Conflicts Coverage in Lord of the Ring - Research Paper Example

Lord of the Ring Outline Introduction Introduces the novel, giving a brief overviewof plot of the story Conflict analysis Analyzes the conflict development in the novel, especially the conflict between the protagonist and other characters in the novel. The section looks at how the various conflicts are solved. There are also conflicts within the protagonists which and an attempt at solving them Conclusion The paper concludes with a summary of the novel, especially on the conflicts resolution. Introduction The epic The Lord of the Rings begins with a summary prehistory of the ring of power. Long before, there existed twenty rings: nine were for men, seven for dwarves, three for elves and another unique ring was made by the Dark lord Sauron in Mordor and would rule all the others. This last ring is the one that stirs conflict in the story and ensures continuity. The story is divided in three parts: the Fellowship of the Ring, the Two Towers and the Return of the King. This paper will discuss the conflicts faced by the protagonist, the ways he deals with them and whether he succeeds in his quest (Tolkien 49). Conflicts between the Protagonist and Other Characters and how he resolves them Frodo is the ring bearer and the protagonist in the trilogy. He is a young hobbit chosen by the wizard Gandalf to return the ring to Mordor. This happens when the eccentric hobbit Bilbo departs from his home in the Shire and gives his most treasured ring to Frodo. Due to the difficulty he had in giving away his ring, the Wizard Gandalf suspects that it is the powerful ring forged by Sauron. The wizard warns Frodo that the ring must be destroyed since Sauron had already learnt of its whereabouts from the creature Gollum (Tolkien 53). This is the main conflict in the story that revolves around the protagonist. The conflict is to get the ring destroyed and prevent Sauron from getting it. Frodo accepts this quest and burden and promises to take it to the safety of Rivendell. In the first part, the protagonist is in conflict with the obstacles that come between him and his destination. He sets off for the journey with three other companions, Merry, Pippin and Sam, his fellow hobbits. The black riders are an obstacle that conflicts with Frodo on the road. They are attacked near the ancient Watchtower of the Weathertop. The ring wants to reveal itself since it senses the close proximity of its servants. Frodo, on the other hand, wants to hide the ring. Part of the desire to slip on the ring comes from its power. Frodo copes with this mind conflict when the black rider suddenly sits up and rides away. In another episode, Frodo is not tempted to put on the ring. Instead, he invokes Elbereth and Luthien; the leader stabbed him with an evil enchantment and tried to force him to surrender. Heavy floods wash the black riders away while Arwarm rushes to Rivendell on a horse back with badly injured Frodo (O'Day 123). In Rivendell, it is decided that the ring must be destroyed at mount Doom, its place of origin which is also Sauron’s home country. Frodo for the second time accepts to deliver the ring to its destruction. The fellowship of the ring is formed to accompany him in the journey. Many obstacles triggers conflict between them and Frodo as there were many others who wanted the ring for themselves. First was one of the wisest wizards, Saruman the white, who wants to keep the ring to himself. This episode is followed by an unnatural snow that almost burries them, but they retreated. These obstacles act as a physical conflict between Frodo and his quest. But he does not give up the ring to the wrong people. Frodo carries a sword to defend himself, but he rarely uses it. His heroism is brought out by his endurance to the weight of the ring (Tolkien 169). They decide to brave themselves through the mines of Moria which also has many darker obstacles. Gollum begins to go after them, and they are later attacked by a terrible demon known as Balrog. Gandalf holds it back in order for the rest of the group to escape but falls back into the abyss with it. It is after this incidence that Frodo tries to give the ring to Galadriel. This incidence presents the conflict within him on whether to continue with his quest, or to take the opportunity and relieve himself from this heavy burden (Bell 220). To resolve the conflict between him and Gollum, Frodo uses the ring to tame him. He uses the desire that he has for the ring to eliminate his covetousness and trick him in taking them through the black gate and Ithilien. Gollum pleads with Frodo to give him back the ring but Frodo admonishes him saying “You will never get it back. But the desire of it may betray you to a bitter end”. This transformation from a naive to a commanding ring bearer enables him and the ring fellowship to defeat Gollum. However, he pities him and releases him out of his sentiments showing effects of the conflict in his mind (Tolkien 894). When the hobbits are held prisoners of the Barrow-Wight, he contemplates on slipping on the ring in order find his way out without being seen. “He thought of himself running free over the grass grieving for Merry, Sam, and Pippin and alive himself”. These thoughts conflicted with his courage since he was too strong to leave his friends behind. He realizes that this is a temptation by the ring and to resolve this conflict he uses his positive virtue of courage and loyalty. This event presents the theme of morality. It would be very easy for him to use the ring but he decides to do the right thing (Tolkien 140). Conflicts within the Protagonist and how he resolves them The second conflict is within Frodo himself. In The Lord of the Rings, it is noted that there is more internal conflict than physical conflict. This conflict is the struggle to resist the power of the ring. The ring wants to go back to its owner and poisons the mind of those around them. The protagonist must try hard and fight the temptation to give in to the power of the ring. This takes a lot of courage. Characters of all races are tempted by the allure of the ring. Gandalf and Galadriel are tempted by the ring (Tolkien 358). Boromir and Faramir, the sons of Denethor, try to take the ring from Frodo. All these people are drawn by the immense power that the ring could give. The ring tempts even the ones pure at heart like Sam. For instance, there is a point where Sam wonders how it would feel to possess the ring (Tolkien 416). Even Frodo is not immune to the allure of the ring. He is only able to resolve this internal conflict since he is the most resistant to the ring’s lure. In order to cope he must constantly fight the urge to succumb to its power. At times he tries to hand over the ring to his powerful friends, and at times he thinks of keeping it to himself. This event presents the theme of the temptations of the ring and greed among characters. The dark lord is constantly searching for the ring and tries to kill Frodo. The fact that many characters seek the ring to keep it to themselves is what drives Frodo to protect it for himself too. His coping methods succeed but in the very end, Frodo is not yet ready to give up the ring despite arriving at the destination (Bell 214). Frodo knows very well that he must not wield the power of the ring, and it must be destroyed. He understands what it did to his uncle Bilbo. Its evil corrupts and warps everyone it has come in contact with. The internal conflict comes in between Frodo and his conscience at his weakest point. Through the journey he had been beaten and starved and could not even carry a weapon. A few miles away, he could not even crawl, and Sam carried him up the mountain. This was the point that the ring overcame him. He could not fight the power of the ring anymore. He says, “I do not choose now to do what I came to do”. At this point he could not win the conflict between himself and the evil power of the ring. He decided to keep the ring to himself and put it on his finger. Meanwhile, Gollam has also found his way up the mountain. He bites Frodos finger and in the struggle falls into the lava clasping on the ring. Frodo survives by hanging on the wall of the cliff, and Sam pulls him up. Being the protagonist who would do anything to deliver the ring to its destruction, this twist reveals the internal conflict that Frodo had inside throughout the journey (Tolkien 943). The journey to Mordor is a symbolic internal conflict within Frodo. In contrast with Shire, the hobbits’ home, Mordor has difficult terrain and is guarded by dangerous monsters. He would get homesick, but being the bearer of the ring, he suffers in silence. Frodo was instructed to take the ring to the very place it should never be, Mordor, the home of the dark lord. He must journey from the peaceful Shrine, to the evil Mordor (Tolkien 926). The journey presents a spiritual quest that Frodo and the other fellowship of the ring must bear. Bearing the power of the ring triggers a conflict between himself and his soul. The journey takes whim to the darkest part of his soul that conflicts with his pure heart and wins the battle when he decides to keep the ring. The physical battles symbolize the internal conflicts that Frodo must fight within himself in order to deliver the ring to Mount Doom. He faces his internal darkness when he reaches Mordor and refuses to destroy the ring (O'Day 124). The enduring conflict between evil and good is the prevailing theme in the story. As Frodo tries to destroy the evil, the evil tries to destroy him. In the end, the good destroys the evil but not completely. Characters such as Morgoth still live. The theme of lust for power is seen not only in the protagonist, but also by many other characters especially the humans. The Place of Humans in the World as Brought out in the Epic The Lord of the Rings The ring wraiths, who are in constant conflict with Frodo, are supposedly nine human kings who had the nine human rings. Apparently, they are hunting the ring so that it could bring them back to life the other human who are seen as heroes in the trilogy are Aragon, Boromir, Faramir, Theodon and the many warriors of Gondor and Rohan. On one hand, there are those who are tempted by the power of the ring such as Boromir while on the other hand, Aragon leads, heals and encourages others and is always ready to risk his life to save others. The ring presents power and destroys those who possess it (Tolkien 424). The story depicts the division between the good human and the evil human. The humans are corrupted by the power, and no wonder a small and weak hobbit was given the quest. In the society today, even those who enter leadership as good people are corrupted by the power which makes them forget their goals. Human being have been presented as weak beings compared to the other creatures. Even the dead kings are so hungry for power that they try to find a way to come back to life and rule again. Human beings endeavor to rule and control all the creatures around them. For instance, the dark lord forged the ring for himself so that he could have power beyond everyone else in the middle earth. The fact that the ring is stronger than all the others depicts human beings as greedy and insatiable. They cannot resist the lure of power. They will take any decision to land in power even knowing that it will cause suffering to many people including those close to them. In the story, Tolkien also uncovers the conflicting and dishonorable motives of those who claim to be on the right side. Many leaders, especially in the contemporary world, claim to be on the people’s side while in real sense they are pursuing their own selfish interests (Bell 232). This journey brings out the theme of war between good and evil. Human beings face these conflicts in the day to day live. There is a group of selfishly ambitious people who want to keep everything to themselves. They want power to control others and would anything just to get it. To them, the end justifies the means, and they care less who they step on, on the way up. Frodo uses his bravery to resolve these conflicts (O’Day 137). Conclusion In the end, the conflict is between human and others, or between human and himself. All the powers of nature seem to work against human beings. In the story it seems that the whole world is against Frodo. On the other hand, humans conflict with themselves. When it comes to power, they are lured into the good life where they can manipulate those around them. Power is brought out as very dangerous when in the wrong hands. It is seen to corrupt even those with good intentions once they possess it. Frodo himself realizes that he cannot even trust his friends with the ring since its power corrupts their minds. This is seen when he calls Sam a thief and justifies his action to the effects of the ring. Just like the ring, power cannot be possessed or tame. The title, The Lord of the Rings is ironic itself since the ring has no lord (O'Day 128). Work Cited Miller, Bell B. The Lord of the Rings and the Emerging Generation: A Study of the Message and Medium. J. R. R. Tolkien and Peter Jackson ProQuest, 2009. Print. O'Day, Joseph E. The Ring of Truth: Truth and Wisdom in J.r.r. Tolkien's the Lord of the Rings. Longwood, FL: Xulon Press, 2004. Print. Tolkien, John R. R. The Lord of the Rings. Harper Collins Publishers, 2009. Print Read More