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The right stuff
Descriptive
TitleInfo
Title
The right stuff
SubTitle
the qualities of Tolkienian heroes and enemies and their medieval romance predecessors
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
McGuckin
NamePart
(type = given)
Michelle Christine
NamePart
(type = date)
1988-
DisplayForm
Michelle McGuckin
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
author
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Singley
NamePart
(type = given)
Carol
DisplayForm
Carol Singley
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
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(authority = RULIB)
chair
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Hostetter
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(type = given)
Aaron
DisplayForm
Aaron Hostetter
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
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(authority = RULIB)
internal member
Name
(type = personal)
NamePart
(type = family)
Ledoux
NamePart
(type = given)
Ellen
DisplayForm
Ellen Ledoux
Affiliation
Advisory Committee
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
internal member
Name
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NamePart
Rutgers University
Role
RoleTerm
(authority = RULIB)
degree grantor
Name
(type = corporate)
NamePart
Camden Graduate School
Role
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(authority = RULIB)
school
TypeOfResource
Text
Genre
(authority = marcgt)
theses
OriginInfo
DateCreated
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2012
DateOther
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(type = degree)
2012-05
Place
PlaceTerm
(type = code)
xx
Language
LanguageTerm
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(type = code)
eng
Abstract
(type = abstract)
This paper closely examines the heroic Men and villainous enemies of J. R. R. Tolkien’s works, describing in detail the qualities that are required of each. It also draws comparisons between Tolkien’s characters and their medieval romance predecessors, showing that Tolkien borrows heavily from that tradition for inspiration. This paper asks what makes a hero; what makes a villain? But while it highlights the clear cut definitions of what it requires to be considered a hero or villain, it also brings light to the questions regarding the goodness or wickedness associated with these archetypal figures. Here, it is argued that Tolkien did not simply choose the medieval romance genre in order to imitate it; he chose it in order to enhance it. The romance draws a clear line between the hero and his enemies, but rarely develops the characters sufficiently to allow the reader to judge their moral qualities. There is a grey area that the romance shows, where the hero is not always good and the enemy is kept too far out of reach for the reader to examine closely, making it easy to call them bad, but more difficult to actually prove it. Tolkien takes advantage of this grey area and expands on it. He gives detailed histories to many of his villains, as with his heroes. He allows the reader to explore all characters. And he has created a universe where pure evil cannot exist, where evil is only goodness corrupted. He makes all of his characters morally ambiguous at times, which not only makes them more interesting to his readers, but makes them more relatable as well.
Subject
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Topic
English
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TitleInfo
Title
Rutgers University Electronic Theses and Dissertations
Identifier
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ETD
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ETD_4083
PhysicalDescription
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electronic resource
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application/pdf
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text/xml
Extent
iii, 47 p.
Note
(type = degree)
M.A.
Note
(type = bibliography)
Includes bibliographical references
Note
(type = statement of responsibility)
by Michelle Christine McGuckin
Subject
Name
(authority = LC-NAF)
NamePart
(type = personal)
Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973--Characters--Heroes
Subject
Name
(authority = LC-NAF)
NamePart
(type = personal)
Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973--Characters
Subject
Name
(authority = LC-NAF)
NamePart
Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973--Criticism and interpretation
Subject
Name
(authority = LC-NAF)
NamePart
(type = personal)
Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973--Lord of the rings
Identifier
(type = hdl)
http://hdl.rutgers.edu/1782.1/rucore10005600001.ETD.000064983
RelatedItem
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TitleInfo
Title
Camden Graduate School Electronic Theses and Dissertations
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rucore10005600001
Location
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(displayLabel = Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey)
NjNbRU
Identifier
(type = doi)
doi:10.7282/T3KD1WVV
Genre
(authority = ExL-Esploro)
ETD graduate
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Rights
RightsDeclaration
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The author owns the copyright to this work.
RightsHolder
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Name
FamilyName
McGuckin
GivenName
Michelle
Role
Copyright Holder
RightsEvent
Type
Permission or license
DateTime
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(qualifier = exact);
(point = start)
2012-05-02 11:17:53
AssociatedEntity
Name
Michelle McGuckin
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Copyright holder
Affiliation
Rutgers University. Camden Graduate School
AssociatedObject
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License
Name
Author Agreement License
Detail
I hereby grant to the Rutgers University Libraries and to my school the non-exclusive right to archive, reproduce and distribute my thesis or dissertation, in whole or in part, and/or my abstract, in whole or in part, in and from an electronic format, subject to the release date subsequently stipulated in this submittal form and approved by my school. I represent and stipulate that the thesis or dissertation and its abstract are my original work, that they do not infringe or violate any rights of others, and that I make these grants as the sole owner of the rights to my thesis or dissertation and its abstract. I represent that I have obtained written permissions, when necessary, from the owner(s) of each third party copyrighted matter to be included in my thesis or dissertation and will supply copies of such upon request by my school. I acknowledge that RU ETD and my school will not distribute my thesis or dissertation or its abstract if, in their reasonable judgment, they believe all such rights have not been secured. I acknowledge that I retain ownership rights to the copyright of my work. I also retain the right to use all or part of this thesis or dissertation in future works, such as articles or books.
Copyright
Status
Copyright protected
Availability
Status
Open
Reason
Permission or license
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Technical
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448000
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