In our reality , where people are very present, there are a lot of quarreling. Now there are a lot of discussions about a movie film, “Bilbo” – Peter Jackson’s movie on JRR Tolkien’s story – even before it’s release, soon. Not to mention a lot of other troubles …

Did animals suffer and even die while the movie was made? ( Guardian ) – Can JRR Tolkien’s estate reach any result with their suing? (Telegraph ) –  In New Zealand the “Lord of the Ring” – volcano once picturing “Mount Doom” erupts… (Daily Mail )
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But human beings are placed on a certain distance in the books of Tolkien. They are other creatures In comparison with the hobbits, dwarfs , elves and many other beings who are more frequent on the pages, until some moment when these others – humans – does enter the scene.
In “The Lord of the Ring” it takes place when Strider/Aragorn show up in “The Prancing Pony”in Bree.
In “Bilbo” human beings first appears with the Lake-men, later in the story.

If not the mystical Boern gives us a human impression:

“He changes his skin: sometimes he is a great, strong black-haired man with huge arms and a great beard. I cannot tell you much more, though that ought to be enough. Some say that he is a bear descended from the great and ancient bears of the mountains that lived there before the giants came. Others say that he is a man descended from the first men who lived before Smaug or the other dragons came into this part of the world, and before the goblins came into the hills out of the North. ”
( According to Gandalf – “The Hobbit” chapter 7)

                                                                                                  Illustration – John Howe