The Ring as a Symbol of Evil in J. R. R. Tolkien's 'The Lord of the Rings'

When most people think of J.R.R. Tolkien, they often think of his great imagination and his world of great dragons, warriors, orcs, hobbits, wizards, dwarves and elves. But most people forget about the deeper meaning behind his stories and his controversy towards society. Tolkien was a British, fantasy, writer during the mid-1900s. Through his love of languages, religion, and country, J.R.R Tolkien’s works of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings are controversial but masterpieces because Tolkien represents “good” as a fuller, more imaginative reality than evil.

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.

Among other things, Tolkien was perhaps chiefly a scholar of mythology, and despite his dislike of allegory, his universe is shot through with mythological archetypes. Among Tolkien’s obvious mythological influences (Biblical, Celtic, Norse, and Arthurian mythologies, etc.), I believe Biblical held the most significant effect on The Lord of the Rings, albeit Finnish/Nordic appears more so than any other. Additionally, Tolkien wanted to publish The Silmarillion and The Lord of the Rings together, since he saw them as connected mythological cycles. To a degree, one’s reading of The Lord of the Rings, is deepened by a knowledge of The Silmarillion, not just on the level of setting or context, but in terms of literary theme, symbol, and characterization.

In The Hobbit, Tolkien created cultures and values that are represented often in certain characters and groups of characters. These translate to character traits, which can be positive or negative. After reading up to this point in the story, one can infer that Tolkien considers focused to be a positive character trait, greed to be a negative character trait, and he also feels intelligence more important than physical strength.

“I am glad you are here with me, here at the end of all things, Sam.” Frodo reaches out his hand over the flaming mouth of Mount Doom. The ring slips from his fingers and into the flames. The world returns to where it was before the evil eye had taken over. The Lord of the Rings chronicles the journey of Frodo Baggins to destroy the ring. It follows his transformation from a weak young hobbit to a hero who saves Middle Earth. Frodo is an archetypal hero because he follows the hero’s journey.

Evil. This portrayal represents the battle Gollum has between his good and evil self. Moments we see Gollum battling through the decision whether or not to take the ring from Frodo. We see a more darker side of him speaking to take “precious” back. “ Kill them both! And then we take the precious… And we be the master!” States Gollum. (Jackson, LOTR) The way he is consumed over the ring brings his evil self out. Gollum has to chose in the end what he wants more, the ring or being loyal to master. Other than portraying his evil self, we also see Gollum being true Smeagol, helping and showing the destination to Mordor. Smeagol once being a hobbit knows that the ring is very dangerous and can change personalities. When he comes to his senses he try's to do the good part in telling Gollum to get out of his head. “Leave now, and never come back!” ( Jackson, LOTR) Smeagol showed his strength to overcome the temptation to take the ring back for

Throughout one’s life, one meets many different people, some of which seek to harm one, and some of which do not. This is also true for books: A variety of characters are introduced. Characters assume different roles of varying importance, and some seem “benevolent,” while others become labeled as “wicked.” Some guard an item or area, and yet others’ intentions are impossible to discern. These concepts especially apply to The Hobbit, written by J. R. R. Tolkien, which is an excellent example of The Hero’s Journey. The Hobbit showcases many archetypes, including Bilbo Baggins as the hero, Gandalf the Wizard as the mentor, and Smaug the Dragon as the shadow.

J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic novel The Lord of the Rings showcases his affinity for what is small and how its measure contradicts its significance. Tolkien crams undetected, potent potential into unlikely vessels—vessels that seemingly lack the capacity. The reader sees this in Tolkien’s protagonist and antagonist, the hobbit and ring respectively. The measure of each conflicts with its significance. With a closer look, the reader also sees this in Tolkien’s word choice. In his essay “On Fairy-Stories,” Tolkien claims “How powerful, how stimulating to the very faculty that produced it, was the invention of the adjective: no spell or incantation in Faerie is more potent.” Throughout The Lord of

Another aspect of evil developed in Tolkien is the insatiable hunger to possess, to rule, to dominate. The Bible captures the same idea with pictures of locusts, of the sword, of wild beasts, of striving kings, and of Satan going about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he might devour. "Devouring" is an apt symbolization of insatiable lust. It closely parallels the Trilogy's symbol

Gollum, previously known as Smeagol, is one of the first bearers of the ring of power, and when he comes into the ring’s presence for the first time, the power makes him so corrupt that to get his hands on it he kills his friend Deagol. “‘ Smeagol had been watching him from behind a tree, and as Deagol gloated over the ring, Smeagol came softly up behind. “Give us that, Deagol, my love,” said Smeagol, over his friend’s shoulder. “Why?” said Deagol. “ Because it’s my birthday, my love, and I wants it,” said Smeagol. “I don’t care,” said Deagol. “I have given you a present already, more than I could afford. I found this, and I’m going to keep it.” “Oh, are you indeed, my love,” said Smeagol; and he caught Deagol by the throat and strangled him, because the gold looked so bright and beautiful. Then he put the ring on his finger’” (Tolkein Pg. 52). This text shows that Gollum, or Smeagol, is corrupt due to the rings power only by being around it. The need for the ring was so great that it pushed him to kill, a devastating act on its own, but he kills his own friend. This proves that with the power of the ring Gollum becomes immensely corrupt. After Gollum first obtains the ring he grows to feel a great hatred

Both of the evil characters, Sauron being the one in "The Lord of the Rings", are hungry for power. They both need to gain back what they lost in order to restore the power they crave. There is a kind of mystery kept around the main antagonists in both "Harry Potter" and "The Lord of the Rings". We can see that the main similarities in the two novels lie within the main characters.

J.R.R Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring character, Aragorn, shows Tolkien’s love of strong contrasts between humble and high. This character has many characteristics that help the fellowship on their journey. He plays an important role in the plot. The choices of this character help the plot go smoother and more quickly with less incidents. Aragorn also has symbolism involved with him within this book. This symbolism helps the readers understand more of his character.

Tom Bombadil placed the magic ring on his finger; everyone waited for him to disappear, but nothing happened, and he handed the ring back to Frodo without a slight hesitation. Frodo offered Galadriel the ring and she grew into a horrible creature towering over Frodo, but fought the ring’s strong temptation, and finally decreasing back to her normal self and declined the powerful ring. Both Tom and Galadriel, in The Lord of the Ring, portray Tolkien’s respect for nature and strong spirituality, because they are powerful creatures, yet able to live a balanced life. Tom Bombadil was the master of the forest he lived in, and Frodo’s magic ring had no effect on him. Lady Galadriel was an Elf ruler and was able to withstand the temptation of the magic ring. The magic ring symbolizes the corruption and power, leading to an unsustainable world. For example, society has an unsustainable demand for oil. Oil pipelines, such as the Keystone, have lessened the beauty of nature where they have been built. Companies believe they have the right to construct pipelines across the US at the expense of the environment. Humans must remember to value the beauty of nature.

"Three Rings for the Eleven-kings under the sky, Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone, Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die, One for the Dark Lord on his Dark throne, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie. One Ring to rule them all, One ring to find them, One ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them, In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie(Tolkien)." Master of storytelling J.R.R. Tolkien continues the lives of the fictitious creatures that he introduced in The Hobbit, in his modern classic The Fellowship of the Ring. He artfully illustrates the truths of the evil that plague the hearts of man. He tells a story of greed, destruction and how mortal men are enslaved by