Arda Inhabited , livre ebook

167

pages

English

Ebooks

2014

Écrit par
Susan Jeffers

Publié par
The Kent State University Press

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167

pages

English

Ebooks

2014

Lire un extrait

Obtenez un accès à la bibliothèque pour le consulter en ligne En savoir plus

Publié par

The Kent State University Press

Date de parution

19 septembre 2014

Nombre de lectures

EAN13

9781612778556

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

1 Mo

With the box office successes of movies based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, familiarity with J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-Earth is growing. Unfortunately, scholarship dealing with Middle-Earth itself is comparatively rare in Tolkien studies, and students and scholars seeking greater insight have few resources. Similarly, although public concern for the environment is widespread and "going green" has never been trendier, ecocriticism is also an underserved area of literary studies. Arda Inhabited fills a gap in both areas by combining ecocritical and broader postmodern concerns with the growing appreciation for Tolkien's Middle-Earth.Susan Jeffers looks at the way different groups and individuals in The Lord of the Rings interact with their environments. Drawing substantially on ecocritical theory, she argues that there are three main ways these groups relate to their setting: "power with," "power from," and "power over." Ents, Hobbits, and Elves have "power with" their environments. Dwarves and Men draw "power from" their place, interacting with the world symbolically or dialectically. Sauron, Saruman, and Orcs all stand as examples of narcissistic solipsism that attempts to exercise "power over" the environment. Jeffers further considers how wanderers in Middle-Earth interact with the world in light of these three categories and examines how these relationships reflect Tolkien's own moral paradigm.Arda Inhabited responds to environmental critics such as Neil Evernden and Christopher Manes, as well as to other touchstones of postmodern thought such as Hegel, DeSaussure, Adorno, and Deleuze and Guattari. It blends their ideas with the analyses of Tolkien scholars such as Patrick Curry, Verlyn Flieger, and Tom Shippey and builds on the work of other scholars who have looked at environment and Tolkien such as Matthew Dickerson and Jonathan Evans. Arda Inhabited demonstrates how Tolkien studies enhances ecocriticism with a fresh examination of interconnection and environment, and ecocriticism enriches Tolkien studies with new ways of reading his work.

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Publié par

The Kent State University Press

Date de parution

19 septembre 2014

Nombre de lectures

EAN13

9781612778556

Langue

English

Poids de l'ouvrage

1 Mo

Arda Inhabited

Arda nhabited

Environmental Relationships in The Lord of the Rings

Susan Jeffers

The Kent State University Press Kent, Ohio

Library of Congress CataloginginPublication Data Jeffers, Susan,1981– Arda Inhabited : Environmental Relationships in The Lord of the Rings / Susan Jeffers. pages cm Includes bibliographical references. isbn 9781606352014(hardcover)∞ 1. Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel),1892–1973. Lord of the rings. 2. Ecocriticism in literature.3. Middle Earth (Imaginary place) 4I. Title.. Human ecology in literature. PR6039.O32L63465 2014 823'.912—dc23 2013043565

18 17 16 15 14

5 4 3 2 1

To my parents, who taught me to love

Tolkien and the natural world

Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction: The Professor and the Ecocritics1

1 Community, or “Power With”19

2 Dialectic, or “Power From”50

3 Oppression, or “Power Over”75

4 Dis, Re, Unempowered: Journeying and Environment94

Conclusion: Morality and Environment119

Notes128

Bibliography142

Index147

Acknowledgments

Many, many people were instrumental in creating this book, and it would be extremely ungrateful of me to let this chance to thank them pass by. Thanks to my parents for encouraging me to read and think and talk about things I care about, and to be an active, aware participant in the world. Thanks to my incredible husband, who will probably never even read this and doesn’t seem to need to in order to support me in this and all my other endeavors, regardless of how they might inconvenience or impoverish us. Thanks to my son, just for being himself. His existence is encouragement enough; his sweetness is an added delight. Thanks to my wonderful professors and mentors from Abilene Chris tian University. While everyone there was a help to me in some form, I would like to thank particularly Bill Rankin, for giving me time he didn’t have and couldn’t spare; Bill Carroll, for asking me uncomfort able questions that I couldn’t ignore; Jeff Childers, for his insistence that I pay attention to the whole conversation on Tolkien and his world; Mikee Delony, Shanna Early, and Alicia Floyd, for their invaluable ears and brains and hearts; Perry Harrison, for loving Tolkien too; and Dana McMichael, Laura Carroll, Deb Williams, and Steve Weathers for their probably unwitting moral support. Thanks also to a whole host of other friends and helpers. Thanks to Ayrin Torgesen, Liz Hendricks, Alli Ross, and Jennilee Lowe for help with child care. Thanks to Amy Reall for prompting me to ﬁnish this. Thanks to Matthew Dickerson and Jonathan Evans for their incredible insight, ex ample, and interest, and their invaluable feedback. Thanks to Joyce Har rison at The Kent State University Press and Valerie Ahwee and all the

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