J.R. R. Tolkien, Ecology, and Education

John Ronald Reul Tolkien (1892-1973) was an Oxford trained philologist, professor (don) at Oxford, noted scholar, and author of high fantasy literature. His The Lord of the Rings trilogy (TLOR) has sold over 150 million copies worldwide making it the second bestselling work of fiction of all time (“The Lord of the Rings,” 2014). His popularity has resurged, though it never really waned, with Peter Jackson’s big screen adaptation of Tolkien’s most famous work The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003), also in trilogy form, winning multiple Oscar Awards, and grossing over 3 billion dollars worldwide (“The Lord of the Rings,” 2014). More recently, Jackson’s three part installments of the precursor to TLOR, The Hobbit (2012-2014), have also proved highly successful in movie format. As has been long noticed by fans and critics alike, Tolkien’s works, TLOR, The Hobbit, The Silmarillion (his legendarium of Middle-earth or Arda), and other lesser known works like The Adventures of Tom Bombadil (TATB) are permeated with ecological themes and tropes.