostak) writes ">>":

[...] I've
>seen no condemnations of Tolkien or his works, no demands that we bring up
>our children on works that are more "ideologically pure, no insistences that 

I hope not. I've already made the Big Mistake with my kids. Although
my daughter likes C. S. Lewis better than JRRT despite my best efforts :-)

>we focus only on questions of race, gender, class, etc., when talking about 
>Tolkien. The fact of the matter is that issues of race _are_ an integral part
>of LOTR, and that makes them worth discussing.  Just because people are 
>talking about race doesn't mean they are trying to impose a PC dogma on the 
>world.  Don't be so quick to grind that axe.

>[much comment from my last posting deleted]:
>>>	So the question remains--  why this great concern with race and with
>>>the superiority of some races over others in LOTR?

>>
>>And the answer is: why not?  As you pointed out, Tolkien pioneered this
>>genre in many ways.  He had to choose some way to structure things.  Why
>>not use archetypes common to his culture?  It enhances the "believability"
>>of the story, if you will.  By that I mean that by using familiar forms,
>>the reader is more easily taken into the story.

>	I think you're right about his choosing themes and motifs (I have 
>some problems using the word "archetype" in this sense) common to his time 
>and culture as a way of making the work seem familiar.  But I still think
>you're avoiding the question rather than answering it.  How can an author
>use tropes or archetypes (all right, I'll use the word) that aren't part of
>his or her culture?  Besides, there aren't just one set of cultural themes 
>and motifs that an author has to take as a package deal--all or none.  There
>are a whole host of culturally-available forms, myths, motifs, etc. that 
>Tolkien could have used.

He did in fact pick and choose from the myths and motifs of several 
cultures removed from each other and from his own -- but not too far
removed, because his esthetic sense led him down a certain related set
of paths ...

  He didn't _have_ to make race such a central concern 
>of LOTR, but he did--  and I think that's just as signficant as the fact that
>he could have made religion a fundamental part of LOTR, but didn't.  At the

The only people with a formal religion were the Numenoreans, as far as I
can tell. JRRT was formally avoiding "preaching".

>risk of slipping into a jargon where nouns are used as verbs, I think it's 
>fair to say that Tolkien "privileges" the issue of race in LOTR.  I think
>that's significant and not something that can just be taken for granted.

It is. Now, LOTR has the same separation of "kinds" as other
"fairy-stories", but it is greatly elaborated, with several kinds
being divided into races, and some of the kinds able to intermarry and
some not. Fairy stories are usually about a small number of people
from some small area encountering one or two kinds of inhabitants of
faerie; and most of the received epics are similar -- Trojans are very
much like Akhaians, for example, and Homer did not throw in any
Nubians for effect -- although later authors certainly did :-)

I'd dearly love to find a simple rationale that would excuse the
Professor, but I don't think it's there. He made the more sinister
Southern races of Man both "swarthy" and more susceptible to
Sauron Garthaur, without missing a beat. It's very similar to
having your Black characters speak dialect and be lazy and shiftless,
except in the matter of dancing, and be willing to suspend any
activity for a slice of watermelon; it's just more subtle.

As has already been pointed out, racial stereotypes were common in
JRRT's youth, as were beliefs in a "criminal type" of human
distinguishable by the shape of the head or ears. Hell, many people
still buy off on Sun-sign astrology, and a fair number of Japanese
believe the theory that blood types say something about personality.
It may never end ...

-- Craig Presson
"I don't work with Albanians. And children and pets are extra."
-- Uncle Duke