Comparing The Tolkien 's ' The Hobbit ' And ' Lord Of The Rings '

The mythologies and folktales of cultures within Ancient Europe are all very different, yet peculiarly similar in the depiction of heroes. Although what makes a hero heroic is very subjective, the prominent choice of character is usually the same. The Celtic and the Vikings both had similar characteristics and traits for their mythological heroes. In the Celtic and the Viking mythologies the heroes are similar in the sense that honor, justice, courage, intelligence, and beauty are all desired and, of course, important traits. Heroes are subjective due to individuals emotional and influenced taste in appearance and action of the “hero.” In this case, Finn and Thor show similar traits and characteristics, which satisfy the desires of the readers and/or believers of the religion.

The Hobbit (There and Back Again) is an absolutely wonderful classical book. In fact, it has been made into a three part movie series, two of which have already been released. The two movies that have been released will be what I am covering in this report.

How can an author write a story which appeals to a present day audience? Richard H. Tyre published an article in 1978 that gives an answer to this very question. Tyre explains how most kids today choose to read books like the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings series, and even The Wizard of Oz. An existing theory that Tyre came up with explains that each of these books, along with many others, have one thing in common: 6 plot elements. Not only do these stories contain the same 6 elements but those elements are in the same order! Tyre states that “(1) those who hunt for treasure, (2) must go alone, (3) at night, (4) and when they find it, (5) they must leave some of their blood behind, (6) and the treasure is never what they expected.” (Tyre 2). J.R.R. Tolkien is the author of The Hobbit. The Hobbit revolves around one hobbit in particular named Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo embarks on a journey with 14 others to recover a treasure that is guarded by a dragon. Along the way Bilbo faces many challenges that range from running into huge trolls, to taking part in fierce battles. Due to it’s main character hunting for treasure, facing most of the dangers alone, battling during the wee hours of the night, eventually finding the treasure, after sweating/crying/and enduring injuries, just to have the treasure revealed to him as not what he expected, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is undoubtedly a perfect example of Tyre’s 6 plot elements.

Thor was an interesting comparison to make in regards to Gilgamesh, but I would have liked to have seen more of a comparison of who they are rather than what they are. Yes, they are both related to gods in some respect. Yes, they both had magical swords. Try to remember, however, that they were characters. They have personalities, desires, fears, and morals just like any human being. Instead of looking at the characters like you'd look at a picture, look into them like you'd look at a potential friend. Take away the super strength, the weapons, and the lineage in your mind. View them as mortal just for a moment. Were they not still interesting, they would have been poorly written. There is still substance there, though. For both Thor and Gilgamesh,

The Norse and Greek myth of creation are different but share similar beginnings. Starting with Norse myth, there was no world or any living creature, but an emptiness that were called Ginnugagap. First being was a giant named Ymir who was freed from the icy fountains from forth freezing rivers of Niflheim thanks to the fiery Muspell from the south. Soon after cow emerged that Ymir. He was known to be cruel and evil. The second to arrive is the God Bohr and his goddess wife. Bohr and his wife conceived a child named Odin, who became known as the king of all the gods. Ymir was killed by Odin and other gods did not like how Ymir was so they vanquished. His body was split into multiple pieces his blood the sea; the flesh the land; bones the mountains;hair the trees, and the skull was the sky held by four pillars.

The next comparison between two stories is that of Norse mythology and Greek mythology. Both stories have very similar ideas and ways of telling their stories of how their world came into being. Norse has their giants, who gave birth to the original three gods that created Midgard. The Greeks have the Titans who bore the Greek gods who overthrew them as well to control the Earth. Both myths contain the presence of creatures in their stories, beasts who helped shape their respective worlds to move the culture’s creation stories further along. Creatures within these worlds would be the dwarves, the serpent Nidhogg, and demons of Norse myth and the Cyclopes, the furies, and Typhon of Greek origin Furthermore, the children of some of these creatures were divines, who ended up overthrowing their elders to lead the creation of their own worlds, to rule over their own creations as well. And speaking of the world, both myths have multiple layers to their

The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings have been beloved works among many generations of readers since they were first published. The author of these two books, J.R.R. Tolkien is just as interesting a man as many of the characters he created in the world of Middle-Earth. John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born in Africa to a banker manager and his wife in 1892 and had only one sibling, Hilary, who was less than two years younger (Wikipedia). When he was young both of his parents died (one from rheumatic fever, the other from diabetes) and he and his brother were raised by a Catholic priest in Birmingham (Wikipedia). Tolkien was involved in World War One and Two, first as a serviceman, then as a cryptographer (Wikipedia). Indeed he was very

As the English poet Robert Graves said “One gets to the heart of the matter by a series of experiences in the same pattern, but in different colors. This quote is exemplified in the stories of The Hobbit and “The Story of Sigurd” when they have action and use the same hero’s journey pattern to create a great story. Both authors of the stories use strong and resilient characters in their stories to take down the monsters. In this case, there are two heroes taking down a greedy dragon. Based on the stories and characters, authors are also able to show their own opinions in the stories. Concluding that, both the scene with Smaug and Fafnir have similarities in characteristics and outcomes in the story, showing that authors follow the same

Other signs showing Tolkien's influence in Norse mythology can be noted through the various similarities between Odin and Gandalf. Agreeably they are both known to possess supernatural strengths such as magic and the

There are many stories around the world that can be compared to different myths and legends from different cultures. This way we can identify some of the shared themes and characteristics amongst them. For example, the similarities between the names of gods, mythical monsters, and magical objects in Norse Mythology to the novel Beowulf, by Kevin Crossley-Holland. In this epic poem, there are many accurate connections that can be made to Norse Mythology, all the way from creatures and weapons to the god of thunder, Thor.

     The main similarity between these two is that they are the king of the gods. Another is that they both value wisdom. Zeus is more focused on law, Odin’s focus is on war.

Most of the comparisons will be examining the similarities between major Greek and Norse gods, as well as creatures, stories and specific symbols which are featured in the mythologies. Some of the gods do not have direct counterparts (Thor, Athena and Loki). However, I will provide possible similarities within the respective mythologies.

In “The Hobbit” and the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy there are two characters of similarity that play a key role in both narratives. Thorin II Oakinshield and Aragorn II Elessar are two would be kings who come into their crowns in time for their own respective books or series to end. Both dwarf and man have a journey to their individual thrones and in particular the genesis, the journey and the end of their adventures share a great deal of commonality and precarious differences, variables that with or without their crowns says and awful lot about them.

In mutiple times in the movie, there was reference to the Norse Gods, Odin and Thor. Stoick the Vast, leader of the village spoke it in an expression of happiness, “OH, THOR ALMIGHTY!” At another scene, Gobber, a viking warrior missing his hand and

In the previous century there have been two major series of fantasy novels; "Lord of the Rings" and more recently "Harry Potter". The genre, fantasy, is very broad, but generally contains one main character, the protagonist, who is fighting for, or against something, often against evil. In both these novels the main protagonist is fighting against evil and endures a kind of adventure and personal growth. As in most fantasy novels, the main characters are in an ulterior world, which is comparable in many ways. I intend to investigate into some of the many comparable components of these two novels.