“He turns back to the blank sheet of paper in front of him and he begins to write: 'In a hole in the ground lived a hobbit'” (White 5). This is the phrase that led JRR Tolkien to wonder about this mysterious little hobbit and which inspired him to write The Hobbit. Tolkien had a great love for Catholicism which influenced everything he did, especially his books. Tolkien's morality was clearly demonstrated in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Hobbit and The Silmarillion, when good overthrows evil. Tolkien's childhood, Catholic faith and morals greatly influenced his books. Tolkien had a turbulent childhood: Tolkien lived in Africa where there were many poisonous and dangerous animals in South Africa, where Ronald grew up, so when he was one year old, a tarantula bit him. and his life was saved by his nanny who sucked out all the venom (White 11). This is probably what inspired Shelob, the horrible spider of Mordor. Ronald and his brother had extraordinary imaginations. They claimed that the farmer across the field was an ogre, that there were good and bad wizards fighting in his garden. They went on a crusade against the Turks and transformed the windmills into castles (White 16). Tolkien's favorite myth was the Norse myth of Sigurd which told of a dragon who protected a treasure and upon the death of the dragon Sigurd, the dragon slayer was able to take the treasure (Crabbe 5). This story became the lowest in which The Hobbit ends. These childhood experiences helped give Tolkien the ideas he wrote about at school. Mabel, his mother, showed great discretion when it came to choosing young Tolkien's schools. Mabel taught Tolkien Latin, French, and the rest of his preliminary education ...... middle of paper ...... was completely destroyed except for the few faithful Numenoreans. Solomon's kingdom collapsed and they were divided and eventually taken captive. Works Cited Birzer, Bradley JJRR Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth: Understanding Middle Earth. Wilmington: ISI, 2002. Print. Carpenter, Humphrey and JR Tolkien. JRR Tolkien: A Biography. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Trade & Reference Division, 2000. Print. Carpenter, Humphrey and JR Tolkien. JRR Tolkien: A Biography. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Trade & Reference Division, 2000. Print. Crabbe, Katharyn FJRR Tolkien. New York: Frederick Ungar, 1981. Print. Stanton, Michael N. Hobbits, Elves and Wizard. New York: PALGRAVE, 2001. Print. Tolkien, John R. The Silmarillion. New York: Random House Group, 2002. Print. White, Michael. The life and work of JRR Indianapolis: Alpha, 2002. Print.