Power In J. R. Tolkien's The Lord Of The Rings

Galadriel and Eowyn are two of the strongest and most notable women in Middle-Earth; however, they are being misrepresented throughout the text. There are many other notable women in The Lord of the Rings, such as Goldberry, Arwen, and Shelob, but their presence is not very consistent throughout the novel. Galadriel and Ewoyn both exhibit typically masculine qualities; however, these positive attributes are only mentioned when accompanied by sexualized accounts of their beauty. Galadriel is both wise and powerful, yet her beauty is her most prominent characteristic. Eowyn is very brave, but she is reduced to being a damsel in distress. This phenomenon can also be observed in the coverage of women’s sports within modern media, as the

It would possess him" (70). After having said this, he tells Frodo how this ring of doom originated. Clearly, Gandalf is wise enough to know that behind all that power lies weakness and evil. Even if one might first use the ring for something good and meaningful to others, it will eventually possess that person and make that person the slave to the ring. Galadriel even knows this quite well. Frodo offers her the ring, since he believes she deserves it the most and also knows how to control it. When Frodo tells her this, Galadriel seems to be strongly tempted to take the power offered by Frodo. She tells him, "For many long years I had pondered what I might do, should the Great Ring come into my hands, and behold!" (431). The exclamation point reveals to us how Galadriel might be really taken in by the thought of power at this moment and how raptured she is in this thought. But, she too is wise as Gandalf is. In the end, she even tells Frodo, "We will not speak more of it" (431). She knows that even speaking about such power can bring about destruction. Interestingly though, Galadriel seems to be almost crazy at this moment, presenting herself to Frodo while relating to him what "good" she could bring to her elves. The ring is so alluring. Too much of a good thing cannot last long. She is

Illogical as it is, Lord of the Rings greatly relates to society as it is today. It really shows through the views of logos, ethos, and pathos, especially when you examine and explore the movie’s genre reflection on modern culture and society.

The Lord of the Rings by John Ronald Reuel Tolkien is a book widely known for its rich language, detailed imagery, and profound story that expands over three volumes and six books. The book is scattered with deep characters ranging in back stories and eventual character development. Motifs, key parts throughout the story, include lightness and darkness, eyes, jewelry, and sword. JRR Tolkien even creates his own language for the solemn race of elves in the lengthy three volume novel. A part of this length may be attributed to the unusual placement of many full-form songs and poems within the book, as a break between the usual story. These poems and songs have ranges of playfulness and thoughtfulness. With uses of made up Hobbit words and beautiful

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.

Similarly, Lewis’ colleague at Oxford, J.R.R. Tolkien also defended Fantasy, or as he called it, “fairy-stories.” Tolkien was known for his fantastic works that included The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, and an assortment of companion books to the series. He was also well known for his criticism of Beowulf, “The Monsters and the Critics.” His Fantasy series have had broad implications on the fantasy genre as a whole since publication, influencing the current generation of writers with the firm grasp of history

A question that is raised is why does Galadriel have this power since she is a women. The reader knows that part of the reason that she has the power she

Literary Analysis of Aladdin Disney’s Aladdin is a film that attempts to stereotype and westernize Arab culture. Using racially inaccurate stereotypes, an inaccurate depiction of The Middle East, as well as countless cultural generalizations, Aladdin creates a setting of “exotic orientalism” and Islamaphobia. “[Aladdin depicts…] the Arab world as backwards and irrational, the film’s distorted ethnic representations fuel the western world’s fear of alternity and perpetuates dangerous stereotypes.” (Heydt).

J.R.R. Tolkien’s works have been analysed for decades and have often been criticised for the lack of female characters. Arguably his most cherished publications, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, in particular has been condemned for the passivity of his relatively few female characters. Having said that however, throughout the three books, there are a number of female characters who combat the stereotypical role of women and subvert the norm of submission to a patriarchal authority. Arwen, Éowyn and Galadriel in The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return

In the Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, there were four main groups of women: “ Queens, sorceresses, a freeman’s loyal daughter and an elfin woman and her daughters” (Anon, Introduction). As stated in the Introduction of the book, the “important events turn on decisions made by women.” Throughout the book, this quote came to represent the fact that almost all the wars/fights within the saga was caused by some action of a woman. Almost all these actions of the women in this saga was the root cause for all the wars/fights in this book. Because of this, the women are actually seen to be what is connecting all the saga’s different episodes/chapters, despite the fact the whole book revolves around King Hrolf (Anon, Introduction). So within the Saga of King Hrolf Kraki, the primary role of women is steer and further progress the saga as the connecting characters.

The world of Disney it is not necessarily magic for everyone. In Western popular culture there is an endless buffet serving stereotypical ideologies for racially marked women. The media often relies on representation of articulation of ethnic women as animalistic, inferior and outside the natural. Films tend to utilize signifiers that express race, class and gender to develop characters. For this assignment, I have chosen to critically analyze Disney’s (1992) Aladdin; this movie exemplifies the racialization of female bodies through visual illustrations that reinforce ideas of stereotypical roles of Middle Eastern that have been over-looked through the eyes of children. Aladdin; is considered a modern example of Edward Said’s concept of orientalism from a Western perspective. In this paper I will examine how Disney’s Aladdin perpetuates ideas of ‘othering’ through orientalism, over-sexualized characters and reinforces islamophobia.

When Frodo offers Galadriel the One Ring, we see all of her complexities as she herself sees them: “In place of the Dark Lord you will set up a Queen. And I shall not be dark, but beautiful and terrible as the Morning and the Night! Fair as the Sea and the Sun and the Snow upon the Mountain! Dreadful as the Storm and the Lightning! Stronger than the foundations of the earth. All shall love me and despair!” (LoTR, 365-66). Yet, in the end, she resists her dreams from younger days of far lands and that would be hers to rule alone. She chooses to remain Galadriel.

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

“He crawled back into the brambles and laid himself by Frodo’s side… They woke together, hand in hand” (Tolkien 901). In J.R.R. Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings trilogy, two of the main protagonists, Sam and Frodo, seem to be engaging in acts indicative of homosexuality. This is particularly strange given that Tolkien was a 1950s man of Christian faith with the belief that homosexuality was deemed as a disorder. Nevertheless, throughout the journey, Sam and Frodo display an enduring pattern of both romantic and sexual attraction for each other in a way not paralleled by their other male companions in the Fellowship.

In the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender plays a very significant role. While women were not the most powerful gods nor the strongest or wisest of humans, they still had tremendous influence. Though the main characters of the story, Gilgamesh and Enkidu, are male, women did not play a necessarily minor role. With all the women that play a role in the Epic of Gilgamesh, gender is a topic worthy of discussion.