WWII and LOTR..Compare/Contrast

Eh, Yes, I am really stuck on the idea of WWII and LOTR....I know this is a very big subject and has many opinions. I have an essay for one of my LA classes and i don't seem to know much about the relationships of the two, would anyone like to give me their say on the subject and matter? I am mostly interested in the Dissimilarities of the two.

[Thinlómien]

Hmmm... Tolkien himself hated allegories.
This is such a big topic that I think this might have already been discussed about. I don't know, though. Perhaps you should make a search.

(When I first read the title I thought WWII meant Werewolf II... Silly me... Too much werewolfing... )

[Rimbaud]

Any essay based on that comparison is going to be necessarily hampered by Tolkien's repeated refutation of any allegorical connection twixt the two. In fact, he would become quite heated when many insisted despite his denials that it was clearly an allegory - like any good work, however, it certainly holds applicability.

As Thinlómien says above, you're in the right place. This forum holds some of the better discussions on allegory / applicability in several fields from Catholicism to environmentalism to international politics as you suggest.

[tar-ancalime]

(When I first read the title I thought WWII meant Werewolf II... Silly me... Too much werewolfing... )

Me too!

As for dissimilarities between Lord of the Rings and the Second World War...well, one had atomic bombs, the other had magic rings. One had concentration camps, the other had talking trees. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

In all seriousness, though, you ought to read the introduction to the second edition of the Lord of the Rings. Tolkien addresses the relationship of his story to actual events. The WWII parallel is often drawn, and it's undeniable that certain relationships are easy to find (many people have compared the Ring to the atomic bomb, for instance). However, with Tolkien's work you tread dangerous ground when you start to make specific comparisons like that one.

As Thinlomien mentioned, there are lots of threads on this site about meaning in Tolkien, various interpretations of his work, and some very healthy discussions of authorial intent and its usefulness (or not) in informing one's reading of a text. There may be some threads dealing specifically with WWII--try doing a search, but don't be surprised if you find that "WW" tends to stand for werewolf around here (at least recently).

EDIT: Cross-posted with Rimbaud, who managed to make the same point more clearly and with less verbosity.

[The Saucepan Man]

There are also a number of discussion threads concerning the relationship between LotR and Tolkien's own experiences in WWI, in case you are interested. Again, a Search should bring up the relevant threads.

[Boromir88]

I don't think Tolkien purposefully used allegories. Since he has come out and said he didn't like 'em, I think he even says there are no allegories?

But, I find it hard to say that there can be no connections to WWII (but WWI especially), because something that life changing has got to have an effect on you.

I think Saruman represents the typical view of WWI, down with nature, and all "yay industry!" It was a race to see who could build the best stuff fastest, and when industry really began to take shape. WWI was called "the war to end all wars" because it was so horrific that people couldn't imagine being able to cope with such a disastrous war. If you think about it, it's really the first war (though there are cases prior) where chemical and biological weapons were used. It was the first war where if you stuck your head out of the trench, someone may be able to kill you from a mile a way. And all the technology (machine gun, generic bombers...etc) caused mass destruction and casualties. I can't see Tolkien not being effected by it and probably subconsciously encorporating it into his books.

If lotr was like WWII, Gandalf or Aragorn would took the ring to fight against Sauron...