Fantasy has not always been a popular theme in literature; in fact the change came sometime after Tolkien’s books were published. It was considered for people who weren’t cool. Tolkien made fantasy literature popular and acceptable in our society. Tolkien used Transformational Leadership while paving the way. Tolkien led the way to the mainstreaming of fantasy literature and the popularity of his books sparked an interest in fantasy and affected culture dramatically.

Tolkien led the way to the acceptance of fantasy literature. His books received many different reviews both positive and negative. One critic called it “juvenile trash” (Pearce P. 1-10) However The Lord of the Rings was voted “greatest book of the century” in a nationwide poll in 1997. (Pearce, P. XI) This is an example of the popularity of the books. One reason for the popularity of the books is that Tolkien developed his world so much that it all came to life. “Middle-earth is probably the most thoroughly developed secondary world.”(http://ea.grolier.com/) Tolkien had started to develop Middle-earth by 1917 (Pearce, P. 83) and continued to refine it throughout his lifetime. C.S. Lewis described Middle-earth as having “its own theology, myths, geography, history, palaeography, languages and orders of being.”(Pearce, P. 83) Tolkien’s work was different from previous novels; it was original and drew the reader in. Despite all the criticism Tolkien’s books became popular. With Tolkien, fantasy became a distinct publishing category rather than a smaller category that not many people read. (http://ea.grolier.com/)Tolkien re-established fantasy as a serious form in modern

English literature. (http://gme.grolier.com/) Before Tolkien, fantasy was rarely read if and if it was read, it wasn’t read in public.

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born January 3, 1892 in South Africa. His father died February 15, 1896 when Tolkien was only 4 years old. Tolkien gained a love for the wilderness and trees while living in Sarehole, Warwickshire. Throughout his life he had a great love for words and languages. Tolkien’s mother converted to Catholicism in 1900, being a Protestant before. (Lynch, P. 23) This influenced his writing and his stories took on a Catholic view. His first novel, The Hobbit, was published in 1937. His Lord of the Rings trilogy was published in 1954 and 1955. Tolkien led the way to change using transformational leadership. His books changed what people thought about fantasy literature. Tolkien died on September 2nd, 1973. Tolkien’s legacy still lives on in his books, which are loved by millions.

From an early age Tolkien had a love for languages and in later life he started making one up called Quenya which he used in The Lord of the Rings. By the time he graduated he had studied nine old languages. One of his first jobs was helping compile the New English Dictionary. After this he taught English at the University of Leeds and then he became a professor of English at the University of Oxford which is a high honour. Tolkien joined a literary group called the Inklings which met weekly to read each others works and give criticism. Tolkien went from writing scholarly texts to writing novels. Tolkien’s motivation came from his children’s love of stories which he told them every night. Some of Tolkien’s inspiration came from reading Beowulf, Northern myths and

legends, and George MacDonald’s books. His Catholic faith also influenced his books. Tolkien thought of the Silmarillion, which focuses on good and evil, as his most important book. Even though, at the time of the publishing of the books, many critics thought it was awful, nowadays millions love the books and films showing how wrong the critics would be.

Many cultural ideas were changed because of Tolkien’s influence. Although Tolkien probably did not intend to cause such an impact in culture he managed to change many thoughts. The Times Literary Supplement, 25th November 1955, wrote about The Lord of the Rings “This is not a work that many adults will read right through more than once” (Shippey, P. 1) but fifty years later it had had scores of millions of readers. Tolkien had created such an impact in the world that the definition of Hobbit was put in the English dictionary. “Hobbit: One of a race of imaginary beings, half human size, hole-dwelling and hairy-footed, invented by J.R.R. Tolkien in his novel The Hobbit (1937)” (Schwarz, P. 795) Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” developed a cult status in the US. (http://ea.grolier.com/) People started going around wearing buttons that said phrases like “Frodo Lives” or “Gandalf for president”. (Lynch, P. 107) People dressed up as hobbits, showing how they admired Tolkien. Fantasy video games and board games became very popular because of this new interest in fantasy. Peter Jackson’s The Lord of the Rings

films have become very popular and hundreds of millions of people have seen the flims, which may be the most successful ever made. (Shippey, P. 409)The films brought the books to a wider audience especially by word of mouth. In trying to do something important in his life he created a huge impact in popular culture. Parodies of The Lord of the Rings have been made in commonly watched TV shows such as South Park increasing the range of audiences The Lord of the Rings is portrayed to.

Tolkien led the way to change using Transformational Leadership and he changed people’s views on fantasy literature. As a University professor Tolkien put, in his very influential essay “On Fairy-Stories” (1938 lecture) “his key concepts of fantasy, recovery, escape and consolation, which have became[sic] central to much modern fantasy theory”. (http://ea.grolier.com/) Tolkien wanted to do something special after the war in memory of his comrades. He felt that whoever survived must do important works. Tolkien himself decided to create a web of legends. (Lynch P. 64) These legends formed The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. Before Tolkien’s work, fantasy was mostly made up of ancient epics and legends, after that, during the nineteenth century, there had been Lewis Carroll (Alice books 1865, 1872), George MacDonald (Phantastes 1858, Lilith 1895) and L. Frank Baum (The Wonderful Wizard of Oz 1900). None of these books were as popular as Tolkien’s works. Tolkien’s work was a more complete fantasy world and differed from everything that came before. The Lord of the Rings became a “must read” book. Many writers have been influenced by Tolkien. Hundreds of imitative series have been published for example, Christopher Paolini’s books; The Inheritance Trilogy.

Fantasy literature is now one of the biggest genres of literature and it is read by millions worldwide. People disliked fantasy literature and it was un-appreciated before Tolkien’s works. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and its prequel, The Hobbit, made people think about whether fantasy literature was really “un-cool” as they had been told before. Many people had their thoughts changed and they became great fans of fantasy, changing cultural thoughts.

Tolkien was a huge influence in literature and he helped lead fantasy writing into the limelight of literature. He was a great inspiration to many fantasy writers who came after him and he led to an increase in fantasy writing. There was a change in fantasy’s place in popular culture. Before him if someone was seen reading a fantasy book on a bus or in a public place people thought of them as weird. Now fantasy is one of the most popular genres in literature and millions of people read and enjoy it.