First, thanks
davem for a very good post. I agree. I would like to add a point, however:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by davem
In a Quest story the hero must move into dangerous territory, things must get darker & more perilous. Inevitably with the set up Tolkien has chosen the direction the questing heroes must take is eastward, because that is the direction that moves them away from the Light, & into the Dark. Its not that Tolkien decided 'Right, everybody knows those people in Eastern Europe/Asia are wicked & immoral, so I'll have the baddies in my world in the same geographical location.
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I think it was actually logical that the "bad people" were un-"Aryan". I think it is very significant here, that when going nearer the Evil, things are getting more unfamiliar. I think the dark-skinned men are just one way of emphasisng the strangeness and unfamiliarity of the hobbits' situation and a way of making them feel less "home", if you follow me.
Noggie dear, see this thread on
racism, if you're interested. Especially posts #7, #8 and #9 are worth reading.
And to be even a bit on-topic, I can say that with the TV-series and the pictures in my LWW-book, I've never imagined Jadis as blonde, but it worked very well in the movies.