Racism and Tolkien. - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

Alfirin · 04-18-2014, 09:58 AM

An interesting example might be found in the Lossoth/Men of Forochel; the Wests most Nothernly men. They might be of a nordic/germanic stock, but with thier igloos (I think Tolkien said they make houses of snow) and use of bone runnered sleds, they sound an awful lot like Inuit/Eskimos (or whatever the Greenland/Iceland branch of the First Nations call themselves). If that is the case, they are presumably dark skinned and "squint eyed" by the racial standards of the West. And yet, they are very clearly "good guys" (they may not be very deeply involved in the affairs of thier Southern Neigbors, but when they do come into the tales of the west, it is very clearly on the side of the "good".
And I've always interpreted Aragorn's Edict as being to keep men from SETTLING in the shire (not a wholesale "no man can ever even enter the border), lest they take it over from the somewhat less warlike hobbits. Hobbits are largely peaceful (even if they can be roused to defend themsevles) so let them live where they live in peace. It's to keep the hobbits safe, not to keep them isolated (it's not like Aragorn banned hobbits from leaving the shire, or required that they all move there.) It's sort of similar to what he did for the Woses of the Drudan forests; He's trying to make sure that no one molests them, or can come in with great masses of men and arms and take the territory from them.

04-18-2014, 09:58 AM	#34
Alfirin Shade of Carn Dûm Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 435	An interesting example might be found in the Lossoth/Men of Forochel; the Wests most Nothernly men. They might be of a nordic/germanic stock, but with thier igloos (I think Tolkien said they make houses of snow) and use of bone runnered sleds, they sound an awful lot like Inuit/Eskimos (or whatever the Greenland/Iceland branch of the First Nations call themselves). If that is the case, they are presumably dark skinned and "squint eyed" by the racial standards of the West. And yet, they are very clearly "good guys" (they may not be very deeply involved in the affairs of thier Southern Neigbors, but when they do come into the tales of the west, it is very clearly on the side of the "good". And I've always interpreted Aragorn's Edict as being to keep men from SETTLING in the shire (not a wholesale "no man can ever even enter the border), lest they take it over from the somewhat less warlike hobbits. Hobbits are largely peaceful (even if they can be roused to defend themsevles) so let them live where they live in peace. It's to keep the hobbits safe, not to keep them isolated (it's not like Aragorn banned hobbits from leaving the shire, or required that they all move there.) It's sort of similar to what he did for the Woses of the Drudan forests; He's trying to make sure that no one molests them, or can come in with great masses of men and arms and take the territory from them.