# 'The Wrong Lord of the Reads'



## Inderjit S (Dec 12, 2003)

'The Wrong Lord of the Reads' 

(I am sorry I cannot find a full version of the article at the moment!)

Whilst reading _The Independent's_ _'Art's and Book Review'_ section, I came across this article, written by one _Johann Hari_. In the article, he voices his disgust with the _Lord of The Rings_ claiming it his work contains no sophisticated emotions and is sexist and racist. 

He makes several relevant points about elements of the far-right reading _The Lord of the Rings_ as a paragon for their racist and bigoted views, but also beautifully exhibits his political, intellectual and critical ineptitude on several occasions. He chooses to jump on the _politically correct_ bandwagon, by commenting on the use of the word "dark" to describe Mordor and Sauron, seemingly unaware that this is not a reference to _race_ but to the fact that evil is often associated with darkness, and this is not just a literary technique used by Tolkien, but by many writers, since darkness and evil are closely associated. (I don't know what he'd say though, if he found out that Melkor, in his first incarnation was a being that surrounded himself with light. Maybe this would be seen as a veiled attack on White People? 

He claims that Tolkien's works lack moral insight. The good are good and the bad are bad. He cites the Orks as an example. Well, I think a lot of people would appreciate it if he actually _read_ the books beforehand. Saruman, Denethor, Boromir, the Dunlendings, and the description of the Southron in _Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit_ all put rest to that theory. And sexism? No strong, lead female characters? What about Éowyn and Galadriel? Or, going deeper into Tolkien’s works, Lúthien Tinúviel, Morwen Eleðhwen (Or her namesake in the T.A, Théoden’s mother) and Aredhel. What about the racist polices of the Númenóreans, which Tolkien criticized and the reasons for the anti-Númenórean attitude of the Dunlendings etc. ? What about the Fall of the Númenóreans, the Black Númenóreans, the Northmen who supported Sauron? 

He also claims that all Hobbits and Elves were “uber-Aryan”. Yeah that is why the largest Hobbit tribe (Harfoots) are brown-skinned (not the stereotypical view of the appearance of Aryans) and Hobbits such as Sam who are brown-skinned and of the Harfoot tribe. 

His assessment of the Númenórean kingships and the racist ideals that they promote is a valid point, but what he fails to realise is that Tolkien emphasised the dangers of such racist views on several occasions _Aldarion and Erendis; Civil War of Gondor and the strife between Castamir and Eldakar_ and the dissonances that such problems can cause. His view on the American Foreign policy is idealistic and narrow-minded, and I am surprised that such a well respected newspaper would publish such a bigoted and conceited article, in which the writer exhibits his total ineptitude and ignorance in relation to the subject matter. I’m sure there are better articles that could take up his print space.


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## Freawine (Dec 12, 2003)

Hmm...oddly enough, I've heard that far-right groups in Italy find Tolkien's _Lord of the Rings_ a left-wing work, since the idea of several races - Elves, Hobbits, Men and Dwarfs - united to reach a common goal is, to them, a sign of inter-racial mixture and universal cooperation.

Ignorance, I'm affraid, is mother to such views.


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