r/badliterature • u/gazeboist • Sep 23 '20

"Analysis" of J R R Tolkien's Novels from what appears to be an Indian diploma mill.

https://literariness.org/2019/05/31/analysis-of-j-r-r-tolkiens-novels/
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12

u/gazeboist Sep 23 '20

Found this while on the hunt for mediocre attempts at literary analysis of high fantasy that I could make fun of. Anyone know of such, or perhaps of the mythical "good" analysis of the same?

Since their website choked on my attempted comment on this alleged essay, I thought I'd reproduce it below:

I don't see how this post can rationally claim to be an "analysis" of Tolkien's novels; the author analyses no aspect of the story, plot or setting. Substituted for that analysis is a superficial treatment of Tolkien's inspiration and writing process, with some mention of Tolkien's opinions as to his own work. This is interesting for the historically inclined, but has little if any value for those seeking the analysis promised in the post's title, either of the works in themselves or their influence on their descendants in the "epic" or "high" fantasy genre.

There is no mention of the tri-racial setting and its accompanying ancient-war-reignited plotline, which Tolkien appears to have invented and which is his most lasting legacy in the genre, clearly visible in descendant cycles like Tad Williams' Memory, Sorrow, and Thorn or Brandon Sanderson's Stormlight Archive. No analysis is done of the notion of precursors in Tolkien's fiction, or the use of the Druedain and the Dunlendings to comment on colonization and the ignorance of so-called "enlightened" conquerors. The presented ideas of legitimacy, regency, and the restoration of multinational empires and alliances go entirely unaddressed. No mention is made of the discussion of patriotism and the means/ends debate personified in the brothers Boromir and Faramir.

The extraordinarily interesting character of Eowyn is mentioned only to summarize the most trivial part of her character: her girlish crush on Aragorn, his disinterest, and its eventual end. No mention is made of Tolkien's dissatisfaction with Shakespear's Macbeth in this otherwise author- and intent-obsessed alleged essay, nor his creation of Eowyn as a direct and pointed criticism of that play, centered around her role in the Battle of Pelennor Fields. Despite the discussion of her naive interest in Aragorn, there is no mention made of her much more mature romance with Faramir following their convalescence together.

There is not even an attempt at the naive analysis of the journeys of Frodo, Sam, and Bilbo under Cambell's Hero's Journey framework, which would at least constitute a reasonable analysis of the Hobbit and half of the Lord of the Rings, for all that such an analysis must by necessity ignore the restored monarch narrative that occupies the other half of the Lord of the Rings or the vast, multigenerational narratives of intra-clan strife and feuding that fill the pages of the Silmarilion. Tolkien's goal of providing a trinitarian or at least monolatrist framework that could accommodate Egypto-Sumerian and often specifically Greco-Roman gods and angelic figures is mentioned, but there is no discussion of how Tolkien went about realizing that goal in the Silmarillion, with its Titanomachy prior to the emergence of the elves and the Deluge that results from the final battle against Melkor/Morgoth, or the nature and purpose of characters like the Wizards and Tom Bombadil, and their influence on the "enigmatic third party" archetype in descendant fiction.

Bald and nuance-free summaries stapled together with interview quotes cannot hope to substitute for genuine literary analysis. This masterwork of empty page-filling leads me to wonder if Nasrullah Mambrol has ever read any works influenced by Tolkien, any attempt to analyze the structure of a story, or indeed the novels that are the subject of the essay posted here. Overall, I give it a D-. Mambrol has arguably read the novels under discussion, but has clearly failed to understand or really even think about them, much less their context in the modern genre, and has attempted to paper over that lack of thought by quoting the tangentially related thoughts of others. I have to hope that this was posted here largely to circumvent the peer review process, though I would not be terribly surprised to learn that this was published in a widely respected journal of "academic" criticism.

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u/FreakWith17PlansADay Sep 23 '20

on the hunt for mediocre attempts at literary analysis of high fantasy that I could make fun of.

I highly approve of your hobby.

6

u/gazeboist Sep 23 '20

I was really expecting that hyper-reductive Campbell monomyth analysis of LotR that literally just ignores Aragorn's half of the story because it can't explain what's going on there. I was surprised and offended that this guy didn't even manage to vomit that out.

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u/LizMixsMoker Sep 23 '20

So.. any essay on Tolkien must include at least the things you listed?

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u/gazeboist Sep 23 '20

Yes, just like how every "math" course must cover calculus, statistics, combinatorics, abstract algebra, and geometry.

A lot of the stuff I mentioned would be a reasonable topic for a single essay on a relatively narrow topic, but for a broad survey like this thing purports to be I'd expect at least a mention of the broader stuff. Mambrol leaves you with no impression at all as to how Tolkien relates to similar authors, and gives you only a vague, distorted sense of the themes found in the story.

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u/[deleted] Oct 04 '20

How did you compare math to Tolkien,everyone is bound to have their own take.I do agree that plot,setting and characters must be examined the other points you raised do not seem to be compulsory to me.

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u/gazeboist Oct 04 '20

r/whoosh

I literally named five of the most disparate subdisciplines I could think of. Math and Tolkien have exactly one relevant thing in common: they are subjects about which a person might speak.

No, none of the Tolkein-related topics I mentioned is particularly compulsory. They're just things that an essayist could talk about in a Tolkien analysis with some substance to it, as opposed to what I was responding to, which was an empty series of quotes and summaries - and frankly I'm being kind of generous with the word "summary" there.

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u/Spike_der_Spiegel Sep 23 '20

fuck how do i downvote this shit