In The Lord of the Rings, Denethor is the Steward of Gondor, a nation of Men in the south of Middle Earth. He is Steward, not King, because his line is standing in for the true kings of Gondor, which is Aragorn’s lineage. Denethor is an important character because he gathers intelligence for the forces of good. He also helps show that Aragorn is the true king of Gondor, and shows what a character that gives into despair is like.
While leading Gondor as its Steward, Denethor chanced across a Palantir, and looked into it frequently. He used it because he believed he would be able to gather the enemy’s strategy and learn their tactics. He does gather intelligence, but what he sees causes him to lose hope: Mordor had amassed a giant army capable of destroying Gondor. Denethor loses hope in his armies, and failed to conquer the Palantir and ends up despairing. Denethor also helps show that the race of Men is weak and unable to cope with powerful forces like Sauron and the Ring. Aragorn proved he is the true King of Gondor when he looked into the Palantir and mastered it. Someone other than the king would not have the blood of Numenor in their veins and would not be powerful enough to master the Palantir. By mastering the Palantir, Aragorn proves that he is the rightful king and the heir of Isildur, the last king of Gondor.
Denethor also shows the reader what a despairing character looks like. Many bad things happen to Denethor and Gondor during the Lord of the Rings, such as both of his sons’ deaths (although Faramir hadn’t actually died, Denethor just thought he did), and his kingdom being invaded by a seemingly indestructible army bent on destroying his kingdom. Because of this, Denethor despairs and burns himself and tries to burn Faramir alive. None of the other characters show despair quite the way Denethor does, All of them are ready to face the dangers of Middle Earth and beat evil. They are all hesitant, because fighting the forces of evil in Middle Earth is a daunting task, but they are willing and they don’t despair.
Frodo and Sam coped with their trek through Mordor with more success than Denethor had with the Palantir. Throughout the rest of the books, all of the characters are courageous in the face of evil. Frodo and Sam go to Mordor without questioning whether it is the right thing to do or whether or not it is worth risking their lives. Merry swore fealty to Theoden and fought in the battle of Pelennor Fields because he wanted to defend everything he held dear from Sauron. Denethor was unable to cope with the vast armies that invaded his kingdom, and ended up despairing.
As the Steward of Gondor Denethor is an important character because he gathers information for the forces of good, helps show that Aragorn is the true king of Gondor, and reflects upon a character who gives into despair.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Shelob Is Not the Most Appalling Monster Imaginable
Many people (myself included) might usually think of a gigantic spider as a disgusting monster that should be fought and destroyed. The truth is that Shelob isn’t a monster. Shelob and her ancestor, Ungoliant, were both used as tools by evil people, but are not evil themselves. She merely needs to eat and hunt like any other animal. The reason Frodo and Sam fought Shelob is because Gollum, the real monster in this case, led them to her.
Shelob is much like her ancestor, Ungoliant. Ungoliant and Shelob are both creatures that are able to change their shape, and settled with being spiders. Ungoliant’s idea of a feast was light and good objects. Melkor used this for his evil purposes when he had Ungoliant swallow Laurelin and Telperion, the Trees of Valinor. In this case, Melkor is more evil than Ungoliant because he wanted the Trees of Valinor destroyed, and Ungoliant wanted to eat. Even if Ungoliant hadn’t existed, Melkor would still have found some way of destroying the Trees of Valinor. If she had been left alone, Ungoliant would not have gone out of her way to go and eat the Trees of Valinor. She wanted to be left alone. In the Silmarillion, it says that she left Melkor's service to be her own master.
Gollum is an appalling monster in book four. During that book, he gained Frodo’s trust by leading them through the Dead Marshes and North Ithilien, but then betrays their trust by leading them through Cirith Ungol. Gollum led them to Shelob’s insatiable hunger, intending them to be killed and allowing him to retrieve the Ring. It is clear from this part of the book that Gollum doesn’t care about helping Frodo and Sam, and that he hasn’t changed. Gollum is full of selfish malice towards the Ring bearer, and would do anything to get the Ring back. Ungoliant and Shelob acted unaware of the impact their actions would have on Middle Earth. There was no malice or evil intent in either of them.
Although the giant spiders are meant to be horrible monsters imaginable, they are not the worst creatures in Tolkien’s writings. The real monsters of the Silmarillion and the Two Towers are Melkor and Gollum respectively. They showed complete selfishness and malice towards all of Middle Earth, whereas Ungoliant and Shelob were nothing but tools to work the evils of Melkor and Gollum.
Shelob is much like her ancestor, Ungoliant. Ungoliant and Shelob are both creatures that are able to change their shape, and settled with being spiders. Ungoliant’s idea of a feast was light and good objects. Melkor used this for his evil purposes when he had Ungoliant swallow Laurelin and Telperion, the Trees of Valinor. In this case, Melkor is more evil than Ungoliant because he wanted the Trees of Valinor destroyed, and Ungoliant wanted to eat. Even if Ungoliant hadn’t existed, Melkor would still have found some way of destroying the Trees of Valinor. If she had been left alone, Ungoliant would not have gone out of her way to go and eat the Trees of Valinor. She wanted to be left alone. In the Silmarillion, it says that she left Melkor's service to be her own master.
Gollum is an appalling monster in book four. During that book, he gained Frodo’s trust by leading them through the Dead Marshes and North Ithilien, but then betrays their trust by leading them through Cirith Ungol. Gollum led them to Shelob’s insatiable hunger, intending them to be killed and allowing him to retrieve the Ring. It is clear from this part of the book that Gollum doesn’t care about helping Frodo and Sam, and that he hasn’t changed. Gollum is full of selfish malice towards the Ring bearer, and would do anything to get the Ring back. Ungoliant and Shelob acted unaware of the impact their actions would have on Middle Earth. There was no malice or evil intent in either of them.
Although the giant spiders are meant to be horrible monsters imaginable, they are not the worst creatures in Tolkien’s writings. The real monsters of the Silmarillion and the Two Towers are Melkor and Gollum respectively. They showed complete selfishness and malice towards all of Middle Earth, whereas Ungoliant and Shelob were nothing but tools to work the evils of Melkor and Gollum.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Evil Manifested in the Lord of the Rings
J.R.R. Tolkien had many ways of portraying evil in the Lord of the Rings. Evil is mainly manifested primarily in Sauron, Saruman and Wormtongue. These three antagonists are not exactly the same brand of evil, however. Sauron’s evil is the will to dominate and control all life in the world, while Saruman and Wormtongue's evil are the forces of corruption.
Sauron is a totalitarian leader who wants nothing less than total control of all of Middle Earth. He created the Rings of Power to control all of the races of Middle Earth. He is successful with the race of Men, the nine kings he gave Rings to become the ring wraiths and serve Sauron mercilessly. Like all totalitarian leaders, Sauron has a weakness, and in Lord of the Rings, his weakness is obviously the Ring itself. Sauron foolishly put all of his power in what Tom Bombadil would call a trinket, and its destruction ultimately is Sauron’s destruction. Another aspect of Sauron’s evil is his intentions. When Hitler and Mussolini first came to power, their countries were war torn and in need of a good leader to repair the damage from World War I. Eventually, their quests for greatness got out of control and caused World War II. Mordor is a desolate wasteland, however Sauron has no intention of revitalizing the economy or making it a better place. He wants to control Middle Earth simply for the sake of controlling Middle Earth and to enslave all life and force it to serve him.
Saruman and Wormtongue are a different brand of evil. Saruman was once a good wizard like Gandalf. They were in the same order together with several other wizards. Using a pair of Palantir, Sauron corrupts Saruman by showing him that it is hopeless to resist him and his armies, and Saruman joined Sauron’s side. Sauron then uses Saruman as a tool to destroy Rohan. First Saruman has Wormtongue corrupt King Theoden, and then they attack Rohan at Helm’s Deep. If Saruman hadn’t given in to madness and joined Sauron, the battle for Middle Earth would have been easier for the race of men, since they would not have to fight Saruman. Saruman and Wormtongue represent the forces of corruption both as corruptors and people who are corrupted. Saruman is corrupted by Sauron, and then Saruman corrupts Wormtongue and makes him try to destroy Rohan. Wormtongue works to corrupt Rohan by giving King Theoden bad counsel with a voice enchanted by Saruman.
Although Sauron, Saruman and Wormtongue are all evil characters in the Lord of the Rings, they are all evil in a different way. Sauron is evil in that he wants to rule the world and everyone in it, whereas Saruman and Wormtongue were once good people who have been corrupted by evil and become antagonists.
Sauron is a totalitarian leader who wants nothing less than total control of all of Middle Earth. He created the Rings of Power to control all of the races of Middle Earth. He is successful with the race of Men, the nine kings he gave Rings to become the ring wraiths and serve Sauron mercilessly. Like all totalitarian leaders, Sauron has a weakness, and in Lord of the Rings, his weakness is obviously the Ring itself. Sauron foolishly put all of his power in what Tom Bombadil would call a trinket, and its destruction ultimately is Sauron’s destruction. Another aspect of Sauron’s evil is his intentions. When Hitler and Mussolini first came to power, their countries were war torn and in need of a good leader to repair the damage from World War I. Eventually, their quests for greatness got out of control and caused World War II. Mordor is a desolate wasteland, however Sauron has no intention of revitalizing the economy or making it a better place. He wants to control Middle Earth simply for the sake of controlling Middle Earth and to enslave all life and force it to serve him.
Saruman and Wormtongue are a different brand of evil. Saruman was once a good wizard like Gandalf. They were in the same order together with several other wizards. Using a pair of Palantir, Sauron corrupts Saruman by showing him that it is hopeless to resist him and his armies, and Saruman joined Sauron’s side. Sauron then uses Saruman as a tool to destroy Rohan. First Saruman has Wormtongue corrupt King Theoden, and then they attack Rohan at Helm’s Deep. If Saruman hadn’t given in to madness and joined Sauron, the battle for Middle Earth would have been easier for the race of men, since they would not have to fight Saruman. Saruman and Wormtongue represent the forces of corruption both as corruptors and people who are corrupted. Saruman is corrupted by Sauron, and then Saruman corrupts Wormtongue and makes him try to destroy Rohan. Wormtongue works to corrupt Rohan by giving King Theoden bad counsel with a voice enchanted by Saruman.
Although Sauron, Saruman and Wormtongue are all evil characters in the Lord of the Rings, they are all evil in a different way. Sauron is evil in that he wants to rule the world and everyone in it, whereas Saruman and Wormtongue were once good people who have been corrupted by evil and become antagonists.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
The Importance of Tom Bombadil
I'm starting a brief Wednesday series featuring the papers I wrote for ENGL 3195: The Lord of the Rings at UMD. These six papers were the basis for my entire grade in the class. Keep in mind that when I wrote them, I hadn't read the books for a few years. I really wanted to read them again, but it meant reading 70 pages a night while taking 19 credits.
In 2001, Peter Jackson made a film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and one bothersome omission was Tom Bombadil. Tom Bombadil is an important character in the Fellowship of the Ring because he shows the hobbits that even in the gloomiest of places help can be found. Tom Bombadil also arms the hobbits and begins their journey.
In chapter six of the Fellowship of the Ring, the four hobbits wander through the dark and gloomy Old Forest. They stop to rest on an old looking willow tree, and it starts to consume the hobbits. Frodo desperately yells for help, and a bearded man who was passing by and hears their calls and saves them. Throughout the rest of the Lord of the Rings, help always seems to come in the gloomiest places. Take the Prancing Pony in the Fellowship of the Ring for example: it is a dark and gloomy bar full of scary looking people, and inside they find “Strider,” or Aragorn, who guides them to Rivendell and on part of their journey to Mordor. In the Two Towers, Frodo and Sam are found walking in a dark forest by Ithilien when they encounter Faramir. Faramir was unaffected by the temptations of the Ring, and let them continue on their journey with more supplies and rations. Like Aragorn and Faramir, Tom Bombadil is just the first of several helpers along the dark and gloomy journey.
Another reason Tom Bombadil is important is he is the first character to arm the hobbits. Essentially, their journey begins when they are armed and leave the barrow downs. After that, they are no longer helpless and can fight to defend themselves. The Hobbits no longer need to run away from danger, since they can confront it with the weapons Tom gave them, and creating a lasting influence on them throughout the books.
Tom Bombadil is an essential character because of the help he provides the hobbits. He rescues them from the dangers of the Old Forest and the Barrow Downs and then arms them so they can protect themselves. In their quest to destroy the Ring and defeat the forces of Mordor, Tom plays a small but significant role through his lasting contribution.
In 2001, Peter Jackson made a film of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and one bothersome omission was Tom Bombadil. Tom Bombadil is an important character in the Fellowship of the Ring because he shows the hobbits that even in the gloomiest of places help can be found. Tom Bombadil also arms the hobbits and begins their journey.
In chapter six of the Fellowship of the Ring, the four hobbits wander through the dark and gloomy Old Forest. They stop to rest on an old looking willow tree, and it starts to consume the hobbits. Frodo desperately yells for help, and a bearded man who was passing by and hears their calls and saves them. Throughout the rest of the Lord of the Rings, help always seems to come in the gloomiest places. Take the Prancing Pony in the Fellowship of the Ring for example: it is a dark and gloomy bar full of scary looking people, and inside they find “Strider,” or Aragorn, who guides them to Rivendell and on part of their journey to Mordor. In the Two Towers, Frodo and Sam are found walking in a dark forest by Ithilien when they encounter Faramir. Faramir was unaffected by the temptations of the Ring, and let them continue on their journey with more supplies and rations. Like Aragorn and Faramir, Tom Bombadil is just the first of several helpers along the dark and gloomy journey.
Another reason Tom Bombadil is important is he is the first character to arm the hobbits. Essentially, their journey begins when they are armed and leave the barrow downs. After that, they are no longer helpless and can fight to defend themselves. The Hobbits no longer need to run away from danger, since they can confront it with the weapons Tom gave them, and creating a lasting influence on them throughout the books.
Tom Bombadil is an essential character because of the help he provides the hobbits. He rescues them from the dangers of the Old Forest and the Barrow Downs and then arms them so they can protect themselves. In their quest to destroy the Ring and defeat the forces of Mordor, Tom plays a small but significant role through his lasting contribution.
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