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Faramir and the Heroic Ideal of the Twentieth Century; or, How Aragorn Died at the Somme

2012; Mythopoeic Society; Volume: 30; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

0146-9339

Steven Brett Carter,

Comics and Graphic Narratives

SCENES OF COMBAT AND THE FOREBODING PRESENCE OF WARFARE constitute many of the most memorable moments of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings. Coming as he did from an academic background filled with warrior heroes of ancient cultures, Tolkien's depiction of war in his Middle-earth mythos is grandiose, featuring heroes reminiscent of kings and warriors from throughout history. It is evident that much of Tolkien's work with Middle-earth is in some way affected by his involvement in World War I as particular sections of his work seem to be lifted directly from his war experience. When asked about the subject, Tolkien stated that My 'Sam Gamgee' is indeed a reflexion of the English soldier, of the privates and batmen I knew in the 1914 war, and recognised as so far superior to myself (Carpenter 81). However, while Sam may represent what Tolkien saw and admired in the men he met in the trenches, represents a departure from ancient forms of war and the classical hero as he embodies battle strategies, uniform considerations, and equipment advancements of the twentieth century soldier. Janet Brennan Croft writes that Faramir has a more modern and thoughtful attitude toward war, and is perhaps a more realistic model to emulate for the twenty-first-century reader (War and the Works of J.R.R. Tolkien [WatW] 101). Furthermore, instead of simply representing the infantrymen of World War I and a modern attitude toward war, is a much broader illustration of the heroic model itself. represents the idea that with World War I the nature of the warrior which has been depicted in literature since the Iliad as glory-seeking and battle-driven is fundamentally altered. Despite being perhaps one of the most socially and historically relevant characters of Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, is rarely considered narrowly in criticism, either featured in comparison to other characters or treated cursorily (1). In Tolkien's saga of Middle-earth, exists as a means to establish a new definition of the heroic model for the twentieth century in contrast to the ancient heroic ideals which are dissolved in World War I. World War I was a conflict that was both psychologically and technologically different from any war that had previously occurred in history. It was with this war that the technological capabilities of man surpassed the standard practices of warfare that had been in existence for as long as there has been organized combat. The introduction of the machine gun, mortars, and chemical weaponry created a type of warfare that demanded a new position on the nature of war and the soldier. In an article for National Geographic Magazine in 1944, Brigadier General W.H. Wilbur wrote that in wars throughout history and sailors measure their contribution by four considerations. First, by the degree of their isolation and loneliness; second, by the amount of physical discomfort they endure; third, by the amount of danger they undergo; and last, by the amount of real aggressive fighting that they do (514). Tolkien and other World War I soldiers who were confined to trenches for extended periods of time, constantly under threat of bombardment and the horrifying effects of gas attacks, and under the expectation to charge hopelessly towards guns capable of out-firing entire units by themselves, demonstrate just how World War I infantrymen are set apart from warriors of the past. This demanding form of combat created a new view of war and with it the necessity for a new heroic model. The primary way in which war was forever changed in the early twentieth century was the transformed battle tactics that were implemented to adapt to the latest technological advancements. The battle formations and tactics of the ancient world were demonstrated to be unusable and even foolish in warfare of the twentieth century. Up to this point, war was largely waged by two opposing forces marching toward each other on an open battlefield. …