Christie Goodwin

Dr. David Hogsette

13 November, 2015

J.R.R Tolkiens Lord of the Rings: Environmentalism, Industrialization, and Christian Stewardship

In his agrarian essays, Wendell Berry articulates that in losing stewardship we lose
fellowship; we become outcasts from the great neighborhood of creation (89). In this statement,
Berry expresses his ecological perspective as a means of serving both nature and ones fellow
men. J.R.R Tolkien, the writer of the famed trilogy The Lord of the Rings, expresses a view
similar to Berrys. Though it is extreme to refer to the J.R.R Tolkien as technophobic or antiprogress, the writer did observe the negative results of industrialization on his time, resulting in
distinct ideas about the reversal of this corruption. Examining multiple critical views, Tolkiens
personal statements, and evidence from his writing, it is apparent that Tolkien felt strongly about
the preservation of nature and the Christians responsibility to creation. Through the alignment of
nature with good, representation of industrialism, and the closeness of Christian symbolism with
the natural world in Middle-earth, Tolkiens sub-creation emphasizes an earth-conscious
perspective, suggesting the need for better Christian stewardship of Gods creation.
In the Lord of the Rings trilogy, nature, and the preservation of it, is associated with the
sacred and pure things of Middle-earth. Tolkiens Elvish race works in harmony with nature,
treating it with reverence and recognizing its mystical powers. According to Tolkien, his elves
have a devoted love of the physical world, desiring to observe and understand it for its own
sake (Letters 236). The Shire, the home of the hobbits, represents the pastoral ideal; the beatific
Hobbit lifestyle is in agreement with the natural world. According to Hugh Keenan, the reader
can recognize that the hobbits are emblematic of naturalness, of childhood, and of a life (11).

This simplicity is interrupted by the mechanic, industrial nature of the dark forces which ravage
the Shire. Until the agrarian lifestyle is restored, the Hobbits journey does not end; Keenan notes
that the complete pattern circles from natural fertility in the Shire to technological desolation of
nature at Mordor and afterwards ends at the Shire and at Fertility again. Or as Bilbo might say
there and back again (10). Places of sanctuary, such as the Shire and the Elvish Rivendell, are
united with nature, and their destruction is distressing to the sympathetic reader. Races and
forces which aid the Fellowship are often nature- bound, taking pride in the beauty of the natural
world. As observed by Deidre Dawson, the natural world in Tolkiens work is cherished by the
Elves and Hobbits as part of an organic whole; all feel sadness and distress as they witness the
loss and destruction of any part of their universe (116). Care for the natural world, and the races
which respect the simplicity of creation, are aligned with the forces of good.
The emblem of Tolkiens ecology is the Ent, a mysterious tree creature which Matthew
Dickerson and Jonathan Evans label as a crucial part of Tolkiens environmental ethic (119).
The model of the Entsis clarification of the real role of a steward; Ents see the value in the
untouched wilderness (Dickerson and Evans, 39). Care for the natural world drives the Ents to
terminate the wicked work of Isengard. Treebeard, the Ent which aids the wandering Hobbits,
describes the desolation of the forest as wastes of stump and bramble where once there were
singing groves (The Two Towers 490). The Ent feels responsibility for the protection of the
forests, stating nobody cares for the woods as I care for them (The Two Towers 487). When the
forests are viewed as raw material for technological reshaping the land loses its essential
value, and the Ents watch the natural order diminish (Keenan 11). Seeing value in all of nature,
Tolkiens Ent acts as a steward of the whole created order.

Embodied in the wizard and mentor Gandalf, the concept of Christian stewardship is
connected to the forces of good in Middle-earth. Gandalf defines success in the battle against evil
differently other members of the fellowship. Victory is measured by the amount of the natural
world that will survive and thrive after the war. He states that all worthy things that are in peril
as the world now stands, those are my care, recognizing his responsibility to nature (Fellowship
445). Preservation is Gandalfs objective, considering it a triumph if anything passes through
this night that can still grow fair of bear fruit and flower again in days to come. For I also am a
steward (Fellowship 445). The wise wizard considers every living thing to be a valuable
component of the whole created order, modeling the ecological virtue of respect for creation
(Dickerson and Evans 44). A champion of Middle- earths force of good, Gandalf exemplifies the
humble attitude of a steward of nature.
In the trilogy, Tolkien connects the corruption of nature to the forces of evil, forces which
utilize distinctly industrial methods. The enemy which seems likely to wither all of the woods
exploits nature for the purpose of efficiency and power (Tolkien 498). As noted by Keenan, the
desolation of nature at Isengard and at Mordor is due to the technological devices of the Enemy
transforming wilderness into places of mines and forges (10). The imagery of Isengard and
Mordor is markedly industrial. Tolkien describes a great reek rising from a mountain of iron,
causing an overwhelming darkness which lay there under the Sun (421). Tolkiens
skepticism about technologys benefits is reflected in his use of the symbolic machine.
According to Brian Rosebury, Tolkiens idea of the machine signifies the impropriety of the
attempt to enforce ones will by means of the machine therefore refusing submission to
limitations that Nature (or the will of the Creator) imposes on human fulfilment (107).
Advancement easily becomes focused on the domination of nature for the sake of efficiency.

Rosebury continues, noting that Tolkiens repugnance at the damage inflicted on the earth by
human attempts to transform it to serve the actualization of impious human desires, such as the
desire todestroy ones enemies in large numbers is reflected in his characterization of Middle
earths evil forces (107-108). From the horrific scouring of the Shire which destroys the
tranquil, pastoral haven to the efficient workings of Isengard, Tolkien displays disdain for the
machine and the selfish ambition it represents. Through his fantasy, Tolkien seeks to break out of
a corrupted view of nature and its value. As Thomas Smith puts it, Tolkien battles against a
diminished view of reality that believes control and efficiency are the only ways of relating to the
world, a diminished view that defines Middle earths enemy (83).
In Tolkiens tale, the Ring itself breeds the wasteful mindset of industrial progress. This
is most clearly represented by the creatures which the ring corrupts. Chris Baratta notes that
Gollum is the representation of the tortured soul, torn between his natural self and the
corruption of industry, the ring itself acting as an entity that breeds a lust for power and an
abandonment of nature (6). The ring promises power to its victim, a promise that Thomas Smith
aligns with the modern promise that scientific power would make us healthier and allow us to
harness the power of nature for a multitude of uses (80). The Rings power steals its victim from
the goodness of the created order.
The attitude of industrial progressivism is embodied in the power hungry master of
Isengard, Saruman. In The Two Towers, The Ent, Treebeard, describes Saruman as plotting to
become a Power, stating that the wizard has a mind of metal wheels; and he does not care for
growing things, except as far as they serve him for the moment (The Two Towers 494). Richard
Goetsch observes that during the War of the Ring, Saruman has no qualms about razing the
forests around Isengard, poisoning the streams, and denuding the soil (7). The Hobbit Merry,

after viewing the destruction of Isengard, believes that Saruman does not have much plain
courage alone in a tight place without a lot of slaves and machines and things, wondering if his
fame was not all along mainly due to his cleverness in settling at Isengard (The Two Towers
590). He is unable to set some of his precious machinery to work, and he is crippled (The Two
Towers 591). Sarumans reliance on technology and mindless destruction results in his downfall.
After he is weakened, his perception of nature as disposable, and his inability to be a good
steward of it prevents him from any reconciliation. Even when Gandalf and the Fellowship
confront Saruman amongst the ruins of Isengard, Saruman is physically separated them by a
railing of iron. Sarumans reliance on his machines resonates with the modern fear that we are
nothing without our advancement. Saruman, having strayed from the stewardship role he had
been given, consumes the environment for his own purposes, rather than protecting it.
The mindless, mechanical nature of perverted creation is embodied in the army of Orcs,
or Uruk-Hai soldiers, whose creation and purpose is an unsettling corruption of the natural. In
order to explain the origin of these creatures, Tolkien articulates his views of creation within
Middle- earth. Pertaining to creation by evil , Tolkien notes that Treebeard does not say that
the Dark Lord created Trolls and Orcs. He says he made them in counterfeit of certain
creatures pre-existing (Letters 190). According to the prequel to the trilogy, The Simarillion,
Orcs were made of "subterranean heat and slime", and their hearts were stones like granite (30)
Tolkien describes them as man-high in height, but with goblin faces, sallow, leering, squinteyed (The Two Towers 589). Individuality and attention to beauty are eliminated by this mass
production of these creatures; they are just corruptions of the Iluvatars creations. The Orcs
contribute to useless destruction of nature, purposed for nothing more than survival and service
of the dark forces. Treebeard laments the devastation of the forest, saying some of the tress they

just cut down and leave to rot- orc mischief that; but most are hewn up and carried off to feed the
fires of Orthanc (The Two Towers 495). To the Orcs, the wilderness is a resource and holds no
inherent value. The purpose the Orcs are fashioned for, and the devastation they inflict, exhibits
the result of a separation from nature. All this separation can lead to is ugliness and
depersonalization. Since the Orcs are servants of the Dark Power and Sauron, neither of whom
had the ability to produce living things, the Orcs can be considered corruptions of the
Iluvatars creation (Letters 178). The creation and work of the Orcs represent an irreverence
toward nature and a desire for dominion over it through technological advancement.
Reverence for the natural world is an implicit theme in Tolkiens work, first introduced
through Middle earths very conception. The creation by the Iluvatar causes Tolkiens Middle
earth to have an inherent purpose since it is the deliberate creation of Iluvatar. No decision
by any of the created races can diminish its inherent goodness or forfeit the purpose for which
it was made (Dickerson and Evans 20). Unlike the natural races of Middle-earth, Sarumans
soldiers are purposed only to survive in order to destroy; the Children of Iluvatar are called to
something greater. The connection between Gods creation and the remaining goodness of
Middle-earth reveal Tolkiens Christian environmentalist views. The purpose for Tolkiens
Middle earth is, as Dickerson and Evans put it, to cause its inhabitants to rejoice in its glory
both by participation and by attribution and to make Iluvatar glad (30). Naturally, this
participation requires thoughtful stewardship from all of the natural races.
Tolkiens view of responsibility to nature is a distinctly Christian ecological view. This
form of environmentalism recognizes the importance of nature, but establishes mans dominion
over and responsibility to it. When analyzing the natural races of Middle-earth, Dickerson and
Evans note that the basic point for all these races is that, although they are a part of nature, they

also somehow transcend nature, and in Tolkiens environmental vision, this fact has direct
implications of us as human beings (51). Through his tale, Tolkien is able to clarify the true
focus of environmentalism. A Christian ecological perspective does not view nature as above
man, but instead emphasizes mans participation in the created whole. Living in the natural world
is meant to be enjoyed. This sentiment is echoed by Patrick Curry who asserts that Tolkien's
literary mythology is "a remedy for pathological modernity, namely the resacralisation (or reenchantment) of experienced and living nature (20). Dickerson and Evans suppose that
Tolkiens trilogy will be uncomfortable for readers who consider human beings in the same
category as other forms of life in the biosphere ad not, ontologically of a different order from the
rest of nature, finding themselves dissatisfied with Tolkiens assigning to humans a higher
status in the biological hierarchy (51). Through his imaginative tale, this great writer is
imparting a vision of renewal, one that rests on the responsibility of Christian stewardship.
Tolkiens beliefs about the Christian responsibility to creation are suggested by the many
Christian symbols present in his trilogy. Christian themes are intertwined throughout the fantasy
world, often expressed through the symbolism of nature. The flames of Isengard are quenched by
cleansing waters as they began to fill up with black creeping streams and pools. They glittered
in the last light of the Moon, as they spread over the plain (The Two Towers 594). Representing
the reversal of industrial corruption, this flooding is a baptism. Symbols of growth and natures
resilience also harken back to the Christian tradition. The White Tree of Minas Tirith is an
emblem of Gondor and the good in men. As Keenan observes, its dead trunk and branches
betoken the dying of the city. Likewise the discovery of a scion of this tree symbolizes the rebirth
of Minas Tirith (11). The good of nature is perverted by the progressiveness of Saurons forces;

harmony with nature represents the good that remains to be protected. The alliance of Christian
symbols and nature imagery emphasize the inherent sacredness of a God - formed creation.
Christians are called to be stewards of Gods creation; this truth is reflected in the
structure of Tolkiens Middle- earth. His awareness of the need for a Christian ecology is
indicated by his representation of nature in The Lord of the Rings. Thomas Smith believes that
our capacity to be astonished by creation is constantly diminished by our desire to control
through power the wonders of creation (83). The resulting mindset, which leads to the
degradation of the environment, is battled by Tolkiens work as an attempt to "re-enchant" a
world that had been "disenchanted" through the powers of modern science and technology
(Smith 82). Sacrificing nature for the sake of security in our own accomplishment and
advancement separates us from creation and our fellow men. Tolkiens epic informs us about the
role of the steward through the alignment of nature with good, the connection of industrialization
with forces of evil, and the presence of Christian symbols in the work. However, the sense of
wonderment instilled in the reader by his exquisite Middle earth speaks volumes to the mans
role in the preservation of nature. Christian stewardship not only sees the intrinsic value of
creation but also conceives of humans as servants within it (Dickerson and Evans 46). Once the
value of Creation-centered stewardship is understood and engaged, man will be able to stand
with his fellow men and raise his face toward Heaven (Ovid 757).

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