Lord Of The Rings Picked Apart Essay

Lord Of The Rings: Picked Apart Essay, Research Paper

Imagine yourself in a pre-industrial world

full of mystery and magic. Imagine a world full of monsters, demons, and

danger, as well as a world full of friends, fairies, good wizards, and

adventure. In doing so you have just taken your first step onto a vast

world created by author and scholar John Ronald Reuel Tolkien. Tolkien

became fascinated by language at an early age during his schooling, in

particularly, the languages of Northern Europe, both ancient and modern.

This affinity for language did not only lead to his profession, but also

his private hobby, the invention of languages. His broad knowledge eventually

led to the development of his opinions about Myth and the importance of

stories. All these various perspectives: language, the heroic tradition,

and Myth, as well as deeply-held beliefs in Catholic Christianity work

together in all of his works. The main elements of Tolkien.s works are

Good versus Evil, characters of Christian and anti-Christian origin, and

the power of imagination.

In Tolkien world, evil is the antithesis

of creativity, and is dependent on destruction and ruin for its basis.

Conversely, goodness is associated with the beauty of creation as well

as the preservation of anything that is created. The symbolic nature of

these two ideologies is represented in the Elven Rings, which symbolize

goodness, and the One Ring, which is wholly evil. A main theme of “The

Hobbit”, then, is the struggle within our own free will between good will

and evil. “Early in the (Lord of the Rings) narrative, Frodo recalls that

his uncle Bilbo, especially during his later years, was fond of declaring

that. there was only one Road; that it was like a great river: its springs

were at every doorstep, and every path was it tributary.” (Wood, 208)

Bilbo, the main character of “The Hobbit”,

often displayed his goodness throughout Tolkien.s novel. One example of

this goodness is when he decides to let the evil and corrupt Gollum live,

out of pity for him, in the dark caves under the mountain. Bilbo could

have easily slain the horrid creature mainly because of the ring, which

he was wearing at that time, gave him the power of invisibility. Instead,

he risked his life to let the Gollum live by quickly jumping past the evil

creature, thereby escaping death of either character. Gandalf, in a later

narrative, lectures Frodo by praising Bilbo.s act of pity upon Gollum.

Gandalf.s words were, “Pity. It was pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and

Mercy; not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded Frodo.”

For Gollum, later in the novel, saved Frodo from becoming possessed by

the Ring of power. “Many that live deserves death. And some that die deserve

life. Can you give it to them. Then do not be too eager to deal out death

in judgement.” (Wood, 208)

Another form of goodness that is displayed

throughout “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” is Bilbo and Frodo.s

actions of self-sacrifice. In “The Hobbit” there are two instances in which

villains caught the dwarves, Bilbo.s fellow adventurers. Instead of fleeing

their enemies, Bilbo risked his life to save the dwarves from the clutches

of evil. One instance of this is when a clan of unusually large spiders

captured Bilbo.s companions and planned to eat them. Bilbo then devised

a plan to distract the spiders away from their victims and then silently

backtracked to his companions. He then cut the dwarves from the sticky

spider webs with which they were tied and, together, they fought their

way to safety. Also, Frodo, in “The Lord of the Rings” was challenged with

the destruction of the all-evil and corrupting One Ring of power. In doing

so, Frodo sacrificed his life. “We should also remember that Frodo.s self-sacrifice

is not only for the defeat of evil; it is also for the good of society,

for the whole community of created beings. This suggests, in turn, that

in the mind of the fantasist, society is worth saving.” (Evans, 481)

As opposed to the good deeds and morals

portrayed by Bilbo and his companions, there are many foul and unholy creatures

that lurk in the pages of Tolkien.s works, which commit horrible acts.

One of the most horrid of the acts in “The Hobbit” was the corruption of

Gollum. Gollum was not always the slimy, cave dwelling, dangerous monster

that he became. He was once a Hobbit, not unlike Bilbo himself, named Smeagol.

However, one day he and his brother, Deagol, were by a riverbank. Deagol

found the ring of power. Then, Smeagol, who soon became the Gollum, killed

his brother to attain the Ring of power for himself. This Ring, “the Ring

to rule them all”, had the power to corrupt any person who possessed it.

Whether it was the Ring.s overpowering magic or simply Gollum.s lust for

the ring, the corruptio

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