“Why should a man be scorned, if, finding himself in prison, he tries to get out and go home? Or if, when he cannot do so, he thinks and talks about other topics than jailers and prison-walls? The world outside has not become less real because the prisoner cannot see it. In using Escape in this way the critics have chosen the wrong word, and, what is more, they are confusing, not always by sincere error, the Escape of the Prisoner with the Flight of the Deserter. just so a Party-spokesman might have labeled departure from the misery of the Fuhrer's or any other Reich and even criticism of it as treachery .... Not only do they confound the escape of the prisoner with the flight of the deserter; but they would seem to prefer the acquiescence of the "quisling" to the resistance of the patriot.”

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About J.R.R. Tolkien

English writer and academic philologist

J. R. R. Tolkien was an English writer and academic philologist. He is best known for The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, two works that helped define modern high fantasy. Tolkien wrote both books in the middle of the 20th century, with The Hobbit appearing in 1937 and The Lord of the Rings published in 1954 and 1955. His work is closely associated with invented worlds, languages, and epic storytelling, and his influence on fantasy literature remains enduring.

More from J.R.R. Tolkien (273 quotes) →

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Books by J.R.R. Tolkien

The Hobbit

1938

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The Fellowship of the Ring

1972

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The Two Towers

1999

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The Return of the King

1967

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The Lord of the Rings

2001

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