WWII and LOTR..Compare/Contrast

[tar-ancalime]

(When I first read the title I thought WWII meant Werewolf II... Silly me... Too much werewolfing... )

Me too!

As for dissimilarities between Lord of the Rings and the Second World War...well, one had atomic bombs, the other had magic rings. One had concentration camps, the other had talking trees. (Sorry, couldn't resist.)

In all seriousness, though, you ought to read the introduction to the second edition of the Lord of the Rings. Tolkien addresses the relationship of his story to actual events. The WWII parallel is often drawn, and it's undeniable that certain relationships are easy to find (many people have compared the Ring to the atomic bomb, for instance). However, with Tolkien's work you tread dangerous ground when you start to make specific comparisons like that one.

As Thinlomien mentioned, there are lots of threads on this site about meaning in Tolkien, various interpretations of his work, and some very healthy discussions of authorial intent and its usefulness (or not) in informing one's reading of a text. There may be some threads dealing specifically with WWII--try doing a search, but don't be surprised if you find that "WW" tends to stand for werewolf around here (at least recently).

EDIT: Cross-posted with Rimbaud, who managed to make the same point more clearly and with less verbosity.