Bear with me...
Would it have been possible for J. R. R. Tolkien (either after or instead of his service in France) to have been assigned to the Arab Revolt alongside T. E. Lawrence? Perhaps after seeing service in the Western Front he angers a superior who sends him to Cairo, believing his skill in linguistics and inventing code might prove useful to Murray or Allenby.
I don't know... help me with some ideas on that one?
If it is possible, how does Tolkien's life differ? (By the way, I'm going on the assumption that his academic career post war is the same. He still becomes the professor and author we know and love, but rather than finish the last years of WW1 in hospitals, he finishes them in the desert.)
How does the story of Lawrence of Arabia and the Arab Revolt change with this additional player? What effect does this service have on his future writing, assuming he survives and still writes something at least structurally similar to The Lord of the Rings?
If he fights under T. E. Lawrence he would eventually become rather well known. Who might portray Tolkien in David Lean's adaptation of Lawrence's memoirs?
Tolkien's time in the desert will not effect his desire to create a uniquely British mythology, surely. But might it effect - say - the Easterlings or Haradrim? Might the forces of Gondor perhaps have had the aid of a strong and proud desert people out of the east whose loyalty is to none but themselves but whose fate is tied to the West?
At the very least would there be fewer criticisms about his at minimum xenophobia, at worst outright racism? And would such an attitude broaden the appeal of his writing in particular and fantasy in general to a larger audience with more racial diversity?
Is this not the most badass idea ever?
Would it have been possible for J. R. R. Tolkien (either after or instead of his service in France) to have been assigned to the Arab Revolt alongside T. E. Lawrence? Perhaps after seeing service in the Western Front he angers a superior who sends him to Cairo, believing his skill in linguistics and inventing code might prove useful to Murray or Allenby.
I don't know... help me with some ideas on that one?
If it is possible, how does Tolkien's life differ? (By the way, I'm going on the assumption that his academic career post war is the same. He still becomes the professor and author we know and love, but rather than finish the last years of WW1 in hospitals, he finishes them in the desert.)
How does the story of Lawrence of Arabia and the Arab Revolt change with this additional player? What effect does this service have on his future writing, assuming he survives and still writes something at least structurally similar to The Lord of the Rings?
If he fights under T. E. Lawrence he would eventually become rather well known. Who might portray Tolkien in David Lean's adaptation of Lawrence's memoirs?
Tolkien's time in the desert will not effect his desire to create a uniquely British mythology, surely. But might it effect - say - the Easterlings or Haradrim? Might the forces of Gondor perhaps have had the aid of a strong and proud desert people out of the east whose loyalty is to none but themselves but whose fate is tied to the West?
At the very least would there be fewer criticisms about his at minimum xenophobia, at worst outright racism? And would such an attitude broaden the appeal of his writing in particular and fantasy in general to a larger audience with more racial diversity?
Is this not the most badass idea ever?
