Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien - Essay Example

Lord of the Rings I think the reason why Lord of the Rings is such a pop culture phenomenon is because it provides a sense of purpose and goodness to a society that is sorely lacking in experiences of honorable leaders and noble pursuits. The story talks about Aragorn and Frodo struggling against a world of evil to bring about a new era of light and justice. This is something that has been lacking particularly in American politics in the past eight years, the period when many of the younger generation with whom the film series has appealed have begun to remember world events and are now having to consider the ramifications on their own future. Some are being trained and sent off to a war that doesn’t make sense for leaders who can’t seem to tell the truth. Others are beginning to formulate opinions as to what defines evil and honor. The Lord of the Rings provides clear ideas and illustrations of the hero figure through a variety of characters and hope that such evils as abound in the world can be confronted and defeated. At the same time, it presents a new representation of race and culture that is much more accepting and inclusive in its recognition of issues as opposed to ignoring them. Women are portrayed without obvious makeup, allowing them to be seen ‘as they are’ and tensions between races such as dwarves and elves are clearly illustrated and overcome through familiarity into a close friendship. Individuals perceived to have some form of physical handicap, such as the tiny hobbits, refuse to allow the opinions of others prevent them from accomplishing great things on their own, such as enlisting the Ents as allies and overthrowing Saruman’s tower. Disfavored sons are able to survive the mistreatment of their parents to find new happiness and even the very wicked, like the Gollum, are given a chance for redemption. In this context, the film series speaks to everyone regardless of their position in society, and provides them with encouragement to follow their own instincts. I think my favorite character is Legolas. My main reason for this is because of his constant care and attention to his companions without ever calling too much attention to his efforts. He has the running contest with Gimli about how many orcs have been killed, but this only makes him more ‘human’. He has extraordinary physical abilities. His eyesight can see just about everything from very far away, something I really wish I could do. He is also amazing with his bow, which is a skill I have always wished I had. He is fast, too, and can run circles around everyone else in the group, but always stays just behind Aragorn and doesn’t make a big deal about his skills. The other thing I really like about Legolas is his wisdom. I’ve already hinted at this in his persistent refusal to make a big deal about his elven skills and how much better they are than human skills. He is also very careful to always wait until someone asks him for advice or help before he actually lends it unless it is obvious that this help will be required. Instead of always telling Aragorn he was wrong for his actions or has made a mistake, Legolas stays focused on what is happening now and what can be done with the current situation. He takes advantage of the moment instead of lamenting the past, which cannot be changed anyway. Finally, he is incredibly supportive of his friends. He does not allow Aragorn to go into the mountain keep alone even thought no one has ever been known to come out of it alive and he continues to work with sensitivity and humor with Gimli, poking fun at the dwarf’s limitations but also finding ways to help his friend work around them without losing face. Then, of course, there’s his amazing trip over the back of the war elephant and the graceful surfing down the trunk followed by a shrugging acceptance of Gimli’s judgment that the elephant still only counts as one kill. He is humble and honest, loyal and brave and amazingly gifted but quiet. I think the character I dislike the most is actually Denethor, the last Steward of Gondor. I understand that at earlier times of his life, he was a strong and capable leader who held Gondor against the increasing darkness of Mordor despite the fact that he had little hope of actually winning. This became increasingly clear to him as his brother king Theodan of Rohan sank into a wizard-induced madness and Saruman became lost in his isolated world of power and corruption. Still, he stood as a lone example of the best of men for a long time before the Fellowship set out on its journey, revealing in the process the true heir of Isildor who would effectively supplant Denethor and his family as rulers of Minis Tirith. Then Boromir dies and Denethor learns of the death when his men spot Boromir’s boat making its way out to sea in a true hero’s funeral. Because Boromir was his favorite, this seriously unhinges him. I have less respect for Denethor simply in the fact that he had a favorite son, particularly when Faramir was every bit as good a man as Boromir was, perhaps even a little better. This is hard to tell, though, because he is less in the presence of the ring than Boromir and it’s hard to determine whether Faramir would have been as easily swayed by it. Then, when Denethor turns out to be so suspicious of Gandalf to the point of inaction and focuses instead on what Pippin can tell him of Boromir’s death, he demonstrates that he has forgotten all about his responsibilities in his grief and is now completely focused just on what he wants. He has abandoned his people altogether at a time when they need him most. When he essentially orders Faramir to his death, I see in him the worst evil, withdrawing his love from one son as a result of his total concentration on himself. Because he totally gives in to his fear and despair and allows himself to consider only what is important to him, I see his behavior as the reason the world is falling into darkness. I think the part of the story that I enjoy the most is the way in which the Ents overrun Saruman in his white tower. It takes them forever to agree to join Aragorn’s forces in order to overthrow the evil of Sauron and, by extension Saruman, but in particular, I love the idea of the forest fighting back. There is an unmistakable relation between the activities of Saruman in his total destruction and corruption of nature in the films and the actions of the multi-national corporations in their greedy destruction of the planet in their bid for power and resources control. It seems like the entire world has lost any sort of respect for nature and the degree of dependence we have on it for our own survival. Most people consider our food comes from the grocery store and our clothes come from the mall. No one seems to realize that the grocery store buys food from farms where the food is grown, depending upon obtaining the right amounts of sunlight and rain and nutrients in order to keep us alive or that our clothes come from plants grown in similar fashion, from animals and from other resources ultimately found in nature. When the trees rise up and start fighting back against the destruction that has been visited on the forest around Saruman’s tower, they are undefeatable and totally effective. In seemingly no time at all they put a complete end to Saruman’s operations and immobilize him as well. Again, I see an unmistakable warning in this action as continued abuse by the human race upon the face of the earth will inevitably lead, as the most recent scientific reports and weather patterns suggest, to worldwide devastation – Nature fighting back against the wrongs that have been committed. Like the Ents, I’m sure Nature will win the battle hands down. The part of the story I disliked the most was when Gollum took control of Smeagol again after Smeagol had been doing such a good job at reforming himself. This event happened particularly as the three of them were making their way through Mordor and Smeagol was having trouble overcoming the suspicions of Sam. In one particular scene, Smeagol argues with Gollum that he wants to stay good, that Frodo is a good master to him, watches out for him and is the only creature in the world that has ever truly cared for him. With love and a chance, Smeagol was beginning to redeem himself, honestly wanting to help Frodo and do the right thing. Continued suspicion and hatred from Sam makes this progression even more difficult, though. As the ring becomes more desperate and stronger with its proximity to Mordor, it gains greater and greater control over Smeagol again, releasing Gollum to his full strength again. Then Gollum is able to bully Smeagol back to evil by using Sam’s suspicion to convince Smeagol that he will never have true redemption because people like Sam won’t allow it. To me, this talks a great deal about human psychology and this is why I hate this part of the film. There are so many people who are treated poorly in the world that eventually, they give in to the evil suggestions of their nature and begin simply just looking out for themselves. For some, like Smeagol, this process started almost immediately upon his finding the ring while for others, like Denethor, it’s a long process of wearing down. However, my point is that all they really need to turn their lives around is a little bit of acceptance and a chance to make amends. All too often, though, they are treated only with more suspicion and hatred, convincing them that they will never get a chance to ‘make good’ no matter how hard they try. As a result, they usually decide their choices are to live their lives in constant apology or to focus instead just on getting what they want, regardless of the effects on others. I think Aragorn is the ultimate hero of the series. I think this is intended in his establishment as the new King of Gondor and Isildor’s heir. Plus he is allowed to continue living in Middle Earth and is awarded with the bride of his choice, Arwen, who he thought had been lost to the darkness. Arwen’s vision reveals that his line will continue as she sees herself with Aragorn and a son and happy. Finally, the entire series continues to emphasize the idea that the age of Elves and Dwarves is over, it is now the time for Man, and Aragorn is the primary leader of the men – Rohan, the only other men’s kingdom, has already passed down to Eowyn, Theoden’s niece. All of this does not illustrate why Aragorn is a hero, though. The reason I believe Aragorn is the hero of the story is that he displays just about every heroic quality I can think of. He is humble about his heritage, remaining cloaked in the persona of Strider until the time is right for him to come out of hiding, indicating that his devotion to duty is stronger than his desire for comfort. He is noble in that he is quick to come to the defense of the ‘little people’ as is illustrated when he jumps to defend the hobbits in Bree and in his preference to allow the cavalry of Rohan believe him a coward than lead them into the dangerous inner reaches of the mountain even though he knows he is going to find more help because the men don’t have a chance at winning against the hordes of Mordor with the numbers they have available. Finally, he is true in that he is in love with Arwen and, even when he believes she is gone to the far shore and thus lost to him forever, he cannot accept the advances of Eowyn, who is obviously infatuated with him. Although he travels with Frodo and the ring for an even greater period of time than Boromir, he never shows the slightest inclination to try forcing the ring from the hobbit as Boromir does. I do think Frodo succeeds in his quest even though at the very end he finds himself completely possessed by the ring. If it hadn’t been for his fight with Gollum over the ring and the accidental slip that sends them both off the ledge toward the lava forge below, the ring would not have been destroyed and Frodo would have failed. However, I consider him to have succeeded because his dogged determination to continue seeking the destruction of the ring at least got him that far. The burden he bears is so strong that it has already overcome Boromir, a human, and sorely tempted Galadriel, the elf. While Hobbits are depicted as having a special sort of resistance to the strength of the ring, Gollum was once a hobbit and is completely possessed by it through much of the story and even good old Bilbo demonstrates a dangerous reaction to it that is completely out of character for him. To have resisted this power for this long, despite being in its stronghold and with it fighting against him every step of the way, I think Frodo demonstrates amazing power. At the same time, knowing that he wouldn’t stop until he either died in the process, the ring was recaptured by Sauron or it was destroyed functioned as an incentive to keep all of the other characters fighting to keep hope alive. Pippin and Merry continue trying to fight and encourage new creatures they encounter, particularly the Ents, to fight against Sauron because they can do little else to help their friend who has voluntarily separated himself from them. Aragorn is able to continue rallying his troops with the knowledge that Frodo is in the wilderness of Mordor somewhere, making his way to the Forge to destroy the One Ring. Everyone knows they cannot stand against Mordor at its full strength, but with the hope that perhaps all they need to do is hold them off long enough, they are able to fight much more effectively. This is all brought about because of the foundation Frodo laid with these friends, in which they are all made to love and trust him. It is through this love and trust that Sam is able to continue helping Frodo, knowing when he is himself and when he is under the influence of the ring and devoted enough to continue risking his life to help him. As I stated earlier, I think a good deal of the reason why Lord of the Rings has attained such status as a pop culture icon is because it presents a new story in which just about everyone can find a heroic character to identify with. Girls who are looking for realistic role models are given several possibilities in the form of Arwen, Galadriel and Eowyn. These women are beautiful without trying (no heavy makeup), physically and spiritually strong and honorable in their intentions and their desires. People of small stature are given importance and relevance, emphasizing the idea that it is not what is outside that matters, but what is inside that truly counts and heroic deeds can be completed by anyone. People of minority races are given the opportunity to relish their strengths and abilities even while recognizing their shortcomings with the final message being that being imperfect is perfectly acceptable as long as one continues to keep the greater good in mind, acting for the benefit of all instead of simply acting for the benefit of self. Those who have acted wrongly in the past have the chance for redemption and those who have been wronged have a chance to find happiness. Finally, I think one of the greatest draws of the series is the idea that good really can overcome evil even when evil seems to be so prevalent that the entire world seems engulfed. I have heard several comments that call into question whether Frodo was gay and if he and Sam had a deeper relationship than what was shown on screen. I do believe that the two hobbits had a deeper relationship than anything shared by any of the other characters, but I do not believe it was one of homosexuality if for the simple reason that Sam was definitely interested in girls. I think the basis of this relationship was demonstrated through the course of the series. When the adventure first starts after Bilbo’s party and subsequent disappearing act, Gandalf instructs Sam to serve Frodo through the events to come as punishment for having snooped about Frodo’s window eavesdropping. The idea that Sam is with Frodo simply as a result of this agreement is emphasized as the two hobbits leave the Shire and Sam remarks that this is as far as he’s ever been away from home. However, the increased realization of what Frodo is about to face when they meet up with the Ringwraiths and admiration for Frodo’s courage in being willing to endure the hardships even after they are more completely understood from the encounter on Weathertop foster a growing, abiding love in Sam’s heart for Frodo that has nothing to do with sex. For Frodo’s part, his sentiments toward Sam seem to be somewhat like a father towards a son or an older brother towards a younger. He seems to feel protective of Sam, continuously trying to send him back to the Shire and safety and the girl he loves. The only reason he allows Sam to accompany him when he leaves the rest of the Fellowship is because Sam leaves him with no other choice. Even though Frodo feels protective toward Sam, he also depends exclusively upon Sam to help him when he is weak. Without Sam he never would have succeeded and he is well aware of this fact. The relationship that develops between them is the often-referred to Bond among Brothers recognized in times of peril as developing among soldiers. I think Tolkein’s life and world experience played a large role in his ultimate creation of the Lord of the Rings. He grew up in a very Catholic world and the religious overtones of this can be seen as his characters struggle against sin and evil for the spiritual salvation of all mankind. There are numerous examples of the need for faith as what is left of the Fellowship operates on faith that Frodo is still working his way toward Mordor and Sam operates on faith that Frodo is essentially good in his heart despite his cruel words. Tolkein was also reacting to issues of industrialization and modernization as can be seen in his attention to the concept of environmental concerns and the factory of Saruman. Finally, he was concerned with politics and the need for having a good and noble leader in control of the state. His goal was not to present a world of fractured parts, each playing their own role independently of the other parts, but rather to demonstrate the interactivity and symbiotic relationship that existed within each one. Politics without religious conceptions tended to create monsters with insatiable lusts for power and control. Religious conceptions without an understanding of the natural order of things lead to false assumptions and an equal propensity for falling into evil. Disturbing the natural order of things necessarily distances one from religious conceptions and has a similar capacity for throwing politics and the welfare of the nations out of balance. Once all of these elements are brought into proper perspective and balance with one another, it is finally possible for sudden shifts in action that bring about the ultimate happy ending. Read More