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Examining the Reception of the Lord of the Rings Among Young Readers

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Examining the Reception of the Lord of the Rings Among Young Readers Shelton, Luke (2020) ‘Small Hands Do Them Because They Must’: examining the reception of The Lord of the Rings among young readers. PhD thesis. https://theses.gla.ac.uk/81312/ Copyright and moral rights for this work are retained by the author A copy can be downloaded for personal non-commercial research or study, without prior permission or charge This work cannot be reproduced or quoted extensively from without first obtaining permission in writing from the author The content must not be changed in any way or sold commercially in any format or medium without the formal permission of the author When referring to this work, full bibliographic details including the author, title, awarding institution and date of the thesis must be given Enlighten: Theses https://theses.gla.ac.uk/ [email protected] ‘Small Hands Do Them Because They Must’: Examining the Reception of The Lord of the Rings Among Young Readers Luke Shelton MA Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of PhD School of Critical Studies College of Arts University of Glasgow Month/year of deposition to the library © Luke Shelton 2019 Abstract This project explores how the reception of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings by younger readers differs from the understanding of the novel preponed by scholarship. A questionnaire and two activities were used to assess the reception of thirty young readers. The data set created from these responses was then compared to the current understanding of Tolkien’s work among scholars, as determined by a lengthy literature review. While several of the traditional aspects of a thesis for an English PhD are maintained, the study also employs methods and analysis from other fields. In this way, the study is unique and, perhaps, groundbreaking in its approach to reception studies. The specific areas of investigation are young readers’ understanding of the genre, characters, and setting of The Lord of the Rings. By examining the ideas that young readers have about genre, this project provides commentary on the impulse critics have to confine texts to easily-defined categories. By analyzing young readers’ response to characterization, this project confronts the assumption that children have a simplistic reading of characters. Finally, by discussing young readers’ interpretation of setting, this project validates the environmental and ecological concerns of this young readership. The narrow aim of the project is to fill a gap in Tolkien reception studies by examining the response of readers younger than eighteen, and thereby improve understanding of J.R.R. Tolkien’s readership. The larger goal of the study is to confront and reexamine the assumptions of literary scholars and critics. This study demonstrates the disconnect between much of the scholarly conversations about fantasy literature and the lived experiences of young readers. It gives voice to a population that is underrepresented in scholarly conversations, and it supports the idea of more inclusive and diverse critical discussions. Contents Tables Figures Acknowledgements Abbreviations 1. Introduction and Literature Review 9 1.1 Introduction 9 1.1 Background 9 1.2 Project Overview 10 1.3 Meet the Participants 11 1.4 Acknowledging Bias 13 1.5 Thesis Outline 14 1.2 The Lord of the Rings and Reception 15 1.2.1 Introduction 15 1.2.2 Reflections on Reading Tolkien 15 1.2.3 Reception Studies in Tolkien Criticism 19 1.3 The Lord of the Rings, Tolkien, and Children’s Literature 26 1.3.1 Introduction 26 1.3.2 Tolkien and the Critics: A Childish Affair 34 1.3.3 Readers as Hobbits 40 1.3.4 Hobbits as Children 43 1.3.5 Children Readers of Tolkien’s Work 45 1.4 Children’s Literature and Reader Response 51 1.4.1 What is Children’s Literature 51 1.4.2 The Crossover Question 61 1.4.3 Background to Scholarship on Child Readers 64 1.5 Fantasy-Specific Studies of Children Responses 67 1.6 Conclusion 70 2. Rationale and Methodology 72 2.1 Introduction 72 2.2 Survey 77 2.2.1 Background 77 2.2.2 Definition, Methods, and Approaches 78 2.2.3 Activity Description 80 2.3 Visual Interview Methods 81 2.4 Diamond Ranking 82 2.4.1 Background 82 2.4.2 Definition, Methods, and Approaches 84 2.4.3 Activity Description 87 2.5 Photo Elicitation 88 2.5.1 Background 88 2.5.2 Definition, Methods, and Approaches 91 2.5.3 Photo Gathering Process 93 2.5.4 Activity Description 97 2.6 Interview Protocols 100 2.7 Recording 101 3. The Question of Genre 102 3.1 Introduction 102 3.2 Group 1 104 3.2.1 Fantasy 104 3.2.2 Quest 107 3.2.3 Conclusion 114 3.3 Group 2 115 3.3.1 Good vs. Evil 115 3.3.2 Epic 122 3.3.3 Conclusion 126 3.4 Group 3 126 3.4.1 Allegory 126 3.4.2 Myth/Legend 134 3.4.3 Threatened Homeland 141 3.4.4 Conclusion 176 3.5 Conclusion 148 4. Responding to Characters 150 4.1 Introduction 150 4.1.1 Note about Statistical Significance 151 4.2 Favourite Character from the Fellowship 152 4.2.1 Organizational Category: The Hero 152 4.2.2 Sam 153 4.2.3 Gandalf 158 4.2.4 Legolas 164 4.2.5 Conclusion 168 4.3 Least Favourite Character from the Fellowship 170 4.3.1 Organizational Category: Morality 170 4.3.2 Boromir 173 4.3.3 Gimli 179 4.3.4 Conclusion 184 4.4 Most Relatable Member of the Fellowship 186 4.4.1 Introduction 186 4.4.2 Sam 187 4.4.3 Boromir 189 4.4.4 Pippin 190 4.4.5 Conclusion 191 4.5 Conclusion 192 5. Visualizing Imaginary Worlds 196 5.1 Introduction 196 5.1.1 Organizational Category: Nature 197 5.2 The Shire 198 5.2.1 Theoretical Category: Content of Picture 198 5.2.2 Theoretical Category: Aesthetic/Feel of Picture or Setting 209 5.2.3 Conclusion 212 5.3 Lothlórien 213 5.3.1 Theoretical Category: Content of Picture 213 5.3.2 Theoretical Category: Aesthetic/Feel of Picture or Setting 224 5.3.3 Theoretical Category: Comparison to Other Pictures 229 5.3.4 Conclusion 229 5.4 Conclusion 231 6. Conclusion 237 6.1 Expectations Prior to Study 237 6.1.1 Survey 237 6.1.2 Diamond Ranking 238 6.1.3 Photo Elicitation 239 6.2 Narrow Conclusions of Study 240 6.2.1 Genre 240 6.2.2 Character 241 6.2.3 Setting 241 6.3 Broader Implications and Area for Further Study 242 6.4 Final Thoughts 243 Appendix A—Questionnaire 245 Appendix B—Character and Setting Descriptions 248 Appendix C—Photo Elicitation Images 251 Appendix D—Interview Protocols 268 Appendix E—List of Tolkien Scholarship Consulted 269 Appendix F—Table with Participant Age, Gender, Reading, and Adaptation Experience 280 Bibliography 282 Tables Table 1 Participants who selected each genre in question seven of the questionnaire 103 Table 2 Number of times participants placed each character from the Fellowship in each row of the diamond during the diamond ranking activity 151 Table 3 Number of times participants indicated each character of the Fellowship as the most relatable 186 Figures Fig. 1 Basic Structure of a diamond ranking activity with rows labelled 84 Fig. 2 Beginning configuration for Diamond Ranking activity 87 Fig. 3 Shire Primary Set for photo elicitation interview 98 Fig. 4 Shire Meadow Subset for photo elicitation interview 99 Fig. 5 Photo elicitation image 1.0.2, Titled “Shire—Primary Set—Meadow” 199 Fig. 6 Photo elicitation image 1.2.2, Titled “Shire—Meadow Set—Flowers” 202 Fig. 7 Photo elicitation image 1.2.3, Titled “Shire—Meadow Set—Green” 203 Fig. 8 Photo elicitation image 5.0.2, Titled “Lothlórien—Primary Set—Trees” 214 Fig. 9 Photo elicitation image 5.2.1, Titled “Lothlórien—Trees Subset— Golden Trees” 215 Fig. 10 Photo elicitation image 5.2.2, Titled “Lothlórien—Trees Subset— Green Trees” 217 Fig. 11 Photo elicitation image 5.0.3, Titled “Lothlórien—Primary Set—Water” 228 Acknowledgements I would like to especially thank my supervisor Dr. Dimitra Fimi. Her direction, support, and encouragement have been instrumental throughout this project. I cannot imagine where I would be without her guiding influence. When I was struggling with anxiety or insecurity about the project or other circumstances, she was a stalwart advocate and I cannot thank her enough. I would also like to thank Dr. Kate North at Cardiff Metropolitan University and Dr. Maureen Farrell at the University of Glasgow who each served as a reader on this project. Their insights and guidance have made this project much better than it would otherwise have been. Furthermore, I would like to thank the people who read my drafts for errors and corrections near the end of the work, including: Kathy Baugher, Kat Sass, Sparrow Alden, Tom Hillman, Robin Ann Reid, Kris Swank, and Andrew Higgins. I would also like to thank the young readers who participated in interviews for my project. There was no external motivation to spend an hour or two talking with me. Each of them did so out of the graciousness of their heart, and for that I find them inspirational. I have done my absolute best to preserve their voices and opinions in the final version of this research, and to let their individuality shine through when possible. My research would not have been possible without the assistance of fan communities, who helped distribute my call for participants and allowed me a place to speak to their members.
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