Although Tolkien quickly and vehemently denied the existence of any types of allegorical readings of his work, many characters and events in his fictional world bear striking resemblance to real life figures, events and beliefs, which, somewhat contradicting the author, is sometimes rather noticeable and is often made more conspicuous in Peter Jackson’s film adaptations. As follows, the present thesis will focus on the most prominent racial, social, ideological and religious allegories that can be found in Tolkien’s magnum opus and its adaptation for the big screen, while also explaining how the already noticeable allegories in the novel trilogy were in certain cases somewhat amplified by the people who produced the film version. Furthermore, the present thesis will also analyse the differences between Tolkien’s and Jackson’s handling of female characters, touching upon the infamous accusations of Tolkien’s work lacking genuine female presence and explaining why that criticism is fair, however not true in its entirety. Finally, in the present thesis, both the book’s and therefore the film’s allegories to religion and to Christian symbolism will be discussed as well.