THE COMMON HUMANE SHARING IN DIFFERENT MYTHOLOGIES OF THE LORD OF THE RINGS AND 1984 Aslı Bülbül CANDAŞ

Year 2012, Volume: 4 Issue: 16, 1 - 12, 01.12.2012

Aslı Bülbül Candaş

Abstract

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien’s collection The Silmarillion, which is a
utopic creation myth of Middle-earth, Valinor, Númenor and Beleriand, and his
novel The Lord of the Rings, which is a saga taking place only in Middle-earth,
seem to be completely irrelevant to George Orwell’s dystopian world 1984 at first
view but when they are examined in detail, two striking common points would
be obvious that these myths support the idea of cultural variety’s importance and
they consist of a war against cultural dominance. In The Lord of the Rings, it is
the battle and collaboration of cultures that makes sense in the mythological
surrounding of the plot; the creatures come together to defend their cultural
history against a single body; Sauron and the Orcs under his rule. As for 1984,
the reader is presented with the struggle of a couple, Winston and Julia, to
continue their cultural heritage against the dictatorship of Ingsoc which offers the
society with an artificial and prototypical culture.

Keywords

Cultural Variety, Cultural History, Mythology