English writer John Tolkien: biography, creativity, best books

Who is Tolkien John Ronald Ruelle? Even children, and first of all they, know that this is the creator of the famous "Hobbit". In Russia, his name became very popular with the release of a cult film on the screen. At the writer's homeland, his works gained fame as early as the mid-1960s, when the student audience of a million copies of The Lord of the Rings was not enough. For thousands of young English-speaking readers, the story of Hobbit Frodo became a favorite. The work that John Tolkien created was bought up more quickly than "The Lord of the Flies" and "The Catcher in the Rye."

Passion for the hobbit

Meanwhile, in New York, children were running around with self-made badges saying: "Long live Frodo!", And all in this spirit. Among the youth there was a fashion for organizing parties in the Hobbit style. Tolkien's societies were created.

But the books that John Tolkien wrote were read not only by students. Among his admirers were housewives, rocket men, and pop stars. The solid fathers of the families discussed the trilogy in the London beer halls.

Telling about who in real life the author of fantasy John Tolkien was, is not easy. The author of the cult books himself was convinced that the writer's true life is contained in his works, and not in the facts of the biography.

Childhood

Tolkien John Ronald Ruel was born in 1892 in South Africa. There, according to the nature of the activity, was the father of the future writer. In 1895, his mother left with him to England. A year later came the news, reporting the death of his father.

Ronald's childhood (this is what the writer called his family and friends) was held in the suburbs of Birmingham. In four years he began to read. And only a few years later he experienced an inexpressible desire to study the ancient languages. Latin for Ronald was like music. And the pleasure of studying it could be compared only with the reading of myths and heroic legends. But, as John Tolkien later admitted, these books existed in the world in insufficient quantities. Such literature was too small to satisfy his readers' needs.

Hobbies

In school, besides Latin and French, Ronald also studied German and Greek. He became interested in the history of languages and comparative philology rather early, visited literary circles, studied Gothic and Icelandic languages, and even tried to create new ones. Such hobbies, unusual for teenagers, predetermined his fate.

In 1904 his mother died. Thanks to the care of the spiritual trustee, Ronald was able to continue his studies at Oxford University. His specialization was the history of English.

Army

When the war began, Ronald studied in his last year. And after the brilliant passing of the final exams, he volunteered for the army. The junior lieutenant fell several months of the bloody battle of the Somme, and then two years in hospital with the diagnosis of "trenchy typhus."

Teaching

After the war, he worked on the compilation of the dictionary, then received the title of professor of English. In 1925, he published his account of one of the ancient Germanic legends, in the summer of the same year John Tolkien was invited to Oxford. He was too young by the standards of a famous university: only 34 years old. However, John Tolkien, whose biography is no less interesting than the books, had rich life experience and brilliant works on philology.

Mysterious book

By this time the writer was not only married, but also had three sons. At night, when family troubles came to an end, he continued the mysterious work begun in the student body - the history of a magical land. Over time, the legend was filled with more and more details, and John Tolkien felt that he was obliged to tell this story to others.

In 1937, the fairy tale "The Hobbit" came out, bringing the author an unprecedented fame. The popularity of the book was so great that the publishers asked the writer to create a sequel. Then Tolkien began work on his epic. But the saga of the three parts came out only after eighteen years. Tolkien developed his artificial language all his life . The Elven dialect is being worked on today.

The characters of Tolkien

Hobbits are incredibly charming creatures resembling children. They combine frivolity and perseverance, ingenuity and simplicity, sincerity and cunning. And strangely enough, these characters give the world created by Tolkien, reliability.

The protagonist of the first story Bilbo Baggins is constantly at risk to get out of the whirlpool of all misadventures. He has to be courageous and inventive. With the help of this image, Tolkien seems to be telling his young readers about the limitless possibilities that they possess. And one more feature of Tolkien's characters is freedom of love. Hobbits are fine without leaders.

"Lord of the Rings"

Why did the professor from Oxford impress the minds of modern readers? What are his books about?

Tolkien's works are dedicated to the eternal. And the components of this seemingly abstract concept are good and evil, duty and honor, great and small. In the center of the plot is a ring, which is nothing but a symbol and instrument of unlimited power, that is, almost every person dreams of in secret.

This topic at all times is very relevant. Everybody wants power and is sure that they know with accuracy how correctly it should be managed. Tyrants and other eerie individuals in history, as contemporaries believe, are stupid and unfair. But those who today want to acquire power will be supposedly wiser, more humane and more humane. And maybe, will make the whole world happier.

Only the heroes of Tolkien refuse the ring. There are in the work of the English writer kings and brave warriors, mysterious magicians and all-knowing sages, beautiful princesses and gentle elves, but in the end they all bow before a simple hobbit who could fulfill his duty and was not tempted by might.

In recent years, the writer was surrounded by universal recognition, received the title of Doctor of Literature. Tolkien died in 1973, and four years later the final version of The Silmarillion was published. The work was completed by the writer's son.