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.