[lbo-talk] USA 2003

Devine, James jdevine at lmu.edu
Mon Sep 15 15:02:53 PDT 2003



> >one thing not mentioned in this discussion of THE LORD OF THE RINGS
> >is that the bad guys in Tolkein all seem to be dark or "swarthy,"
> >while the good guys are light or "fair."
>
> Shane Mage writes:
> As I recall it, neither dwarves nor ents are described as
> "light" or "fair." And Saruman is scarcely swarthy.

Saruman is a traitor to the Cause, someone who _looks_ like a good guy. You're right about the dwarves (or as Disney would have it, "dwarfs") and ents. I don't think Tolkein was totally consistent. But the Hobbits definitely represent "little England" while T recycled a lot of Norse myths.

Jim D.



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