“The Lord of the Rings is racist. It is steeped in the logic that race determines behavior. (Ibata 2). Many people have tried to perpetuate the myth that JRR Tolkien was racist. They quote various scenes from Lord of the Rings, both in the books and in the films. These people are lying or ignorant. JRR Tolkien was not racist and he never intended for his novels to be seen as such. There is plenty of evidence to defend Tolkien from these claims, including: the themes of his novels, such as The Lord of the Rings; the clear messages in his personal writings and education; and the characters of his novels. The themes evident in works like Lord of the Rings are clearly not racist. The triumph of the “little man” is one of the major themes of The Lord of the Rings. “Nothing could be more contrary to the assumptions of racism than a hobbit as a hero.” (Anderson 872). At the beginning of Tolkien's epic, hobbits are looked down upon by the other races of Middle-earth. They are constantly overlooked, in fact Treebeard and the entities do not recognize them at all, stating "If I had seen you before I heard you, I would have just stepped on your toes, mistaking you for little orcs." (The Two Towers 67). However, the hobbits soon prove themselves worthy of admiration, Merry and Pippin fight as well as any man, and Frodo and Sam destroy the Ring. Treebeard himself repeats his remarks made during his first meeting with the hobbits, asking them to have one last drink with him before going their separate ways. (The Return of the King 260). The Ring has a corrupting influence, but it also grants great power to its wearer. So it's not difficult to understand where the theme that power can corrupt comes from. The theme itself does not contradict...... middle of article...... rch, 1998. Reproduced in Biography Resource Center. Farmington Hills, Michigan: Gale, 2010. http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/BioRCAnderson, Rearick III. “Why is the only good orc a dead orc?” The dark face of racism examined in Tolkien's world. Studies in Modern Fiction. 50.4 (2004): 861-874. Platinum Periodicals, ProQuest. Web.Ibata, David. “The Lord of Racism.” Chicago Tribune January 12, 2003. Kim, Sue. “BEYOND BLACK AND WHITE: RACE AND POSTMODERNISM IN THE LORD OF THE RINGS FILMS.” Studies in Modern Fiction 50.4 (2004): 875-907. Platinum Periodicals, ProQuest. Web.Tolkien, JRR. The Fellowship of the Ring. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1954Tolkien, JRR. The Hobbit. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1966Tolkien, JRR. The return of the king. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1955Tolkien, JRR. The Two Towers. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1954