Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring

The classical book that I choose to read was Lord of the Rings: the Fellowship of the Ring by J.R.R Tolkien. I found this book intriguing, although quite lengthy- especially in irrelevant or boring segments in the plot. Tolkien’s use of language- in my opinion- extraordinary, he would even sometimes go overboard with his descriptions. There were numerous occasions when he would take a phrase of ten words to help draw a mental image of a situation or character within the book. I would have to say that would have to be a crucial element that could lead for a reader to dislike the book. This tends to be his general writing style- and I think it may just have been the modern form of writing at the time- so the reader must quickly adapt to this almost colonial writing format. I performed minor background research on Tolkien’s inspiration for the Lord of the Rings series; and it turns out that he practically based his books off his experiences in World War I, even his son’s accounts from World War II. With this information you can “see” must clearer on the point of view that Tolkien tries to establish within his literature. Now based on a rhetorical perspective, I was able to easily identify two forms of rhetoric; Ethos and Pathos. Ethos was easily detectable for the latter section of the book provided a shorted biography of J.R.R Tolkien. The biography listed his points of view religiously, his notable friendships, personal affiliations, etc. Next rhetorical factor that I was able to find was Pathos, or his appeal to one’s emotions. Most successful fantasy/ fictional writers tend to achieve pathos quite easily. The authors are able to dramatically describe characters to a point where readers can relate and “communicate” with this fictional being. Tolkien described his characters so well that you can imagine practically every physical feature of the character, he- Tolkien- goes on even to provide an in-depth history of the character. It is as if he was a witness to all of the events in the story and he is a historian formatting records, insuring the preservation of a lost civilization. I could not successfully locate the use of logos within the story, although I more than likely over looked the right examples. But from what I can determine from given packets on rhetoric, I am going to go out on a limb hear and wonder if when the characters formulate strategies or plans of action that could be a form of logos. I say this because the characters are using logic, facts, and their historical accounts to determine a course of action. So overall, found this book to be one of the best classical books I have ever read and I would defiantly recommend this book to a friend. But I would probably have to include a disclaimer; the reader must be willing to spend quite a while to read this book, to tolerate the large vocabulary and older writing structures.