From: jchokey@leland.Stanford.EDU (James Alexander Chokey)
Subject: Re: Tolkien a Racist?
Organization: DSG, Stanford University, CA 94305, USA
Date: Sat, 12 Dec 92 01:53:08 GMT

In article <Bz4BrA.7C6@knot.ccs.queensu.ca> hasch@chem.queensu.ca (Hartmut Schmider) writes:
>Klaus Ole Kristiansen writes (quoting a Tolkien letter):
>>
>>I am not sure what you mean by "Arish". I am not of aryan
>>extraction, that is none of my ancestors were Gypsies, and
>>none spoke Hindi, 
>>(here we see the linguist)
>>If, as I suspect, what you really want to know is if I
>>am a Jew, I am sorry to say that I have no connection
>>with that gifted people.
>
>That pretty much clears up the question. Lets move to more
>interesting ones.


	Why in such a hurry?  All this shows is that Tolkien did not like
Nazi racial laws, resented being asked to provide information indicating
that he was "Aryan," and used his knowledge and wit in a deliberately 
provacative way in response to his German publisher's request for that info. 
It clears up the question of whether or not Tolkien approved of the Nazis' 
anti-Semitic laws--  but I don't think that there was ever much question
about that in the first place.  

	It does nothing, however, to change the fact there is a _lot_ about
race and racial characteristics in LOTR.  Admittedly, the way Tolkien uses 
the term "race" in LOTR is not the way we understand, or the way in which Nazi
racial theorists tried to define "race"--  but it's a telling choice of
words nonetheless.  And, I think its clear, some of Tolkien's races are 
simply "better" than others--  morally, culturally, and physically. One
can, furthermore, break down the races in LOTR into a hierarchy of sub-races.
As Faramir tells Frodo and Sam, there are three basic divisions of Men--
the Men of the West, who were Numenoreans; the Men of Twilight, such as
the Rohirrim; and the Men of Darkness, into which one could include the
Easterlings, the Southrons, and all of the other "lesser men" of Middle-earth.
(And I don't think it's just a coincidence that those who fall into the last 
category have darker skin than those who fall into the first two).
	Earlier in the thread, it was mentioned that Treebeard is appalled
at the idea that Saruman might be trying to mix the races of Men and Orcs.
(He calls it "a black evil".) It's been pointed out that there have been a 
number of"interracial" marriages in LOTR--  between the Elves and the
Men-- that have hardly provoked such a sense of horror.  The reason for
that, I think, is that the Elves and the Men of the West who they end up
marrying are _good_ races.  The superiority of the Numenoreans, furthermore,
dependent, at least in part, on their part-Elvish lineage. The mingling of
humans and Orcs, however is so frightful to Treebeard precisely because
the Orcs are an _evil_ race.  

	I'm not saying that Tolkien was a "racist" in the modern sense
of the word, and I'm not saying that he set out to write a story which
emphasized racial difference and the superiority of some races over others.
And I certainly am not trying to "blame" him or disparage his works because
they don't conform to my political sensibilities.  But, I do think there is 
a great deal of concern about race in LOTR and that the tale clearly portrays 
some races as being superior to others.  I think that's worth reflecting 
upon and worth discussing.  Why is it in there?  Is he just reflecting the
concerns and attitudes of his time and culture, or is there something more
to it than that?  


	Jim C. <jchokey@leland.stanford.edu>
Newsgroups: alt.fan.tolkien