I could write a whole essay but I think Tom is bigger than middle earth and is more or less indifferent to wizard drama. He’s been around and seen this kind of stuff playing out many times. Sometimes the “good guys” win. Sometimes they lose. He knows the world needs evil for there to be heros. The cyclical battle of good and evil is just the way of the world to Tom.
Maybe Tom and Tolkien are one and the same but I don’t think Tom is Tolkien writing himself into the book in such a direct sense.
I always imagined Tom was Tolkien himself -all powerful as the author
I could write a whole essay but I think Tom is bigger than middle earth and is more or less indifferent to wizard drama. He’s been around and seen this kind of stuff playing out many times. Sometimes the “good guys” win. Sometimes they lose. He knows the world needs evil for there to be heros. The cyclical battle of good and evil is just the way of the world to Tom.
Maybe Tom and Tolkien are one and the same but I don’t think Tom is Tolkien writing himself into the book in such a direct sense.
I’m looking forward to seeing Stephen Colbert’s take on the character, considering how he treats the books like a bible.