The One Ring to rule them all
Thought-paper on
J. R.R. Tolkien’s
The Lord of the Rings
By
Francis Byron P. Abao
97-06526
English 146
Inst. Emil Flores
Department of English and Comparative Literature
University of the Philippines
Diliman, Quezon City.
Submitted on
October 14, 2002.
The One Ring to rule them all
The Lord of the Rings is a three part epic fantasy by J.R.R. Tolkien about the struggle to destroy the One Ring of Power. Published in 1954, the work remains as relevant today as ever, when the question of power and its consequences is concerned. In fact, the work reached the height of its influence in the antiwar protests of the 1960s, where it was a main source of inspiration for activists. Part of the reason for its enduring appeal may be that it resists any one to one correspondence of symbolism and meaning. And so, people are drawn into endless debate and speculation as to what Tolkien ‘really’ meant by his story. If Tolkien had cast his work into a form that was more easily interpreted, if he had been more dogmatic and called it ‘The Use and Misuse of Power,’ for example, he would perhaps have been less effective and influential. This is because dogmas easily attract fanatics and people who want ready made answers, but disenchant those who are inclined to a more liberal, questioning approach toward life. Tolkien’s work, fortunately, was not designed to be anything as overtly political as Marx’s ‘Communist Manifesto.’ It is a work of fantasy-literature, a combination which makes it hard for conservatives of the literary or political sphere to consider it seriously as purely a work of literature or political dogma. Nonetheless, it undoubtedly has something to say about the connection between politics, morality, and it says this in an imaginative medium: fantasy.
Despite the fact that we may never know what Tolkien meant, we can always ask(and answer, to an extent) what Tolkien means for me---as a reader, as an individual. If the work endures to this day, it must be because it concerns questions that many people have found to be relevant and enduring.
One such question for me is the question of the use of power and it...
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...or as long and as well as we can, to preserve and care for our place in the world and our relationships to others in it. And even if we fail, we do not if our attempt has been in vain, or, if it is part of some greater plan of some Higher Power who has our best interests at heart. The attempt itself is heroic.
But I think that Tolkien defined the best of what it means to be human in his work: that is, when faced with a crisis which seems beyond our means of coping, we choose hope over despair; trust over doubt; and faith over cynicism. “I don’t suppose we shall see them again, do you Sam? Frodo asks at the breaking of the Fellowship. “Yet we may, Mr. Frodo. We may.”Sam replies. (Tolkien 526).
References:
1. Tolkien, J(ohn) R(onald) R(euel). The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring.
U.S.: Ballantine Books, 1965. 87,93,526.
2. Asimov, Isaac. “The Ring of Evil” The QPB Companion to the Lord of the Rings
New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2001. 94.
3. Day, David. Tolkien’s Ring.
London: Harper Collins Publishers, 1994. 51.
It will be the contention of this paper that much of Tolkien's unique vision was directly shaped by recurring images in the Catholic culture which shaped JRRT, and which are not shared by non-Catholics generally. The expression of these images in Lord of the Rings will then concern us.
Tolkien, J. R. R. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. Boston, MA: Houghton, 1986. Print.
Tolkien, J. R. R., and Alan Lee. The hobbit ; The Lord of the Rings. London: HarperCollins, 2010. Print.
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Hobbit, Or, There and Back Again. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1996. Print.
The paper will begin with a look at the life of Tolkien. This will serve the purpose of providing some context for the novel. Looking into the life of Tolkien will also serve to give the reader some insight into the mind that gave birth to such a rich land and why the novel may have some importance for sufferers of mental illness. Next will likely be a short summation of the
Kroeber, Karl. “J.R.R. Tolkien”. British Writers. Ed. George Stade, New York: Gale Research, 1980. 519-521
Tolkien, J. R. R., and Douglas A. Anderson. The Lord of the Rings. Boston: Houghton Mifflin,
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.
The Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien, has been called by some one of the greatest books of all time and has recently earned the claim of "greatest book of the 20th century" in a poll by Britain's Channel 4 (O'hehir). Yet at the same time scholars have often dismissed The Lord of the Rings as a fanciful children's story. While the validity of either claim can be equally well disputed, the The Lord of the Rings and related works by Tolkien nevertheless embody a very clear and consistent set of ethical themes. These themes define good and evil in terms of nature and provide a framework on which the ethical decisions of individual characters in Tolkien's stories are based.
J.R.R Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings is a peerless fantasy of epic proportions. While eschewing allegory in favor of an historical perspective, Tolkien has imprinted the work with many of his own closely held Catholic beliefs. In a lecture concerning Tolkien’s writing given to students at Villanova University, Dr. Tomas W. Smith put it this way
Tolkien, J.R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring. First Ballantine Books Ed. Ballantine Books, 1965. Print.
Tolkien, J.R.R. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers. New York, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1954. Print.
It is likely for one to assume that a classic piece of literature set in a fantasy oriented stage will have no merits to the youths of today. The Hobbit by J. R. R. Tolkien, however, with its crafty of usage symbolism, displays its relevance to issues that often trouble teens. As the story progresses from a children’s tale to an epic, the main character Bilbo undergoes a series of development, his experiences often overlapping with ordinary people. Reading the Hobbit will provide teens with opportunities of exploring the importance of several common but serious topics. People may encounter many of the themes presented in the book elsewhere repeatedly, but it’s possible that they never appreciated the applications it might have on themselves. When teens read the Hobbit, they perceive it as a simple fiction of adventure. Under proper guiding, they will be able to recognize and utilize the lessons of the Hobbit, and improve their attitudes and ideas about life.
J.R.R. Tolkien's concept of too much power is summed up by Lord Acton when he once said, "Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely." In Tolkien's first book of his fantasy based trilogy, Lord of the Rings, the Fellowship of the Rings tells a story of a quest to destroy a powerful ring throughout Tolkien's created "Middle Earth". This quest was headed by a "Hobbit" named Frodo Baggins who, in the end, becomes corrupted by power himself. This corruption begins when Frodo uses his ring to become invisible over and over again to escape certain situations. The quest to destroy the powerful "Ruling Ring" forms the basis for this story.
Tolkien, J.R.R.. “Now Read On…” Interview by Dennis Gerrolt. BBC Radio 4. BBC, 1971. Web. 11 Jan. 2014.