In J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings, the Riders of Rohan, or Rohirrim, are horse loving Men who live on the plains of Middle-earth. The Rohirrim’s initial respect for the land contrasts their later ambivalent and destructive use of it, therefore reinforcing the need for both biblical utilitarian and morally intrinsic perspectives when forming a sustainable community. While The Riders of Rohan use and protect the land at first in an agrarian-based society, they grow indifferent to both legends and the natural world. The actions of the Rohirrim illuminate a contrast between the reality of the modern world, and contemporary idealism concerning the environment. It is through this disparity that the contemporary “back-to-nature” movement finds
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Upon explaining their situation, one of the Riders scoffs “Halflings! But they are only a little people in old songs and children’s tales out of the North. Do we walk in legends or on the green earth in the daylight” (Tolkien, 434). Aragorn then responds, saying “a man may do both…for not we but those who come after will make the legends of our time. The green earth, say you? That is a mighty matter of legend, though you tread it under the light of day” (434). Here, the unnamed Rider speaks of the “green earth” as if it were sacred, but still something to dwell upon. This view reflects the idea, most commonly seen through Tom Bombadil and the Elves, of “land holiness.” The emotion of this passage is earnest, and filled with foresight. The making of legends of our time, as Aragorn said, implies that when the Rohan continue to value the land, they will be immortalized as having morally intrinsic perspectives of the land. This passage also reflects matters concerning Tolkien himself. J.R.R. Tolkien adored Celtic and Anglo Saxon …show more content…
Both human culture and that of Rohan revered the “green earth” through legend, whether religious or not. Finally, as Tolkien alludes to a hopeful future for sustaining Rohan, the contemporary “back-tonature” movement seeks to rebalance humanity with the natural world that we abandoned, only to abuse through industrialization. This “back-to-nature” movement relies on finding a balance between industrial and nature-based concerns. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings strengthens the back-to-nature movement by providing the Riders of Rohan as an example of successful sustainable living, while also dragging the Rohirrim into the limelight for abandoning this way of life. Just as Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring shows the worst case scenario for a world that industrializes without acknowledging natural concerns, the case study of Rohan proves that sustainable, and often agrarian, communities are the most successful when they protect nature as well as use it. Humans cannot hope to follow in the footsteps of creatures such as the Elves, Ents, of Tom Bombadil. To focus solely on nature, and not on technological advancements as well, is both unsustainable and unattainable. Conversely, humans should not follow the path to Mordor, where nature is overexploited to the point that “no green thing grew there” (Tolkien, 554). Instead, as suggested by both
Upon explaining their situation, one of the Riders scoffs “Halflings! But they are only a little people in old songs and children’s tales out of the North. Do we walk in legends or on the green earth in the daylight” (Tolkien, 434). Aragorn then responds, saying “a man may do both…for not we but those who come after will make the legends of our time. The green earth, say you? That is a mighty matter of legend, though you tread it under the light of day” (434). Here, the unnamed Rider speaks of the “green earth” as if it were sacred, but still something to dwell upon. This view reflects the idea, most commonly seen through Tom Bombadil and the Elves, of “land holiness.” The emotion of this passage is earnest, and filled with foresight. The making of legends of our time, as Aragorn said, implies that when the Rohan continue to value the land, they will be immortalized as having morally intrinsic perspectives of the land. This passage also reflects matters concerning Tolkien himself. J.R.R. Tolkien adored Celtic and Anglo Saxon …show more content…
Both human culture and that of Rohan revered the “green earth” through legend, whether religious or not. Finally, as Tolkien alludes to a hopeful future for sustaining Rohan, the contemporary “back-tonature” movement seeks to rebalance humanity with the natural world that we abandoned, only to abuse through industrialization. This “back-to-nature” movement relies on finding a balance between industrial and nature-based concerns. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings strengthens the back-to-nature movement by providing the Riders of Rohan as an example of successful sustainable living, while also dragging the Rohirrim into the limelight for abandoning this way of life. Just as Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring shows the worst case scenario for a world that industrializes without acknowledging natural concerns, the case study of Rohan proves that sustainable, and often agrarian, communities are the most successful when they protect nature as well as use it. Humans cannot hope to follow in the footsteps of creatures such as the Elves, Ents, of Tom Bombadil. To focus solely on nature, and not on technological advancements as well, is both unsustainable and unattainable. Conversely, humans should not follow the path to Mordor, where nature is overexploited to the point that “no green thing grew there” (Tolkien, 554). Instead, as suggested by both