Washington and Lee University Library
    • Login
    View Item 
    •   Digital Archive Home
    • W&L University Student Scholarship
    • W&L Dept. of English
    • ENGL Honors Theses
    • View Item
    •   Digital Archive Home
    • W&L University Student Scholarship
    • W&L Dept. of English
    • ENGL Honors Theses
    • View Item
    JavaScript is disabled for your browser. Some features of this site may not work without it.

    The Deeper Magic: Christ-like Figures and Faith in the Fantasy of J.K. Rowling and J.R.R. Tolkien (thesis)

    View/Open
    Honors thesis, PDF (582.9Kb)
    Date
    2019
    Author
    Travis, Sutton Paige
    Subject
    Washington and Lee University -- Honors in English
    Rowling, J. K.
    Tolkien, J. R. R. (John Ronald Reuel), 1892-1973
    Christianity in literature
    Faith
    Metadata
    Show full item record
    Description
    Sutton Paige Travis is a member of the Class of 2019 of Washington and Lee University.
     
    Honors thesis; [FULL-TEXT WILL BE AVAILABLE FOLLOWING A 1-YEAR EMBARGO]
     
    Ultimately, my intention in exploring the Christ-like figures and nostalgically idyllic communities of faith in both Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings can be distilled into three parts. My first objective is to suggest that Rowling and Tolkien deserve more scholarly attention specifically focused on their similar commitments to producing an element of underlying Christianity in their work. Secondly, I aim to better understand why the two authors embedded their religious convictions in such implicit manners throughout their series, rather than following Lewis’ more overt, allegorical tactics. Primarily, though, I hope to demonstrate that, just as both authors ask their readers to entrust them with belief in their fantastical worlds, Rowling and Tolkien duly reward such leaps of faith by encouraging their readers, indirectly, toward belief in what Tolkien would call the “story of a larger kind which embraces all the essence of fairy stories. . . . I hope to demonstrate that it is almost as if Rowling and Tolkien, though half a century apart, have collaborated to both ask their respective readers: if you could put your faith in this fictional story, where else might you be willing to place your faith? [From Introduction]
     
    Sutton Travis
     
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/11021/34434
    Collections
    • ENGL Honors Theses
    • W&L Dept. of English

    DSpace software copyright © 2002-2016  DuraSpace
    Contact Us | Send Feedback
    Theme by 
    Atmire NV
     

     

    Browse

    All of the Digital ArchiveCommunities & CollectionsBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjectsThis CollectionBy Issue DateAuthorsTitlesSubjects

    My Account

    LoginRegister

    DSpace software copyright © 2002-2016  DuraSpace
    Contact Us | Send Feedback
    Theme by 
    Atmire NV