Narrative Analysis
Main topic we are interested on in this moment is to leave clear what is J.R.R. Tolkien's style of writing, who we can consider the Middle Age storyteller heir, who orally narrated tales for the revival of culture to the mob. As we historically know, until Guttemberg and press appearance, every kind of tales and events were orally passed on, rather let it be with prosaic or verse nature, thanks to narrative specialists who made possible the traditions and habits instruction. Therefore, we can assert Tolkien, as XXth Century writer, take advantage of this narrative style for the literary development of his works.
One of the most interesant characteristics of this question is the extreme difficulty to sit down in front of a white leaf to start a tale. The author uses an oral structure applied to a written text as tool of overcoming this obstacle. In this sense, the final outcome is a written text but an easy and fluently reading and comprehension as an oral ballad.
Before starting to analise narrative features which J.R.R. Tolkien's tales have, we have to leave clear the autho'r style of writing is particular with a great execution. Tolkien, as a medieval stories lover and, above all, King Arthur tale, compose an example of how we can to narrate a fantastic and gothic novel. Taking "The Hobbit" as example of his production, we realize some characterisitics of author's manner of writing, such as descriptions, rather let it be of characters rather let it be of situations, or the particular lineality which the story has. In this analysis we are going to try to explain in these features as in puzzling out if Tolkien is a storyteller or a fantastic literature writer.
As we have mention before, Tolkien's manner of writing is different we can understand as a narrative text, that is, a tale conception is subject to many variables which, in first place, belongs to author's mind. I want to say with this idea Tolkien alocates his novels in a geography and historic inconcrete time and place but, as a whole, it has a complete reality and truthfulness, that is, Tolkien's tales separately mean fantastic tales without reality in our world, but the whole production introduce us in a credible world thanks to a writing and a manner of narrate which approach us the story we are reading.
Descriptions and lineality are the element which provide us that new reality, that is, the Middle Earth. The author generates a remote world from our cognition using characters without a physical aspect in our world as hobbits, elves, dragons, goblins, etc. But these creatures have to show us their idiosyncrasy and what is the best manner than the detailed descriptions of a world which have sense in our minds. Tolkien set these characters in an indefinite time where they have sense describing us an inexistent world with many features which would be able to take part in our reality. Characters and Middle Earth descriptions are meticulous and extensive and these descriptions tell us where and who we are with. These accounts provide us the necessary information to verify reality where we are and no losing in the winding territory the author has introduce us. Some examples can better explain what I am trying to say:
"I suppose hobbits need some description nowadays, since they have become rare and shy of the Big People, as they call us...There is little or no magic about hem, except the ordinary everyday aort which helps them to disappear quietly and quickly when large stupid folk like you and me come blundering along...Now you know enough to go on with."(Chapter I, page 14, "The Hobbit")
"By some curious chance one morning long ago in the quiet of the world, when there was less noise and more green, and the hobbits were still numerous and prosperous..."(Chapter I, page 15, "The Hobbit")
In addition to I have said before, we must make reference the lineality present in the novel because it is a central link of his production. Tolkien knows how is going to developed this print-oral text building the direction of the story from the beginning. The tale structure is a clear example of a medieval and classical text, that is, it has the same canons which medieval plot works have. I am going to stablish a parallelism to clarify this question: Tolkien starts "The Hobbit" narration saying: "In a hole in the ground there lived...", while Cervantes, for example, starts "El Quijote" saying: "In a place of la mancha...".
Bilbo Baggins represent lineality in this novel because, in addition he is the main character, he is the tale driver thread so if we make disappear him from the literary context, the novel would have no sense becoming in a fantastic whole of tales without a real manifest. The tale starts in the hobbit's hole, it continues in a Middle Earth guided travel and, finally, it finishes in the starter point after umpteenth adventures. In this sense, we can assert Bilbo is a tangible character despite of he represents linear life as we have and, for this reason, he is J.R.R. Tolkien representation in the novel.
Lineality of "The Hobbit" is not a innovatory narrative element, but we find it present in every written text. Lineal narration has been used from different ways to discover more things about humanity existence and to know better traditions and social cultures. Oral narrator figure has always existed in every culture and civilization, being the clue for the developing and selfconciousness. Tolkien makes a social representation of a well structured and hierarchizased world using the traditional figure of the storyteller to narrate a fantastic tale. In this sense, the omniscient narrator-author representation in "The Hobbit" is characterised by Gandalf, but, the Tolkien-author representation in the novel is Bilbo, because hobbit characteristics are familiar to the author because this one identifies social and humanly with him.
It is well known storytellers used linear stories for an illiterate audience better comprehension. In this way, Tolkien uses this system or literary method to facilitate its comprehension of an imaginary world created in his mind to an unaccustomed reader in faery, hero and dragon stories.
The inescapable conclusion which emerges from what I have said is J.R.R. Tolkien is a classical storyteller having in mind lineality of the novel, descriptions and whatever more. Possible differences between Tolkien-writer and Tolkien-lecturer are in the content and not in the shape. Inside a particular style of writing is underlined a non innovatory style, that is, the idea of a fantastic world told orally is acceptable and credible for the reader but the idea of this world told orally in Guttemberg format is amazing and unacosstumed. To conclude, the line which separates orally from writing is not clear in Tolkien style of writing and, therefore, the existing differences are not easy to distinguish. Because of this I assert J.R.R. Tolkien is an oral storyteller but in written format.
Notes:- "The Hobbit", J.R.R. Tolkien, Caledonian International Book Manufacturing Ltd., Glasgow, 1993.
© Copyright Juan Pérez Moreno
Created 28/11/99 Updated 06/12/99
[Next] [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16]
Página creada y actualizada por grupo "mmm".
Para cualquier cambio, sugerencia,etc. contactar con: fores@uv.es
© a.r.e.a./Dr.Vicente Forés López
Universitat de València Press
Creada: 22/02/2000 Última Actualización: 27/03/2000