Ethics and morals in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR. Tolkien

Abstract

This study was conducted to find out the Ethics and Morals present in the Lord of the Rings Trilogy by JRR Tolkien. It aimed to give an overview of the values imparted by Tolkien in the book for its readers to see and learn. To do this, a series of questions were asked regarding the ethical conduct of the races of Middle-Earth, Tolkien’s view of good and evil in his work, the different sets of traits of leading characters in the Fellowship of the Ring and finally the large overview of the conflict of good and evil. Coding sheets were made to help in the content analysis of the texts which used the moral approach as the theoretical framework. The study revealed that the Free Peoples of Middle-Earth viewed good and evil differently from human beings like us. For them, good means freedom and retaining the natural order and evil is anything that curtails that freedom. Of course, the heroes in the Fellowship exhibit traits as any hero would such as honor, sacrifice, sense of duty that made them stand out from normal men. Most importantly this study found that the book emphasized that good will always be victorious over evil. It is recommended that The Lord of the Rings Trilogy be used by teachers of literature and values education, because they contain lessons about morality and ethics. It can also be used as samples for inspiration and lessons for values for the students under them.