Hobbit Virtues: Rediscovering J. R. R. Tolkien's Ethics from The Lord of the Rings

A response to our fractured political discourse, Hobbit Virtues speaks to the importance of “virtue ethics” by examining the fiction of J. R. R. Tolkien—with particular attention to his hobbits.

Tolkien’s works resonate with so many readers in part because Bilbo, Frodo, Sam, Merry, and Pippin demonstrate Classical, Judeo-Christian, Medieval, and even Hindu and Confucian virtues. Tolkien ennobles the small, the humble, and the marginalized in his Middle-earth writings and presents leaders who...