A reflection of Tolkien’s world: Biblical similarities in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit

Abstract

Most of the studies conducted for Tolkien’s books are on certain similarities between his fiction and various myths, folklore and other kinds of stories. For most critics and researchers the archetypal approach has been a better choice for the analysis of Tolkien’s work over other types of approaches. Different archetypes have been utilized and supported Tolkien’s fiction in aspects such as the spiritual, political and cultural. In this study the spiritual aspect of Tolkien’s masterpiece The Hobbit was its main discussion specifically, the archetypes with biblical similarities that made use of content analysis anchored on the Archetypal Theory. The novel, The Hobbit was chosen for this study mainly because most researches pertaining to Tolkien’s work have always been based on his other novels. The researcher conducted this study by analyzing the characteristics depicted by the characters, object, and places through the events in the novel selecting only those with biblical similarities. It made use of a matrix to clearly show the archetypes with their biblical counterpart and analysis. This study showed that most of the major characters in the novel are identified with an archetype and a biblical counterpart where most of them play important roles in the overall story. It is hoped that the archetypes discovered from this study reveal that one does not have to try very hard to see how literature often echoes even if imperfectly stories and lessons in the Bible.