The Love of the Dark Side by Will Dauk

“Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering.” This quote by Yoda demonstrates the Jedi view of the dark side as being the pinnacle of evil. The Jedi code is as follows. “There is no emotion; there is peace. There is no ignorance; there is knowledge. There is no passion; there is serenity. There is no chaos; there is harmony. There is no death; there is the Force.” The way of the Jedi stresses the importance of being a neutral force in all situations. It is interesting to see that the first part of the Jedi code is that they are to release all emotions. For many, emotions are the path to the dark side of the force. The most obvious example being Anakin’s love for Padme drives him to do anything to save her from dying; he learns that the dark side might give him the tools to save Padme. Love is not a bad thing, and the sith are the only ones who permit it. The Jedi and the sith represent two extremes of Force users. The Jedi have no emotions, control their feelings, and let all that might cause them to make a bad decision. The Sith let their emotions drive them, and hold onto the feelings that make them human, such as anger, pity, and love. Because the sith are allowed these human emotions, they are susceptible to making the same mistakes that humans do. The Jedi, who choose not to walk those paths do not make these mistakes.

The idea that humans make mistakes is an important part of Star Wars. Nobody can be perfect, and this is clear when you look at the Jedi and the Sith, they both have a tragic flaw that causes them to fail. For the Jedi, their tragic flaw is their laws and rules. The ridged structure of the Jedi code does not allow for them to vent their emotions, causing them to pile up and eventually come crashing down around the Jedi’s shoulders. This brought about the fall of a number of Jedi, including Anakin Skywalker. The Sith also have a tragic flaw, they submerse themselves in their emotions, and let them guide their actions, causing them to make rash decisions.

The biggest difference between the Sith and the Jedi, is how they wish to impact history. The Jedi choose to allow history to take its course and try to have as little impact as possible with the course of things. The Sith on the other hand choose to try to alter history and do not allow for it to carry out the way it would if they were not a part of it. The Sith alter the fate of history, the Jedi do not.

The Races of Middle Earth by Will Dauk

The Races of Middle Earth

One of the most interesting parts of Tolkien’s Middle Earth, is the variety of races, and species that inhabit the lands. From dwarves to ents, hobbits to orcs, the land of Middle Earth is home to a fair number of intelligent beings. The intelligent beings of middle earth are separated onto the side of good and evil. On the side of evil are the orcs, the trolls, and Uruk-hai. The side of good is populated by the humans, dwarves, elves, and hobbits. Wizards belong to the mix of both sides of the conflict. The idea of certain species being only good or only evil seems to be a reoccurring theme throughout the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The orcs seem to be a purely evil race,

Orcs are a race with purely evil intentions that inhabit the realm of middle earth, created by Sauron to overrun middle earth. However, Tolkien hints that the orcs do in-fact have a few moral codes that they follow. For Example, Gimli says, “Orcs will often pursue foes for many leagues into the plain, if they have a fallen captain to avenge” This quote from the Fellowship of the Ring implies that the orcs are very loyal creatures, and much like humans, elves, and dwarves, they will not hesitate to avenge those that they care about. According to the Complete Guide to Middle Earth, the orcs have been known to live peacefully within their own tribes. Tolkien does not elaborate much on Orc culture and customs. However, we do know that Orcs know some form of healing arts; we also know that their armor, though inferior to that of Elves and Dwarves, is serviceable enough. Also, they often use poisoned blades and arrows. Also, they like to sing horrible songs. The goblins of the Misty Mountains were a smaller breed of Orc, and could also invent horrid machines used to torture and kill things. In some texts, (such as the Hobbit and the Silmarillion) Tolkien suggests that after the fall of Morgoth, some of his Orcs set up petty kingdoms of their own. Leading the reader to believe that there might in fact be an entire Orc culture that the books by Tolkien never really touch on. This sort of possibility opens up a great number of possible good orcs.

Of all the races inhabiting Middle Earth, the orcs are the only ones that are portrayed as completely evil by Tolkien. However, the orcs are simply following the orders of an evil ruler. Similar to the Nuremburg Trials where the Nazis put on trial claimed to be simply following orders. The orcs can argue a similar point.

There is No Black or White in Technicolor by Nick Thompson

There is No Black or White in Technicolor:

The Role of Good, Evil and the Fine Line Between in the Lord of the Rings

“The human animal is a beautiful and terrible creature, capable of limitless compassion and unfathomable cruelty.” This quote by Rogue, lead singer and mastermind behind the underground band the Cruxshadows, determines that there is good and evil in this world. In JRR Tolkein’s The Lord of the Rings, good and evil is often personified as absolutes, such as Gandalf, the incorruptible wizard, and the Balrog, which is the shadowy presence of pure, unbridled malice. However, though sentient beings are capable of limitless compassion and unfathomable cruelty, they are not bound to one side or the other. There is not simply good and evil, but also shades of grey, shades that transition between black and white, either slowly or instantaneously. There are cases of these as well in The Lord of the Rings, of which Sméagol/Gollum, Frodo, and Boromir are prime examples.

Boromir is tempted by the power of the ring from the moment he sees it. He is a faithful friend to the Fellowship and a sworn enemy of Sauron, however, he finds himself uncontrollably attracted to the power the ring promises. This leads him to almost kill Frodo for the ring, and causes him to cross the line between good and evil back and forth. Boromir is favored by his father, Denathor, and his brother Faramir is loathed. Boromir loves his brother and tries to get his father to realize that Faramir is a good son as well. When this fails and Boromir falls, Denathor tells Faramir that he wishes he had died in Boromir’s place. This influences Faramir, a good character, to be pushed towards temptation. In this way, Boromir influences for good and ill even after his death. Boromir not only is tempted by the ring, he also tempts others to turn from compassion to cruelty.

Frodo is a very strong example of a virtuous character. He is under the influence of the Ring of Power, yet he falters on the fine line between being a compassionate bearer of a magical artifact and a cruel tool of evil. Frodo tries hard to make the right choice, but the ring is a powerful tool of villainy, and he often falters. At Osgiliath, he is only prevented from giving the ring to the Wraith King when Sam tackles him. In Mordor, he shows Sauron’s Eye the ring, and in Mount Doom he fails to destroy the ring. In these moments of weakness, Frodo gives in to evil, passive evil, but evil nonetheless. In other times, Frodo displays outright cruelty to Sam, when he scolds him for attacking Sméagol and sends him home. Overall, however, Frodo goes about his task and perseveres for the side of good and everything ends well.

Sméagol/Gollum is the epitome of the inner battle between good and evil. Sméagol is a timid, compassionate creature and Gollum is a vile, sadistic murderer. They are, of course, the split personality of the same body. The two are constantly at odds at whether helping the hobbits is the right thing to do, because Frodo and Sam are capable of protecting Sméagol, or procuring the “precious,” aka the ring, because they are dependent on it. In the end, Gollum wins over them and attacks Frodo in Mount Doom. Frodo wants the ring and Gollum wants the ring, and eventually, in their struggle for the ring, both Gollum and the ring get cast into the pit, which is two evil deeds ending in a good result. Everything about Sméagol/Gollum emanates the grey areas between compassion and cruelty.

Thus all sentient beings are capable of falling to evil and rising to good. Boromir struggled across the line, Frodo fell from virtue to temptation, and Sméagol/Gollum struggled between compassion and cruelty within himself. These characters are perfect examples of how there is no absolute good or evil. Just as one cannot simply live on just vegetables and one cannot simply live on meat, one cannot be absolutely devoid of cruelty or compassion. They must have the fruits and grains that come in between. This is the human condition.

Good and Evil vs. Neutral by Nick Thompson

Good and Evil versus Neutral

An Examination of the Real Role of Good and Evil in Star Wars

“You don’t know the power of the Dark Side.” This is possibly the most famous quote from Darth Vader. He tells Luke repeatedly that the Dark Side is powerful, but he never goes into detail about the moral obligations of the Sith. It is Luke that assigns good and evil to the Jedi and the Sith, which is ironic because the Jedi are completely neutral peacekeepers and the Sith have a choice between good and evil. The Jedi seldom stray from the path of simple peacekeeping, and if they do it is to combat the Sith. They learn to control their emotions and let the Force flow freely through them. The Sith, on the other hand are very emotional, trying to control the Force to their own ends, often leading them to clash with the Jedi, because they are trying to alter the universe rather than keep it as it is.

The Jedi are the universe’s peacekeepers. They try to stop wars, often siding with the status quo to bring the war to its quickest end. In the Clone Wars, the Jedi side with the Republic to quicken the demise of the new insurrection of the Confederacy of Independent Systems. In the series Young Jedi Academy by Kevin J Anderson and Rebecca Moesta, the Jedi serve only the New Republic, ergo the driving force behind the galaxy, and quell resistances such as the Shadow Academy and the Diversity Alliance. Peace and stability are what the Jedi fight for in the galaxy.

The Jedi’s ultimate goal is to eliminate the Sith, who go against what the Jedi stand for. Before Episode I takes place, the Jedi have just learned of the demise of Darth Plagueis, and think that the Sith have been eradicated. This is why they strive to keep the peace in the Republic, because if the Sith were truly dead and the Republic was at peace, the Jedi would have completed their goals. When it is revealed that the Clone Wars was an elaborate plot to revive the Sith and destroy the Jedi, the Jedi turn from their motives to keep the status quo to combat the Sith. In the original trilogy, the Jedi actively combat the status quo for the same reason, because they value the destruction of the Sith over peace. In the “Legacy” comic book series by John Ostrander and Jan Duursema, Cade Skywalker, the last living Jedi, goes rogue with a small band of Freedom Fighters after the return of the Empire, going against all odds to overthrow the Sith once more. In effect, the elimination of the Sith, the Jedi believe, will be met with the embrace of their values.

The Jedi teach that emotions are hindrances. The most basic teaching of the Jedi is to let go of their emotions. The Jedi are often called to search, study, dissect, and let go of their feelings, so that the irrationality of emotion is converted and integrated into the Jedi’s stream of logic. This gives them a neutral standpoint overall, as they dissect both their evil emotions, such as hate, jealousy, and greed, and their good emotions, such as love, compassion, and joy. They learn to control their emotions, which is why they are opposed to the Sith, who learn to let their emotions control them. Yoda’s primary teaching to Anakin is, “Fear is the path to the dark side. Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to suffering." These negative emotions, the Jedi believe, cascade into one another. In the same way, the Jedi believe that attachment and love lead to jealousy, which leads to fear, and begins the cycle of negative emotion. Thus, even compassion and attachment are observed as obstacles to the Jedi.

The Jedi are also very passive about the future. They want the Force to flow as it will, as it does in peace. They oppose war because they believe it collides with the will of the Force. They oppose the Sith because they try to control the Force, and the future, to their own needs. Yoda’s primary teaching is to let the force flow freely. He teaches that "Careful you must be when sensing the future... The fear of loss is a path to the dark side." And that "Death is a natural part of life. Rejoice for those around you who transform into the Force. Mourn them do not. Miss them do not. Attachment leads to jealously. The shadow of greed, that is." In other words, any natural occurrence is to be accepted, and any attempt to change a natural occurrence is greatly frowned upon. The Jedi believe that the Force can take care of itself without any outside help.

The Sith, on the other hand, embrace their emotions to draw power from them. They care about civilization, they care about life, they care. And with this care, this love, they can choose diverse paths. They can choose to protect this life and its freedoms, as Darth Vader, Darth Pinzex, and Tanya Solo do in Revenge is the New Hope by Nick Phoenix, prolong this life as Darth Plagueis the Wise devoted his life to, or force order and protection on this life by stifling its freedoms as Darth Sidious does in the Star Wars movies. They are constantly upsetting the Jedi’s views on emotion, and although they are not usually too concerned with the Jedi, Darth Sidious’s teachings about order and protection encourage the stifling and even eradication of the Jedi Order, which is made a priority by Darth Krayt in “Legacy.” Other than that, the conflict stems from the Sith’s embrace of their emotions and love of mankind obstructing the Jedi’s utopia.

The Sith, therefore, can either be compassionate or cruel, as long as it furthers human life, and the Jedi must be completely neutral and dispassionate, and this is where the conflict spawns. Thus the conflict in Star Wars is not between good and evil, but between passion and dispassion, between action and inaction, between alignment and neutrality. The Jedi, as neutral peacekeepers, clash with the Sith not because the Sith are inherently evil, but because they are movers and shakers of the flow of the Force, because that choice that the Sith are given threatens what the Jedi work for. This is the true conflict behind Star Wars.

The Trinity vs. The Force by Cassee Bring

Trinity V.S. the Force

Does the force symbolize the trinity? In Star Wars George Lucas says he didn’t use religion symbolically in the story. But the main characters seem to be heavily influenced by the force and put their faith in it. It’s just like Christians putting their faith in Jesus Christ and relying on guidance from the Holy Spirit.

Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi, Luke Skywalker, and the Jedi come to rely heavily on what they call The Force. When they say let the force be with you it’s basically symbolizing God being with them. That the force is going to protect them and be their rock just Christians are with Jesus Christ. When Obi-Wan says, "you can destroy me, but I will become more powerful than you can imagine" to Vader during their Light Saber fight, he implies that by dying and going to be with The Force (God), he becomes much more powerful. With Christians death has no power over them, they will be with God one day in heaven.

Luke Skywalker is also seen as Jesus in the movie. Good must fight evil to win but the good that comes from Jesus evil exists no more. Luke has many battles with the dark side and doesn’t know what will occur in them but it is known he will always be victorious. Just like Jesus had many hard trials and was crucified but he still had victory over all by rising from the dead and making many believe in him. Princess Leia also has some characteristics of Mary. Luke cares for Mary very much and would definitely sacrifice his own life to save hers. Just how Jesus sacrificed his life for everyone’s sins. Leia is also confident that everything will work out and be okay even when she is in danger like Mary.

Now with the dark side darth vador would obviously be representing Satan. Satan wasn’t always bad he was an angel until he got jealous of Gods power and got sent eternally to hell. Just how Anakin was on the good side until he tries to save pademay but loses sight of it and ends up killing her, turning to the dark side. They both are very similar but a big difference is that darth vador in the end goes back to being good before he dies. Satan is and always will be bad and will never be redeemed by good. The death star I think is a symbol of hell because of all the evil. The star troopers would be Satan’s legion symbolically. It’s strange the star troopers are white when the whole dark side is black.

It’s very close to the Christian biblical story even though George Lucas said he didn’t use religious symbolism. It could just be a coincidence, a very big one. Overall the Force is the jedis “God”, they put their faith, hope and love into it. Just how Christians live to do Gods will, in Star Wars it’s the same. There destiny is decided by the force. The trinity and the force are greatly a like but different at the same time. Overall the story lines are very similar even if they weren’t meant to be that way.

Failing Isn't the End by Cassee Bring

Failing isn’t the End

Even if you fail in battle you can still win the war. Battles in the Lord of the Rings are not just fights they affect the whole story like with the characters actions, emotions, fate and the ending of the story. There is a lot of symbolism in the battles. The last battle is the biggest and the most symbolic.

The last battle, battle of the Pelennor Fields there was many failures on the good side. But their was always hope because they kept having more people show up and fight for them just in time. Every time they were about to loose more reinforcements would come. I think this is symbolizing that the good is always going to prevail over evil even if they are set backs and losses. I think this also symbolizes the good side never giving up no matter how bad it gets.

In the beginning of the battle it starts out with mynis tirith and the orcs. When the orcs finally break through the wall and are winning overall, the rohirim show up to help. They would probably would of lost then if the rohirim didn’t show up. The rohirim kept them in the battle. When they started to loose their strength again Aragorn legolas and gimley bring the spirits from the path of the dead. The spirits from the path of the dead take over and kill all the orcs. They win the battle even though of all the failures they had. In the end they were more good forces then evil and good conquers evil.

I think Tolkien uses the failures and more forces coming to help, as a symbol of not giving up and that there is always hope no matter how dire the situation is. I think he also uses the battle as a symbol of unity with the good side.

In conclusion you can fail multiple times in a battle but that doesn’t mean you are going to lose the war . Because as long as you keep your head above the water until more reinforcements come you haven’t lost. They are just failures not losses. In Lord of the Rings they do just that. They fail many times in the battle but more allies show up just in time to keep them in it. Then they finally start coming back and gaining strength and win the war. Failures are not losses they are just motivation to do better.

The Minds of Heroes by Victoria Kegler

The Lord of the Rings

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Star Wars: Episodes IV, V, & VI

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The Minds of Heroes

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Victoria Kegler

“Emotion: any strong agitation of the feelings actuated by experiencing love, hate, fear, etc., and usually accompanied by certain physiological changes.” [1] There are countless stories upon planet Earth, written and spoken over millennia, where emotion and experience drive the plot and the story. How do their experiences and their emotions change them into the people that do what need to be done? The Lord of the Rings’ Frodo Baggins, and Star Wars’ Luke Skywalker, are prime examples, becoming completely different people than they were originally, driven and changed by their experiences and the emotions of those experiences.

The Lord of the Rings have been books that have always been loved by a large populace; the movies have only encouraged more love of the epic trilogy. But what goes on with the minds of the heroes that we see, read of, and love within the story? How could the events affect them? Emotions are a key part of everything, fiction or not. We are driven by a purpose, and that force of will is always on behalf of something, so there is caring for that; as a lone example. Aragorn, Legolas, Gimli, Frodo, Sam, Pippin, Merry, name any and you could see it; the varying results of their experiences and how they feel about them.

Tolkien writes the heroes as being complicated beings, as though they were truly real, but speaking from a strictly motion picture view, there you can see the emotions depicted by the actors to the best of their ability; and at this they do a fair representation. With the motion pictures you can see the emotion and the actual struggle play out. You can see the grief in everyone’s eyes as Gandalf falls in Moria after the Balrog, they believing him to be dead. The book has written, as they flee after the fall of Gandalf:

“Frodo heard Sam at his side weeping, and then he found that he himself was weeping…” [2] From this they leave, appearing to be driven by the memory of the quest that Gandalf has set them on in the hopes of saving all of Middle Earth. So there it is: their grief, as well as their understanding of priority, driving their deeds.

All through the entirety, the characters are going through their hardships and their challenges, each changing according to individual circumstance. Boromir, unfortunately, was unable to endure and ignore the allure of the One Ring that Frodo had,

mere inches from his own grasp, but understood what he had done as Frodo fled from him and all the others, enough to accept his death as it came in its turn.

Their emotions change their thinking, their experiences change their views. The beginning of the story has Frodo fighting to save his Shire, yet at the end, he can’t go back. The Shire isn’t for him anymore. In fighting to save it, he lost it. The days of his innocent Shire life are razed by his tormented experience in delivering the Ring to Mordor. He is too changed, too tormented by that journey, to be able to forget it and go on with the life of before.

Frodo may or may not be a well rounded example, however, he is the main character, and thus he goes through the greater part of the trials of the story. The Ring, holding the evils of Sauron, weighs upon him, torturing him. Changing him. His views of the world he knows goes from the joyous ignorance of his Shire days before his quest, to the knowing of the evils in the world beyond after the Ring’s destruction.

Characters go through transformations, a metamorphosis, they evolve past the more innocent views of their previous lives. Experiences change your perception, they change you, whether for better or worse it is up to the person.

The Star Wars Movies echo this. With one character, Luke Skywalker, going through grief, realization, and changing from the boy on Tatooine to the Jedi Knight on the forest moon of Endor. In the beginning with the murder of his aunt and uncle, Luke goes with Obi-Wan (Ben) to deliver help to the rebellion. His grief undoubtedly turns to thoughts of vengeance, to either get his revenge, or to make sure that they didn’t die for nothing. This is also where he realizes that he can train as a Jedi, with Obi-Wan as his teacher. However, the grief is even deepened with the death of Obi-Wan by the hands of Darth Vader upon the first Death Star. The thought of Luke wanting revenge enters the viewers minds, because that is what it seems to be that he wants. But, with the actions he portrays, and the guidance of Obi-Wan’s ghost, he deviates from the expected path.

The next event comes with Yoda entering the picture. Going through the Jedi training Luke learns that the Dark Side is ruled by negative emotions. When leaving there he vows to return. The following event is the one that changed Luke’s perception of everything concerning Darth Vader. His fight and the truth of Darth Vader being his father revealed. Luke then returns to Dagobah, to attempt to finish his training with Yoda, only to learn that the fact of his father is true. This, and that he is not alone in the state of being Vader’s child; he has a sister. Again, Luke experiences a death; Yoda passes on.

With the truth un-veiled and Luke experiencing feelings for his father, and sensing the good, he decides to save the one that supposedly deserves his wrath; embracing the lessons of the Jedi that Yoda taught him.

Within all of these stories, the events, the knowledge, change the people. From these experiences and learning’s, their perceptions are changed. Luke, with his assumption that Darth Vader is the evil of the Empire. Frodo with his belief of the innocence of Middle Earth.

These events, experiences, lessons, and turnings, change the minds of the people. They view things differently, and act differently than their previous selves.

The Luke of Tatooine would have killed Emperor Palpatine, or even Darth Vader, in the hate and revenge that he felt. The Jedi Luke saw the same deed as not part of what he had become, he embraced the ways that he was taught, and thus was a Jedi Knight in his mercy and disobedience of what the Emperor wished. Luke succeeded in saving his father, and in the winning of the Rebellion. In the end the Galaxy was saved.

Frodo of the Shire would never had been able to journey to Mordor, Frodo the Ring-bearer did just that. The person he was would never have succeeded without the experiences that changed him into who he became. In the end Middle Earth was saved.

It is always in the end that we realize that all the character went through was entirely necessary to the end result. They are changed, just as we are.

The Minds of Heroes

Bibliography

[1] www.dictionary.reference.com ( http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/emotion )

[2] The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, by J. R. R. Tolkien, pg. 323 (in my personal copy) [page #