Who were the real heroes of Middle-earth?: Re: On War and Love

» Michael_Martinez - Re: On War and Love

In response to message posted by isengar:

The article was addressing the comparisons some people have made between World War II and Tolkien's story. That context does not demand that I write about the atrocities which have occurred in other parts of the world (or in other eras). Tolkien himself noted that his was an English story, which would be familiar to an Englishman. By extension, it is also a European tale, familiar to a European. And further extension makes it a human tale, familiar to all humanity.

But the story itself is rooted in Tolkien's education and experience, and his war experience comes from World War I, where he served in France as an English soldier. One cannot relate what happened in, say, Cambodia in the 1970s and 1980s, to Tolkien's experience. Such events occurred after his death and had no impact on his writing.

No one should take offense at a simple reference to the facts Tolkien had to deal with.

-- posted by Michael_Martinez