LOTR and racism - spoilers for Two Towers (& more?

[aurora]

So as you know if you read my post in the Friday thread, I'm re-reading The Lord of the Rings (specifically near the end of The Two Towers right now), which is my favorite trilogy, for the umpteenth time. I have just read about the battle between Faramir's troops and the "Southrons" in Ithilien. The last few times I've read this, I've been a little disturbed by Tokein's repeated references to the evil southern men as brown-skinned and to the noble Gondorians/Dunedain as fair-skinned. I admit I grew up in a bubble, but I never really thought much about the Southerners before - mostly as people from a geographical region, but not in terms of their race. I don't really want to do the research to try to learn whether Tolkein was really racist, though I'm starting to feel like I should. And yet, I know other people around his time were more than willing to fight against racism in literature (I actually just re-read To Kill a Mockingbird a few weeks ago), so I feel like I can't just give Tolkien a free pass.

I guess my question, then, is twofold: (1) do I have to stop loving this book, and (2) what do you do when you read seemingly racist segments of books you otherwise love?

[GilliC]

I usually try to find some background information and determine whether I'm reading too much into things. Has the author gone on the record with beliefs one way or the other?

To this end, I think the brief paragraph about the subject on Wikipedia has a decent summary:

The question of racist or racialist elements in Tolkien's views and works has been the matter of some scholarly debate. Christine Chism distinguishes accusations as falling into three categories: intentional racism, unconscious Eurocentric bias, and an evolution from latent racism in Tolkien's early work to a conscious rejection of racist tendencies in his late work.

Tolkien expressed disgust at what he acknowledged as racism and once wrote of racial segregation in South Africa, "The treatment of colour nearly always horrifies anyone going out from Britain."

Scanning a few more articles on the subject and some of the references from the Wikipedia entry provides evidence going both directions, but there is very little conclusive proof either way, and a lot of exceptions to the general ideas of light people being good and dark people being bad. One piece points out the actual racism acknowledged between elves and dwarves, and how the friendship between Legolas and Gimli is celebrated as admirable.

I do tend to agree that the tales of Middle-earth are rather Euro-centric, but as an American, I'm willing to forgive this. I grew up in a culture that was extremely US-centric, and I was subconsciously instilled with a lot of national pride and a belief that the US did most things right. I don't fault an American author for implying that Asian or European cultures or government are not as great as the US, so I can't fault a European author (especially one from over 50 years ago) for having inherent pro-Europe tendencies.

As for cases where the author of a book I love is open about opinions that I deeply disagree with? It's a tough situation. I really liked Ender's Game, and I loved Speaker for the Dead even more. I was extremely disappointed when I learned about Orson Scott Card's outspoken views against homosexuality. It would be one thing if he simply held those views, but the fact that he makes public statements and publishes writings that I am fundamentally opposed to troubles me. Part of me doesn't want to buy his books and indirectly support his homophobic campaigning. But I do enjoy the books, and in the end, I just suck it up. However, I do consider the background, so if an anti-gay theme ever appears in his writing, I will simply gloss over and discount it as I'm reading.

[writingwithheld]

I feel this comes down to two questions:

Was he racist?

As a reader, should we care?

I have no idea what Tolkein's overall views were, so I can only speak to the second. I have thought about this much in the past. Should works of writing be taken just as what is on the page with no attention paid to history/culture/author or do we have to view it as tied to the environment it was created in. I generally take the history/culture into account when analyzing thematic aspects in a novel. However, this isn't exactly what you are asking. Should we like and author's work even if we consider that author to be bad person? Or should we separate the dancer from the dance. It is an issue that can cause much cognitive dissonance.

Short answer, I don't think you need to stop liking the book. If you like it you can't just stop, and I don't think you should try. As long as you are conscious of the racism in the text you can still analyze that and judge it as wrong I don't think you are selling out your ideals. Yes, if the author was still living I would perhaps get his or her work from the library rather than let them receive royalties because I wouldn't want to support someone who acts against my ideals. But the dude is dead. Besides, it is possible it was some sort of ironic commentary against racism as OP stated.

[pooh8402]

here's my take on this:

LOTR and Tolkien are pretty Euro-centric and Middle Earth is based very loosely on Britain and Europe. People from southern parts of Europe and Africa are historically and evolutionally (not really a word but I can't think of the proper word to say what I want to project) darker skinned due to proximity to the Equator. more sun -> more chance for burning skin -> evolution of people to produce more melatonin to protect skin -> darker skin closer to the Equator.

I don't think there is inherent racism at all. I think it is more an observation from the author that folks who are from an area closer to a fictional Equator would probably have evolved into darker-skinned people. I believe that Tolkien included skin color to be observational and to set up the scene, rather than to make social commentary. but maybe I don't read into things as closely as others. I always sucked at picking out symbolism in AP English class, lol.

and OF COURSE the protagonists of LOTR believe the people they're opposing to be evil, regardless of skin color--they are the enemy and not only that, allied with Sauron.

edit: as GilliC pointed out, I think the animosity between the Elves and Dwarves are more evidence of racism than the fact that army that opposed Faramir was dark-skinned. also as GilliC pointed out, Tolkien wrote a major relationship that bridged that racial gap instead of encouraging the gap.

[aurora]

GilliC - thanks for doing my internet research for me! I feel like I need to award you a "Let me Google that for you" badge, but I am also too lazy to look one up. Orson Scott Card is another one I've thought of in this context, but it's a little bit different because I didn't realize he was so homophobic until I heard it elsewhere on the news. I don't remember there being any meaningful messages about marriage in Ender's Game, really, so if I hadn't seen the news I might never have known. I brought up a similar question about authors and their personal viewpoints a while back and we discussed this example for sure.

writing - you're absolutely right that you can't completely dismiss the culture, but that's why I pointed out that there were other authors in the same time period actively opposing racism through their work. I don't know; maybe it was a bigger news item in the US than in the UK at the time?

Or, maybe Tolkien wasn't actually even trying to make racial statements, but just happened to create a world where the antagonist lived in the southeast, and the protagonists in the west, and so geographically it would make sense for the antagonist's supporters to come from the other side (south). If Middle Earth is some sort of modified Europe there's a lot more analysis you can do about what the geography means that may not have anything to do with race but rather with nationalism and some of the geopolitical tensions of his time.

There is absolutely a ton of light vs. dark = good vs. evil imagery in the books but more in the sense of day vs. night and not race.

Thanks to both of you for humoring me on this!

[duckduck]

Sept 11, 2012 7:17:32 GMT -5 GilliC said:

One piece points out the actual racism acknowledged between elves and dwarves, and how the friendship between Legolas and Gimli is celebrated as admirable.

This is basically my thought line, as well. Gilli did a great job of analysis and writingwithheld tackles the moral dilemma, so I'll keep my input short and sweet.

Throughout The Hobbit and trilogy, people run into groups and people very different from themselves, with different cultures, values, etc., and I think that one of the things that makes LOTR so rich is that the sympathetic characters find common ground and develop real understanding and respect for each other. People who only knew another population through hearsay and stereotypes get to know the group personally and end up revising the way they see that group. There are so many diverse cultures and creatures in Middle Earth, and when elves and dwarves and ents and hobbits get past the surface and get to know each other and work together, they find a lot to respect.

Just my two cents.

[aurora]

Sept 11, 2012 14:39:23 GMT -5 pooh8402 said:

LOTR and Tolkien are pretty Euro-centric and Middle Earth is based very loosely on Britain and Europe. People from southern parts of Europe and Africa are historically and evolutionally (not really a word but I can't think of the proper word to say what I want to project) darker skinned due to proximity to the Equator. more sun -> more chance for burning skin -> evolution of people to produce more melatonin to protect skin -> darker skin closer to the Equator.

This is one of the things I was trying to get at when we were posting at the same time, so thanks for saying it better than I did.

Also, evolutionarily? Is that right?

And I absolutely agree about Legolas and Gimli.

[pooh8402]

Sept 11, 2012 14:43:32 GMT -5 aurora said:

writing - you're absolutely right that you can't completely dismiss the culture, but that's why I pointed out that there were other authors in the same time period actively opposing racism through their work. I don't know; maybe it was a bigger news item in the US than in the UK at the time?

I think this is accurate too. we, as Americans, notice and perceive racism because it is ingrained in our culture. KKK was really big in the US when Tolkien was writing and releasing this book. I don't think it was nearly as big a deal in the UK.

[msmerymac]

I have only read The Two Towers once and didn't pick up on that - I should read the trilogy again. But your comments remind me of the Chronicles of Narnia, as CS Lewis rather obviously makes the Calormene "foreign," most likely Arab, as they are "dark" and use curved swords (which I always pictured as scimitars) and worship a "violent" god, Tash. In that instance, he actually does make at least one of the Calormen good (as opposed to the usual evil, bloodthirsty Calormen...) in order to show that the content of your character is what counts. But still, he uses some stereotypes and ASSumptions throughout the series.

[aurora]

Sept 11, 2012 19:27:51 GMT -5 msmerymac said:

I have only read The Two Towers once and didn't pick up on that - I should read the trilogy again. But your comments remind me of the Chronicles of Narnia, as CS Lewis rather obviously makes the Calormene "foreign," most likely Arab, as they are "dark" and use curved swords (which I always pictured as scimitars) and worship a "violent" god, Tash. In that instance, he actually does make at least one of the Calormen good (as opposed to the usual evil, bloodthirsty Calormen...) in order to show that the content of your character is what counts. But still, he uses some stereotypes and ASSumptions throughout the series.

Interesting. I've only read Chronicles once and it was a long time ago so I don't recall any of this.

I also learned (via the LOTR movie supplemental features) that Tolkien and Lewis were actually good friends and spent a lot of time debating religion and other topics while they were writing.