Cultural Values in The Left Hand of Darkness, The Fellowship of the Ring, and Dune

“Saruman believes it is only great power that can hold evil in check, but that is not what I have found. I found it is the small everyday deeds of ordinary folk that keep the darkness at bay.” Gandalf claims in the quote above from The Hobbit that great power isn’t always necessary to accomplish great feats. If ordinary people can work as a team, the outcome can defeat an individual with great power. Bilbo and the dwarves assisted each other, and got help from other sources in order to accomplish their goal and grow as characters. This teamwork and growth is shown throughout the scenes of Rivendell, Mirkwood, and with Smaug.

“The murder of Déagol haunted Gollum, and he had made up a defense, repeating it to his ‘precious’ over and over” (The Fellowship of the Ring 62). This quote gives a look into the strongest moment of shock that impacted young Sméagol’s life forever. Gollum is a fictional character unlike any other in The Lord of the Rings series, as he is portrayed as having undiagnosed Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. There are six recurring symptoms that must happen in conjunction with traumatic factors in order for someone to be diagnosed with PTSD, and unfortunately for Sméagol his actions and history sync perfectly into the diagnosis. Due to the fact that Gollum is a fictional character out of a book, it seems that the author, J.R.R. Tolkien, may have purposely given these attributes to Gollum to display PTSD. Though Tolkien may argue that his time in the war did not highly influence his books, subconsciously Tolkien, like many who were in the war, could have had undiagnosed PTSD or known someone who did. As a combat veteran, Tolkien and his friends were more likely to develop PTSD. This may have resulted in portraying these symptoms on to one specific character, Gollum. Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder “is a disorder that develops in some people who have experienced a shocking, scary, or dangerous event” (NIMH), just as Gollum had and continues to be put through. He has had a rough past of loss and exile, as well as continuously trudges through horrific events and torture in which he must

Cultural change happens when new materials and ideas are introduced to a culture that help change the way people live. Through cultural change, there are certain consequences that arise. Cultural lag, for example, is an outcome of cultural change. In order to explain what cultural lag is, one must know the differences between material culture and nonmaterial culture. Material culture applies to the objects that belong to a group of people; on the other hand, nonmaterial culture refers to the attitudes and ideas toward a certain object. I’m going to use the One Ring as an example. In the Lord of the Rings, there were several rings made and were then distributed to each race. The rings themselves symbolize the material culture in the movie. However, the rings were made for the sole purpose of seducing each race to succumb to evil. Therefore, depending on each character, the attitude they gave the ring would be considered nonmaterial. Material and nonmaterial culture rely on each other. Cultural lag happens when the changes in society occur faster than what that society can process. Material culture would be the change in society, and the nonmaterial culture would be the attitude towards the change. Basically for something new that is introduced to a culture, that society will create new norms to go along with what is being introduced. To further explain why cultural lag happens, one must understand that it takes longer for the beliefs of people to change. So, the creating of new norms takes longer.

Every author wants their readers to be engrossed in the story whether it be that a character or characters are relatable in some way to the reader, the plot, or the story itself. In order to create the characters or even the plot line the author needs to make it interesting for the reader to read. Authors use multiple stylistic choices throughout their story, and the readers may not even know that they are reading over the choices useless they are purposefully looking for it. In J.R.R Tolkien's book The Hobbit, Bilbo Baggins is forced to accompany a group of dwarves: Thorin, Balin, Dwalin, Dori, Nori, Ori, Oin, Gloin, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Fili, Kili, and Gandalf the wizard. They start their quest to take back their homeland from the dragon Smaug. Throughout the story they experience many difficult tasks, such as walking through a forest that is infested with giant spiders, battling goblins that live in the mountains, and Gollum, a malnourished man in desperate need of a therapist. J.R.R. Tolkien utilizes indirect and direct characterization to help the readers understand the characters and help to justify their actions.

Tolkien shows relationships between beings with various races in The Fellowship of the Ring to emphasize the strength of friendship. We can see the progressive development of relationship between characters within the fellowship and outside of the fellowship. Bilbo—the main

Each individual culture has many cultural truths that a group of people follow and believe in. Cultural truths are principles, values, or standards important to a group of people, which display moral behaviors that are respected and immoral actions that are scorned at. Also, cultural truths are norms in a society that you are born into and are expected to do daily because they shape the lifestyle of a group. For example, during the Anglo-Saxon period, there were a number of cultural truths that were applied to everyday actions and attitudes. An epic poem, composed based on the Anglo-Saxon period called Beowulf, written by an unknown author translated by Seamus Heaney, depicts many of the cultural values of the time period. In the poem, is it revealed that all the cultural values in the Anglo-Saxon culture are developed from the idea of a warrior culture. The epic poem is about a hero named Beowulf from the Geats tribe who goes off and helps Hrothgar and the Danes defeat a monster, Grendel, who attacks their mead hall. Before Beowulf meets his fate he fights three monsters, which includes Grendel, to protect the lives of people in two different tribes. Within the epic poem Beowulf, there are several of cultural values presented and focused on such as, courage in battle, fidelity to one’s word, and loyalty to kinsmen, which are all demonstrated by Beowulf.

Lord Acton once said, "Power corrupts, but absolute power corrupts absolutely." He was probably referring to the powerful kings and queens who held power over many people. But, we could see how power is something many of the characters in Tolkien's story are trying to have and hold onto in some form or another. In The Fellowship of the Ring J.R.R. Tolkien tells us a story about Frodo Baggins who is ordered by Gandalf to destroy the powerful ring discovered accidentally by his older cousin, Bilbo. Like the rest of the hobbits, Frodo has lived quite peacefully and well, not having to worry about how dark and dreary the rest of Middle Earth was becoming under Sauron's growing power. Now, Frodo,

It is evident that every culture is affected by the environment in which said culture evolves. Whether these effects can be observed in the gods differing societies worship, or by the way in which resources are accumulated, the reasons are all the same. How each society and culture interacts with its environment dictates its development and growth. There is no more evident an example of this than the Chesapeake Bay area, pre, mid, and post colonization, using the colony of Jamestown as an model for contact interactions between two distinct cultures, and how these relations can be dictated by the environment.

The story starts from the side of Mr. Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo starts as a nervous & annoyed host. He is hobbit, & his folk are reserved, but kind & carefree. Hobbits love to accommodate company when the time arrives, but this night Bilbo was in a ruck. Spontaneously, 13 dwarves & Gandalf tediously trickled through the door in groups & demanded dinner. Bilbo was not expecting these unknown & unplanned visitors, especially the grand total of 14! They ate & sang all night, while little time was devoted to business, which was planned that night. Bilbo was exhausted, unpleased, & unaffiliated with the pressing event they gathered to discuss. He was only aware that Gandalf selected him to be the Burglar of the party, which just so happened to be a vast journey across Middle-Earth. Unbeknownst to anyone, this was the start of a haunting tale, which Bilbo would never overlook. The first prominent issue Bilbo had to resolve the trolls. The group utilized this to test Bilbo’s strength, courage, brains, & stealth. Throughout the story, Bilbo continues to earn his spot among the dwarves, while the party is continually slammed with additional problems, however, everyday & every challenge reveals more of the nature of the dwarves & of Bilbo. With his role concluded & the Battle of Five Armies won, the yearning for home was too much to bear. Bilbo decided to travel home & achieve his part in the adventure of a lifetime. Each dwarf had grown quite fond of Bilbo, for the journey wouldn’t have been a success without their Burglar. The travel home was bittersweet & was a wonderful memoir of his quest. Gandalf accompanied him all the way to his Hobbit Hole on the Hill in Bag-End. Can we label Bilbo a hero? If so, what kind of hero is he? Is he a hero in history or in the eyes of the dwarves? Was Bilbo a savior for the descendants to come or the

How can an author write a story which appeals to a present day audience? Richard H. Tyre published an article in 1978 that gives an answer to this very question. Tyre explains how most kids today choose to read books like the Harry Potter series, The Lord of the Rings series, and even The Wizard of Oz. An existing theory that Tyre came up with explains that each of these books, along with many others, have one thing in common: 6 plot elements. Not only do these stories contain the same 6 elements but those elements are in the same order! Tyre states that “(1) those who hunt for treasure, (2) must go alone, (3) at night, (4) and when they find it, (5) they must leave some of their blood behind, (6) and the treasure is never what they expected.” (Tyre 2). J.R.R. Tolkien is the author of The Hobbit. The Hobbit revolves around one hobbit in particular named Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo embarks on a journey with 14 others to recover a treasure that is guarded by a dragon. Along the way Bilbo faces many challenges that range from running into huge trolls, to taking part in fierce battles. Due to it’s main character hunting for treasure, facing most of the dangers alone, battling during the wee hours of the night, eventually finding the treasure, after sweating/crying/and enduring injuries, just to have the treasure revealed to him as not what he expected, J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit is undoubtedly a perfect example of Tyre’s 6 plot elements.

If the study of literature shows nothing else, it shows that every author, consciously or subconsciously, creates his (or her) work after his (or her) own worldview. Tolkien is no exception. "I am a Christian..." he writes(1), and his book shows it. Christianity appears not as allegory--Tolkien despises that(2)--nor as analogy, but as deep under girding presuppositions, similarities of pattern, and shared symbols.

Bilbo Baggins is the protagonist of The Hobbit. Bilbo Baggins has curly brown hair and thick leathery feet. He was fat in the stomach and was half the height of an adult. He likes having multiple meals a day, and snacks. Bilbo also had long clever fingers. Bilbo is a very respectable individual. He enjoyed staying at home, Bilbo doing something unexpected was unheard of. Before the adventure, he thought highly of his neighbor's opinion about him. When Gandalf chose Bilbo the other dwarves thought that he was unfit for the job. The dwarves did not

When given, or exposed to power, people may become corrupt. In J. J. R. Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring it is shown that when people are tempted or given power they may become corrupt. We can see this through the characters Frodo Baggins; the bearer of a powerful ring, Gollum, the previous bearer, and lastly it is shown through Bilbo Baggins another bearer.

There are a variety of political and religious concepts throughout the Dune novels that varies so much through the novels which makes it a complex and cogitative science fiction series. The Dune novels are popular with many fans and partly this is due because of its political and religious structures. This essay will be focussing primarily on the first four Dune novels written by Frank Herbert.

They describe hobbits as homely, addicted to consistency and with a great distaste for change. These small beings live in luxury, their pantries full to the brim with food and their smoking pipes finding no shortage of use. Hobbits are so uninterested in adventure that they seem to replace all hobbies with extra meals. Bilbo is hardly an exception to this norm. He expresses a deep mistrust of adventurous situations during his first conversation with Gandalf, and admits that he will not find any candidates for his expedition while in Bag End. “We are plain and quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty disturbing uncomfortable things! Make you late for dinner! I can’t think what anybody sees in them,” (Tolkien 18). A very clear message, indeed, but what most don’t see is how this attitude is intended to emulate real people. Nobody would like to admit it, but many have grown comfy and complacent in their lives. They take on the position of Bilbo, and every other Hobbit of Bag End. Afraid of danger or change, there is no need to move or attempt new and dangerous activities. Don’t bother with adventure, just have a seat and eat some cakes, it’s time for second breakfast! This cowardly nature is twice presented in the citizens of Lake-Town, of whom are so terrified by the dragon Smaug that they refuse to do anything about the monster. The residents believe the beast is