As Tolkien describes the goblins (and the particular predicament in which Bilbo and his friends find themselves) he throws this in:
"It is not unlikely that they [the goblins] invented some of the machines that have since troubled the world, especially the ingenious devices for killing large numbers of people at once, for wheels and engines and explosions always delighted them, and also not working with their own hands more than they could help; but in those days they had not advanced (as it is called) so far" (Tolkien 60).
This theme is further carried out in Tolkien's other works (especially in "The Silmarillion"). In Middle-Earth goblins/orcs were not 'created'... even though it was inaccurately portrayed that way in the movies. In Tolkien's world goblins were people who had been corrupted by Tolkien's satan figure, Morgoth. These corrupted people were then bred with one another and created their own cultures and nations that had the values of their master.
By this definition I think that we may still have goblins today, in our world... and I think that's exactly what Tolkien was getting at.
Any thoughts?
Who are the goblins of today's world?
Are they all communists or Arabs like the media would like us to think?
7 comments:
Just this morning (Wed, May 28) Amnesty International released it's "State of the World's Human Rights" address. According to their studies for 2007 they say, among many other things:
"...people are still tortured or ill-treated in at least 81 countries; they face unfair trials in at least 54 countries and are not allowed to speak freely in at least 77 countries."
There were scathing reports of atrocities in Asia and Africa (as might be expected). But it was the U.S. who was blasted for "shirking its duty to provide the world with moral leadership."
Interesting.
What gives the U.S. the right or obligation to lead the world in morality?
Goblins.
That would be scary if the U.S. has the obligation to lead the world in morals. In Belize, they all wanted to be like Americans but their version of Americans was MTV. Needless to say their easy going, friendly Central American culture was going down hill fast.
We do have Goblins all around us. But the trouble is that most of the time it is not as clear cut as Tolkien portrays. Sometimes it is obviously. But even the world around us is filled with people seeking their own pleasure who may not have yet been presented with the opportunity to do something completely wicked yet. And with the low moral standard, the question is whether they think they will get caught, not if it is right. All it would take is a charismatic leader to capture the imagination of the people and we would be living in Morgoth's country. But is the reverse also true?
Oh, and welcome back Tim
Tim S.
Well Tim, either your scary picture of a Goblin has scared everyone away, or people have lost interest in your blog while you were on holidays and moved on. The blog world is a fickle one, that's for sure. I'm still with you though. Tim's stick together.
Tim S.
Maybe if we keep leaving extraneous comments people will see the high number of comments and think that there's something interesting here.
Or else maybe they're all offended because they think I'm calling them all goblins.
Maybe they are.
Hey, I'm still here! I've often been fascinated by the fact that people of different countries seem to have inbred characteristics.eg Italians, French, Germans, Swiss, Latins, etc. all have disinct national characteristics that seem to be generally accurate. Is that people of one kind breeding together? Is it development of a cultural behaviour that after awhile becomes part of the genes? By the way, I'm not calling these people goblins! I guess every culture has its goblins, and sometimes it does seem to be hereditary!Or is that crazy?
I'm a goblin.
I don't think the goblin's of today's world are as ugly as that picture... well... at least most of them. And I don't think you can generalize a "goblin" by saying they are one nationality or political viewpoint. I think the Americans invent weapons of mass destruction without always thinking about the consequences (and just to be clear, I am NOT anti-American) but so do many other civilizations. I think many people are corrupt on the inside and we don't even know it. Sometimes it starts out with little rebellions and through generations turns into a huge problem that affects the lives of many since it is spread throughout family histories and years of abuse. I think it would all depend on the individual and their attitude toward God and life in general.
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