Is The Silmarillion a "downer"

[Formendacil]

The Silmarillion is tragic, but I would not say that it is hopeless. It's reminiscent of Gandalf's line somewhere in the Lord of the Rings about "fighting the long defeat" and how it is not for them to turn back all the tides of evil.

With the rebellion of Melkor, evil became inevitable. It must be fought again and again. And the Silmarillion is the documentation of one of the greatest and most dramatic fights against it.

Ultimately, evil cannot be defeated by force of arms (as in the Lord of the Rings). It can only be defeated temporarily, and that at a cost to those fighting it.

But it must be fought.

That is the message I read out of Tolkien's works, that it is necessary to fight evil, that it is necessary to strive for a better world. Even though we cannot defeat it utterly, we can turn back the tide, and enjoy a brief period of peace, until we finally come to Dagor Dagorath.

It is right and good to resist evil, and we will be rewarded for in the afterlife to come. Turin Turambar is an excellent example of that. His entire life was a useless struggle against evil, but his post-death reward is consistently rumoured to be great. Should not equally great rewards await Finrod, Beren, Thingol, Luthien, Turgon, and others who fought the great fight?

Like the destruction of the Ring, it would seem only a fool's hope, but like the destruction of the Ring, it is ultimately triumphant.