J.R.R. Tolkien, the brilliant mind behind The Lord of the Rings series, was an advocate for the subtlety and depth of literature. He believed in the power of stories to shape our understanding of the world around us, while also granting readers the freedom to draw their own conclusions.
In the preface to The Fellowship of the Ring, Tolkien wrote,
I cordially dislike allegory in all its manifestations, and always have done so since I grew old and wary enough to detect its presence. I much prefer history, true or feigned, with its varied applicability to the thought and experience of readers. I think that many confuse ‘applicability’ with ‘allegory’; but the one resides in the freedom of the reader, and the other in the purposed domination of the author.
This distinction highlights the importance of allowing readers to interpret stories uniquely without being constrained by the author’s intended meaning.
We find one way to exercise the freedom Tolkien gives us when we read this passage about the hobbits.
They forgot or ignored what little they had ever known of the Guardians, and of the labours of those that made possible the long peace of the Shire. They were, in fact, sheltered, but they had ceased to remember it.
Tolkien does not intend for us to find the real-world referent for this hobbit shelteredness. Rather, he leaves it to our application.
This passage serves as a reminder of how easy it is for people to forget our connections to the past, to the people and events that have silently shaped our lives. When we focus solely on our present circumstances, we fail to acknowledge the efforts and sacrifices of others that have made our current environment possible.
As we engage with literature, we can learn to appreciate the complexity of our shared human experience and find connections that deepen our understanding of ourselves and others. In a world where context is often forgotten, literature is a powerful reminder of the forces that have shaped our lives and an invitation to apply its insights anew.
Experiments in Criticism 