Capitalism is Invading Middle earth
Everybody has three primary obligations in life: live, die and pay taxes. In The Lord of the Rings, the characters don't have to deal with the IRS, but they do have to confront life and death. Throughout the trilogy, several characters come face to face with this scenario. The conflict between life and death is the defining factor in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings.
Gandalf seems like the obvious example of the importance of life and death. Gandalf the Grey seemingly dies after his battle with the demonic Balrog, and is resurrected as Gandalf the White. He tells Aragorn, Legolas and Gimli that he will remain on Middle Earth until his task is done. Of course, his task is to aid Frodo in destroying the ring and defeating Sauron. Clearly, death would not suffice for Gandalf, because he had an obligation to fulfill in life. Gandalf spent over 2,000 years trying to destroy the ring, and can be credited as one of the most important reasons why the West was victorious.
In his own life, Aragorn also had to face death by braving the Paths of the Dead. Without the Army of the Dead's assistance, the West sure would have been routed at Minas Tirith. Furthermore, both Aragorn and the Dead essentially had a promise to fulfill - if the Dead would renew their allegiance to Men, Aragorn would remove the curse. Naturally, the Dead made the decision to aid Men at Pelennor Fields. The end result turned out to be mutually beneficial.
One interesting parallel between the Gandalf and Aragorn examples is that life and death follow a pattern. In both instances, death followed failures in life. As much as he tried, Gandalf couldn't find a way to defeat Sauron all the way up until his death. The Dead failed to aid Isildur and Men in their time of need, and were caught in a limbo between life and death. In The Lord of the Rings, failures in life are often followed by death, which results in resurrection or redemption.
Death torments Denethor, which becomes apparent in The Return of the King. Denethor makes it quite clear that he favors his eldest son Boromir over his other son, Faramir. Denethor feels that Faramir's entire life was a failure, and wishes that Faramir would simply die. Denethor sends Faramir on a suicide mission to take back the outpost of Osgiliath, and out of respect for his father and his brother, Faramir obeys. Of course, Faramir and his men are slaughtered and Faramir's body is returned, apparently dead. Denethor intends to burn Faramir and himself. There's only one problem - Faramir is heavily injured, but not dead. Clearly, Denethor feels that death is the only fitting end to a life full of failures. In this case, life could not make a father proud of his son. Thus, Faramir rode out on his suicide charge as a last ditch attempt at earning respect from Denethor.
In The Lord of the Rings, there are those who refuse to comprehend death. Other than invisibility, one of the "benefits" of possessing the ring is long life. The ring makes immortality easy. Along with unpaid debts, obsessing over the ring keeps many characters alive for long periods of time. Denial of death can be just as important as accepting death.
Life and death is a common theme in The Lord of the Rings. Several characters must face death, while attempting to accomplish something in life. Most of the time, the two coincide. Without death, it's entirely possible that the plot may not have turned out the way it did. Some say that the debt that all men pay is death. In The Lord of the Rings, debts are often paid through death and resurrection. It's a good thing the IRS doesn't have authority in Middle Earth. Facing death is hard enough without having to pay taxes.
7 comments:
I like your analysis of death being a debt to be paid. It shows how ruthless and painful death can be, but also how merciful. Death can come too soon, causing sadness and despair, as you pointed out with Boromir's death. Death can also be a release, as you pointed out with Aragorn releasing the mountain people after the Battle of Pelennor. I like that you put so many examples of death as debt or a kind of transaction.
I like your capitalism analogy. I agree that death is a reoccuring theme throughout the trilogy. I also agree that unpaid debts will keep you alive, and you can only die once they are repaid. But doesn't this make death more of a reward for haveing done what was required of you during life. I think that death in The Lord of the Rings symbolizes a reward for you deeds on earth.
Brilliant work analyzing the role of death in LoTR. I love how you write your essays. Your intro and conclusion were especially strong. As for the actual content, that is a very insightful thought that death is Tolkein's equivalent to taxes in that death is the debt one pays for their failures in life. Great writing altogether.
-Nick Phoenix
I Thinkk You Chose A Veryy Intresting Topic. =) You Could Go On && On About Death, And Its Role In The Moviess. Its Intresting How Everyonee Has A Role And When Theyy Are Done Doing What Theyy Were Set Out Tooo Do, Theyy Pass.
I really liked your theme it was unique and interesting! Your introduction was very good and it made me want to read more! I liked how you compared it to paying taxes! It was really good and upbeat! Good job =)
I really enjoyed your opening paragraph. I think that the theme you chose was very interesting. I also think that your topic was well researched and well discussed. I think that you are absolutely right when you said that, "Some say, that the debt that all men pay is death." I guess you could say, that I am one of the people who would say something like that. I also liked the way you ended it. I find it very interesting how death plays such an important role in "Lord of the Rings". I really enjoyed reading this. Good job.
I'd just like to start by saying that your opening sentence was definitely one of the funniest that I have ever read. That being said, I think that your essay overall was fantastic. You gave concrete examples of the importance of life and death in the story, and I particularly enjoyed your comparison between Gandalf and Aragorn in regards to their connection to life. My only suggestion would be a connection between these two incidents and the story of Faramir. After all, Faramir also "died" after another failure and was then resurrected and allowed to redeem himself. Overall, I found this to be an enjoyable and interesting essay. I was obvious that you knew your subject and had a genuine interest in the idea.
Post a Comment