this post was submitted on 29 Sep 2024
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Well I mean arrogance was one of their traits. The elves were the racists of middle Earth
To be completely fair they lived in a world where there actually were real differences between the races. In our world racism is silly because there aren't any actually relevant differences between the races, but the differences between elves, men, and dwarves are very real in middle earth. Not enough to pull everyone over a comb (to use a swedish proverb), but at least there's some substance to it.
Would you still say that if you knew Tolkien based elves on early "true" Christians, dwarves on Jews, Western men on Europe as a whole and their decline a metaphor for growing secularism, and the Eastern/Southern men given to evil on brown people who, even worse, aren't Christian?
Because he did.
I am quite sure he based them on stereotypical views that were prevalent during his times and not actual people. Still he showed that these perceived differences come from their internal worst traits manifesting in their views on others and can be overcome for the good of all.
You are not wrong but nuance in reading is important.