The Concept of Allegory in J.R.R Tolkien’s The Hobbit

Abstract

In today’s world many movements have manifested themselves, and are able to make their voices heard clearly. Some of them originated from the sense of nationhood and some are driven by religious motives. People who belong to or follow any movement’s ideology, see that they have all the right to express themselves, and live according to their certain codes and beliefs, and if they were not allowed to act in the manner they wish, history has shown us that violence and war are a popular solution. Tolkien in The Hobbit wrote about such people and of their claims in land and right to exist. He gave a simulation to a group’s journey that starts from nothing to a live mass, and this type of journey will be analyzed in this extended essay in detail. Tolkien shows us that every journey originates from a claim or a prophecy, and how those claims and prophecies could be translated into actions. How they can affect history and alter people’s faiths, and flip the scales for the least favored part of the equation who is weak and helpless against the strong and mighty part who usually is an oppressor and in the novel takes many shapes. All this can be assured by the element of the blind faith in the cause. The world would be a better place, if justice was cherished and respected for it is the only way to overcome oppression. This extended essay will deal with allegory in The Hobbit and attempts to give a possible interpretation for what the author may have intended.