Tolkien's Roots

Snyder's biographical chapter on Tolkien mentions that the frequent moves Tolkien experienced as a child may have contributed to his feeling of "rootlessness". Snyder also says that Tolkien himself seemed to have little Tookish blood in him. Strangely enough, I feel that I relate to Tolkien in this way. As a child, my family moved somewhat frequently and because of that, I find it difficult to pinpoint exactly where I grew up. For me, experiencing different cultures across the country and learning to make new friends helped me grow as a person. On the other hand, it also gave me a longing for stability. I believe in Tolkien's case, his unstable childhood with frequent moves and the loss of his mother, contributed to his ability to write something so entrancing. Our experiences are what make our works vibrant and unique. Tolkien's feeling of rootlessness made his stories of travelers and adventures more real than they would have been had Tolkein's life not been uprooted. My family's frequent moves helped me to adapt quickly to new environments, but it came at the cost of not having roots firmly planted in one place. Tolkien was able to create a realistic and relatable world, but it came at the cost of having roots.

As I type this, I am intrigued by the whole theme of a person having roots and how this ties into the nature themes in Tolkien's works. Ideas?

-Vairë