Christian truths as depicted in the Lord of the Rings

Abstract

This study discussed, analyzed, and interpreted the Christian Truths as depicted in the Lord of the Rings. It focused on the three books, The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. The three books are: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. It answered the following problems: 1. What are the Christian truths depicted in The Lord of the Rings through the characters and setting? 2. How does J.R.R. Tolkien employ literary techniques to depict Christian truths? The research was scrutinized with the use of the following methods: the descriptive and qualitative method using the formalistic approach, the moral-philosophical approach, and the mythological-archetypal approach. Based on the critical analysis of the epic, answers to the questions posed by this study were reached. 1. The virtues of mercy, love, friendship, loyalty, courage, faith, hope, wisdom, freewill, and humility make up the Christian truths that underpin the literary epic. Through the use of these virtues, the following Christian Truths were depicted through the characters and setting: a. Mercy is above justice. b. Love is the greatest virtue. c. Friendship crosses all boundaries. d. Loyalty characterizes true friendship. e. Courage conquers all obstacles. f. Faith gives hope. g. Hope strengthens the spirit. h. Wisdom leads to just and right decisions. i. Freewill is inclined towards the good. j. Humility brings about abundant blessings. 2. The literary techniques of personification, allusion and symbols, used in the epic draws attention to the existence of truths that the author wants to convey and of good and evil. Through these techniques, the force of nature is showed and Biblical allusions showed the Christ-like characteristics of some of the characters and Biblical events it pertains to. The reader is also made aware of the truths and virtues. Based on the findings of the study, the following are the conclusions that the researcher has arrived on: The company of the Ring acted out on their best virtues which depicted the Christian truths as shown through the analysis of their characters and setting. The Company was able to exercise power over the virtues in that they did not go to the mean or the excess of the virtues. 2. The literary techniques employed by Tolkien showed the power of nature as being more superior than that of man. The literary techniques also showed the greatness of the characters because of their virtues which showed their strong characters. From the conclusions of this study, the following are recommended: 1. Other Christian elements should be studied in the book, aside from the Christian truths that have already been discussed here. 2. Further study should be done on the literary technique of language used by Tolkien in the epic, the new languages that he invented and the songs that are incorporated into the epic. 3. Studies should be done on universal symbols and archetypes found in the epic which do not depict Christian Truths. 4. Studies should also be done on the other Tolkien books such as The Hobbit and The Silmarillion.