The Shadow of War: Tolkien’s Battle Trauma and the Ethics of Heroism in The Hobbit and The
Lord of the Rings
Jonathon T. Akers
ENGL465: Lewis and Tolkien
Professor Karen Dodson
October 14th, 2025
Introduction
We are rather limited in twentieth-century writers that have made as great an impact as J.R.R.
Tolkien. His exemplary creation of Middle-earth is unparalleled when you consider the vast
world of languages, myths, and moral struggles that continue to this day to shape modern
fantasy stories and inspire readers across several generations. What gives his work such long
lasting power is not just his world-building or mastery of language, but the moral and emotional
truth inserted throughout his stories. His experience as a soldier in the Great war shaped his
understanding of good and evil. It also taught him the difference between courage and despair,
and also what it truly means to be a hero.
Tolkien denies outright allegory within his writing, however it is noted that his experiences
within the trenches at the Battle of the Somme left a permanent imprint on his imagination. The
mud, blood, the loss of his closest friends, and the mechanized warcraft forced him to see
morality in a new light as well as what it means to be courageous. Tolkiens stories show not just
the shining victories but rather the perseverance required in the face of darkness.
The overall thesis of this paper is that Tolkien’s experience within the great war reshaped his
views of morality as well as heroism and thus affected his work as he portrayed courage not as a
pursuit of power or victory, but as an ethical endurance grounded in mercy, humility,
steadfastness. These were portrayed through the journeys of Bilbo, Frodo, and Samwise in both
the hobbit and the lord of the rings.
Tolkien’s life and the Great War
Tolkien’s early life was shaped over and over by loss and discipline. Born in 1892, he lost his
father at a young age and his mother at the age of 12 years old. He went on to be raised by aa
Catholic priest named Father Francis Morgan. He was appointed guardianship of Hilary and
J.R.R. by Mabel Tolkien, J.R.R. Tolkien’s mother, and was charged with ensuring that Tolkien
grew up to be a good Christian. (Friedman, 2013) Because of this, Tolkien grew up with a rather
strong spiritual and moral foundation, as well as his inclination in linguistics and myth. As a
student at Oxford University, He became part of a small fellowship of other creatives known as
the Tea Club and Barrovian Society or (TCBS). The groups overall goal was to bring light to the
world using artistic vision, a vision that the war was sure to destroy.
In the year 1916, J.R.R. was assigned 2nd lieutenant in the British Army and was sent to
the front lines of the Battle of the Somme, one of the most devastating battles known to man.
The known devastation of this campaign, millions of lives were lost, lands were completely
overrun and destroyed, and the collapse of youthful optimism, scarred Tolkien deeply. He went
on to later recall that “By 1918, all but one of my close friends were dead.” (Croft, 2002).
These losses significantly haunted J.R.R. for the rest of his life. Although Tolkien rarely
spoke openly of his trauma, the effects of it are vastly evident in the moral context of his literary
works.
What Tolkien took from the wat was not just a romantic notion of heroism but an
understanding of endurance in the face of hopelessness. He admired the quiet, steadfast
bravery of ordinary people turned soldiers. These people that carried on bravely without any
level of recognition. This overall idea became central to Tolkien’s concept of the small and
unexpected heroes such as Frodo, Sam, and Bilbo. These small characters did what they did out
of decency, loyalty, and morality.
In the years following the war, Tolkien returned to Oxford and married his childhood sweetheart
Edith Bratt and began constructing the mythic world of Middle Earth. The landscapes described
in Tolkien’s work mirror that of his childhood and of the wartime memories that he
experienced. (Russell, 2021) If you examine it closely, you see that the gentle and quiet
ambiance of the shire contrasts sharply with that of the outlandish industrial hell of Mordor.
The fellowship of diverse character reflects camaraderie of soldiers who have placed their lives
in each others hands. Throughout his fiction, J.R.R. transformed private grief into a universal
reflection on human endurance.
Heroism in The Hobbit: The Moral Courage of the Ordinary
When Tolkien published The Hobbit in 1937, he presented it originally as a children’s story.
(Tolkien, 1981, Letter #163). Underneath it’s humor and its charm, lies a rather profound
observation on the nature of courage. Bilbo Baggins, the unlikeliest of heroes and the most
unexpected underdog, embodies Tolkien’s postwar understanding of bravery. Unlike the epic
warriors of ancient legend, Bilbo’s heroism is rooted in conscience and restraint and even
humility. In the beginning of this story, Bilbo is a timid soul and a comfort-loving being that
preferred tea and biscuits to adventure. As the journey progresses, he learns that real courage
often means to do what is right even when you are afraid. The scene painted by Tolkien of Bilbo
sparing the lift of Gollum in the Misty Mountains is a defining moment within the story that
shows the impact of a small amount of mercy and set up a redemptive arc within the story.
Tolkien’s message here is clear: Mercy and pity are not signs of weakness but the truest forms of
strength. (Fern, 2022) This belief stands in direct opposition to the logic of war, a place where
victory often depends on dehumanizing the enemy. By sparing Gollum, Bible became a moral
hero and his courage was directed inward and was rooted in ethics instead of violence.
The battle of the five armies at the end of The Hobbit also displays Tolkien’s discomfort
with the glorification of warfare. Bilbo is knocked unconscious in the early stages of the battle
and misses its wins and losses altogether. When bilbo wakes up, he finds the cost of victory
overwhelming. The now-reflected tone of the story is sad and mournful instead of triumphant.
(Croft, 2002) This is a reflection of Tolkien’s own belief that war, even when necessary, leaves
only sorrow behind.
Bilbo’s return to the Shire carried a rather melancholic tone, such as that of a modern day
veteran returning home after a great battle. He has survived, but he no longer fits in the world
around him. His overall journey shows psychological dislocation that is overall similar to soldiers
coming home and feeling displaced. Tolkien, through Bilbo, perfectly showed the contrast
between innocence and experience. And also showed moral awakening.
The Lord of the Rings: Heroism as Endurance
The Hobbit explored the start of moral courage, and The Lord of the Rings further presented
that courage pushed to its absolute limits. Written within the shadow of the developing second
world war, the trilogy expands Tolkien’s vision of heroism into a psychologically entrancing story.
Frodo’s quest to destroy the one ring paints a picture of a soldier bearing the unbearable.
Frodo is not a warrior but rather a servant of a greater moral task. The Ring’s power to corrupt
others shows us the lure of control and domination. The longer that Frodo carries it, the more it
hurts him, breaking his will and his body alike. His journey is not about victory but rather about
survival. Each step becomes an act of faith against evil and despair.
The moment at Mount Doom, where Frodo fails to destroy the Ring, reveals Tolkien’s
understanding of human frailty. Frodo’s mercy toward Gollum, established through Bilbo’s
earlier pity, ultimately shows this failure. Evil is defeated not through heroism, but through
compassion and understanding. This moral pattern reflects Tolkien’s conviction that salvation
often arises from mercy and that human goodness is sustained not by strength but by grace.
(Tolkien, 1981, Letter 246) Samwise Gamgee, more than any other character, shows Tolkien’s
moral ideal. He is humble, loyal, and steadfast, and is portrayed as the greatest of friends, he is
the moral center of the story. Sam’s courage lies in his service to others and particularly to his
friend, also in his ability to endure suffering without bitterness. When Frodo falters, Sam carries
him, both literally and spiritually. His love and perseverance reflect the kind of quiet,
unassuming heroism Tolkien had witnessed among common soldiers.
The conclusion of The Lord of the Rings underscores the cost of such endurance. Frodo returns
to the Shire, but the peace does not restore him. His wounds are invisible yet incurable. His
departure across the sea to the Undying Lands is not triumph but transcendence, a gentle
acknowledgment that some pain can only be carried, not healed. Tolkien’s ending refuses
sentimentality; it honors the price of survival.
Moral Reconstruction: From Battlefield to Myth
Tolkien’s fiction can be seen as an act of moral reconstruction after the moral collapse of
modern warfare. Where the world he lived through was defined by destruction and despair, his
stories offer a vision of endurance and redemption. He does not glorify suffering but transforms
it into meaning.
The geography of Middle-earth reflects the spiritual topography of Tolkien’s imagination.
The Shire, with its fields and festivals, evokes the peaceful England of his youth, a world worth
protecting. Tolkien (1981) wrote that “The Shire is very like the kind of world in which I first
belonged,” directly linking his rural childhood to the world he created. Mordor, by contrast,
embodies the mechanized, industrialized destruction of modern wars. The contrast between
these landscapes is moral as well as physical: the Shire stands for simplicity and moral integrity,
while Mordor represents domination and dehumanization.
In all of these settings, Tolkien goes on to express his belief that evil begins with the desire to
control others. The Ring was not merely a weapon but a test of conscience. Those who seek to
use it, even for good, inevitably fall. In this way, Tolkien critiques the modern world’s obsession
with power, whether military or political. Tolkien’s heroes in contrast are those who refuse the
temptation to dominate, who find strength in humility rather than authority.
Tolkien’s moral imagination thus becomes a form of resistance. By creating a mythology where
mercy and endurance matter more than might and victory, he reclaims the moral language lost
to the cynicism of modern war. His fiction becomes both memorial and moral guide, a way to
remember the fallen and to affirm that goodness can still endure in a broken world.
Conclusion
J. R. R.’s literary works stand as both achievements as well as reflections on the twentieth
century’s darkest experiences. His time in the Great war changed his understanding of heroism
completely, taking it away from conquest and moving towards compassion. In The Hobbit, Bilbo
learns that mercy is a better victory than violence. In The Lord of the Rings, Frodo and Sam show
that humility, perseverance, and compassion are the true marks of heroism. Through these
stories, Tolkien transforms personal trauma into universal truth. His heroes are not warriors of
might but souls of endurance. They fail, suffer, and continue anyway. The moral strength they
embody arises from faithfulness, not victory . Tolkien’s vision of heroism remains deeply
relevant. In a world still scarred by conflict, his stories remind readers that hope is not lost and
that morality is in itself an act of defiance and remains imporant. His story offers no easy
answers, but it does offer something far more powerful, which is the belief that even in the
shadow of war, mercy and courage can light the way forward.
References
Friedman, S. (2013). Religion and morality in Tolkien’s The Hobbit. Scholarly Undergraduate
Research Journal at Clark, 1(1), Article 6. https://commons.clarku.edu/surj/vol1/iss1/6
Croft, J. B. (2002). The Great War and Tolkien’s memory: An examination of
Mythlore. Mythlore, 23(4), pp. 4–21. Southwestern Oklahoma State
University. https://dc.swosu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1307&context=mythlore
Russell, G. S. (2021). “To find healing in my wounds”: The transformation of memory and
trauma into art in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings (Master’s thesis). Eastern
Washington University. https://dc.ewu.edu/theses/730
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1981). The letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (H. Carpenter & C. Tolkien, Eds.).
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Fern, B. M. (2022). The power of mercy in The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Cedarville
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Tolkien, J. R. R. (1981). The letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (H. Carpenter & C. Tolkien, Eds.).
Houghton Mifflin. Letter 178. https://tolkiengateway.net/wiki/Letter_178
Tolkien, J. R. R. (1981). The letters of J. R. R. Tolkien (H. Carpenter & C. Tolkien, Eds.).
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