[dreir]

Well, Tolkien didn't say the wars didn't influence his work. He only denied that LOTR was an allegory of the war. Influence and allegory are two very different things, I think. Besides, there are enough bad guys in the other works that influenced him, I think, that any of them could have ended up as Sauron or Morgoth.

To be honest, if you sit down right now and start to write a story, would you really be able to write something that isn't influenced by anything? Or, if I were to pick up that story once you're finished, is there any event which I couldn't claim the story is influenced by? I mean, I can conjure up as many probable links as I want, really, including ones that would never have crossed your (the author's) mind.

The fact that Tolkien expounded on the distinction between 'applicability' and 'allegory' tells us that he's one of those writers who are very aware of the influences on his works and the sort of perceptions they leave people with (with regards to those influences). So as JD mentioned, we should be able to trust him when he admits or denies that this or that thing plays a part.

- Dreir -