毕业论文关键词：托尔金；《指环王》；历险；苦难；救赎

CONTENTS

Acknowledgments i

Abstract ii

摘要 iii

1 Introduction 1

1.1 The Significance of The Lord of the Rings 1

1.2 The Significance of J.R.R. Tolkien 2

1.3 To Escape Is to Glorify Bravery, Wisdom and Goodness in Poignancy 3

2 Inescapable Power—Inescapable Adventure 5

2.1 Inheritance of the Ring 5

2.2 To Escape Is Not to Leave and Hide 5

2.3 To Escape Is to Take the Mission 6

3 Fight for the Mission, Fellowship, and the Civilization 8

3.1 To Live Is to Fight 9

3.2 To Fight Is to Take Care of Fellows 10

3.3 To Save the Declined Civilization Is to Fight in the Darkness 10

4 Poignancy in Redemption 12

4.1 To Offer Mercy and Redemption to Others is Self-Redemption 12

4.2 Poignant Goodness in Existence of Evil 14

5 Conclusion 15

Bibliography 17

1 Introduction

The Lord of the Rings was written and published between 1937 and 1955, by J. R. R. Tolkien, a professor of English language and literature of University of Oxford, who made profound achievements on ancient English and literature research of Middle Ages. The Lord of the Rings was originally published in three separate volumes: The Fellowship of the Ring (1954), The Two Towers (1954) and The Return of the King (1955).

1.1 The Significance of The Lord of the Rings

As the sequel of Tolkien’s another masterpiece The Hobbit (Tolkien, 1937), The Lord of the Rings is commonly recognized as the grand master of Modern Fantasy Literature. In the epic fantasy trilogy—The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien created a complex world with a long history named Arda. On this vast land lives hobbits, elves, dwarves, wizards, humans, orcs, prehistoric monsters, etc. Professor Tolkien even made use of his sophisticated linguistic skills creating a completely independent language for elves. Relying on his knowledge of literary history and criticism, he made the whole story full of metaphors, symbols and reference of previous literary tradition. The Lord of the Rings trilogy contains complex structure, numerous characters and plots full of twists and turns. “Its content and form permeated typical medieval style, the myth prototype and tragic mode has been well combined to create a provocative fantasy” (Net.1).

As a fantasy, The Lord of the Rings made medieval literary tradition charming again in the modern times. In addition, because of the richness and complexity of the work, The Lord of the Rings became a text of extremely critical value. In the 60 years after its publication, The Lord of the Rings keeps drawing attention of experts and scholars and exerted considerable influence. It is worth noting that this typical scholar novel is acclaimed by many ordinary readers, besides the obtainment of professional recognition. In 2003, BBC conducted a nationwide Big Read convey, three quarters of a million votes were received by the end of the series. After the year-long competition, J.R.R. Tolkien’s class The Lord of the Rings triumphed over all its toughest competitors including Harry Potter (Rowling, 1997) and Pride and Prejudice (Austen, 1813) eventually. “The Lord of the Rings is officially the UK’s Best-loved Book.” (Net.1) Right after, it won a honorary title as the favorite