Paper Session 3-B

Heavenly Hierarchy?: The Redemptive Nature of Hierarchy in Tolkien\u27s Middle-Earth - Richard Cornell Tolkien\u27s Middle-Earth is a highly stratified and hierarchical world. Although some hierarchies (such as those headed by Sauron & Saruman) are oppressive and malevolent, some (such as those headed by Ilúvatar & Aragorn) are enriching and benevolent. This paper will consider the nature and role of hierarchy in Tolkien\u27s Middle-Earth and specifically attend to the ways in which Tolkien shows hierarchy to be good and ennobling. Furthermore, the paper will demonstrate ways that Tolkien\u27s Christian faith shapes his portrait of hierarchy. A brief conclusion will offer some reflections on how this more positive view of hierarchy might be appropriated today in a society that worships egalitarianism and democracy. George MacDonald and J. R. R. Tolkien on Faërie and Fairy Stories - Paul E. Michelson The paper discusses the ideas of George MacDonald and J.R.R. Tolkien on Faërie and Fairy Stories, based on an analysis of MacDonald\u27s essay The Fantastic Imagination, Tolkien\u27s On Fairy-Stories, Tolkien\u27s correspondence, and Tolkien\u27s unpublished introduction to MacDonald\u27s The Golden Key. The Good Catastrophe: Tolkien on the Consolation of the Happy Ending John Stanifer When describing the nature of fairy-stories, Tolkien famously coined the term eucatastrophe ( eu meaning good ) to express the effect of the sudden joyous turn that leads to the story\u27s happy ending regardless of the dark events preceding it. Tolkien applies that word specifically to fairy-stories, but I would like to explore its meaning in relation to other genres and mediums that Tolkien was either unable or unwilling to consider. Classic literature and modern popular culture alike are ripe with the use of the good catastrophe, and this device is well-known by cultures from all parts of the globe. If it seems like a stretch to connect Greek linguistics, fairy-stories, British literature, Japanese film, and Korean TV dramas, come listen and let me have the chance to surprise you by demonstrating how much all of these have in common