How Tolkien Revived Moral Clarity in an Era of Confusion

A turning of the tide of materialism...

Tolkien had good reason to be a bitter nihilist and materialist.

Losing both his parents before adulthood, no one would have blamed the young Tolkien for taking up a dark view of the world. Add to this early tragedy the horrors of the Great War and — somehow — what you end up with is not a Tolkien bent on tearing down the old ideas of Good and Evil, bu…