Allegory In J. R. Tolkien's Lord Of The Rings

In the foreword of the second edition of Lord of the Rings, Tolkien stated that he “cordially dislikes allegory in all its manifestations.”1 If one looks at that statement outside of its context, it appears one would be mistaken to read Lord of the Rings as being a Catholic work, since Catholicism is never explicitly mentioned. However, in that same paragraph, Tolkien extols the value of applicability, and considers it distinct from the allegory which is the “purposed domination of the author.” In this light, we can see Tolkien was not talking about allegory “in all its manifestations.” “Allegory” simply means to speak of something else, and thus includes “applicability.” Rather, Tolkien disliked a specific form of allegory - crude, or formal

The narrative elucidates Tolkien's views on the inherent goodness of creation, the nature of free will, and the power of evil. Light, life, and goodness exist until they are taken away through deprivation, which results in darkness, death, and evil. Free will is ordered towards morally good choices, while evil actions come from being enslaved to sin. Sin, evil, and death, are not creations, but deprive creation as products of original sin; the original force which facilitates the absence of light, life, and

When the Council of Elrond discusses the Ring's fate, Boromir suggests that the Ring should be used to fight Sauron.11 At first glance, the prospect of using a powerful, albeit evil, item for a good purpose seems pragmatic and sensible. However, the Council immediately rejects Boromir's suggestion, reasoning that an evil means can never be justified, since the user will become evil himself.12 The Council's reasoning is based on Catholic moral theology. If an act's object and/or its ends is evil, then the act itself is morally evil and illicit, even if one of those components is otherwise