In the book, Aragorn mentions that he wishes he could live in Rivendell, but he believes destiny will not allow it. My teacher asks what part destiny plays in the lives of the characters in the book. Destiny, in my opinion, is a governing force that affects the major events in the history, present, and future of Middle Earth. For example, Gandalf mentions that a a power above Sauron and the ring meant for Frodo to have the ring. "I can put it no plainer than by saying that Bilbo was meant to find the ring, and not its maker. In which case you were also meant to have it." (Gandalf, Pg. 61). I believe this higher power to be destiny. Destiny was the force that brought the ring to Frodo. As for Aragorn's case, Aragorn is destined to return to Gondor and bring its people salvation. There he will become their king.
Renewed shall be the blade that was broken
The crownless again shall be king. (pg. 193)
These two lines are part of a short poem Gandalf wrote in a letter to Frodo, describing Aragorn. These two lines foretell Aragorn's return to Gondor and to be their king, which is why he will not live happily ever after in Rivendell.
Now, if literature is a mirror of real life, what does this mean for real life. This was my teacher's second question. It could possibly be that we are affected by this higher force that is destiny. Each individual's end goal or duty in life may be predestined for us, just as Frodo's mission was predestined for him. On the other hand, our lives are not completely governed by destiny. We can choose what paths to travel and how to go about our paths in order to reach our predestined conclusion. Frodo could have went to Mount Doom with only Sam or Gandalf, but he went with a fellowship of nine. The Fellowship could have continued up the mountains of the Caradrhas to the get to Mirkwood, but instead they chose to travel through the Mines of Moria in order to reach Mirkwood. Destiny may have chosen our ultimate goals and conclusions, but we can choose how we achieve our goals and reach our conclusions and where to go in order to do so.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
For my class, we are reading The Fellowship of the Ring (I know, best English class ever). For those who don't know, it's about a young hobbit named Frodo Baggins who comes into the possession of an evil ring of power. The ring was once owned by an evil tyrant named Sauron, who has returned to claim the ring and rule Middle Earth. Frodo chooses to leave his home and take the ring to Rivendell and there decides to take it to Mt. Doom to destroy it. Along the way his is assisted by many friends, include Gandalf the Grey, Sam Gamgee, Aragorn, and many more. Our focus on the book is relating the characters and the world of Middle Earth to our world and the people in it. We are also discussing the books themes and relating it to the Hero's Journey. I hope you enjoy these next posts.
I'm back
Hey everybody, sorry I haven't been been blogging for awhile. The server I use to log into in order to blog prevented me from blogging because it banned blogger. The ban, however, has been lifted, and without further ado, let the blogging commence.
Thursday, January 5, 2012
The Hobbit blog's: The importance of the ring
During Bilbo's great adventure, Bilbo came across a unique ring. This ring, when worn, was able to turn him invisible. It had gotten Bilbo out of much trouble. The ring, however, has not only done this for Bilbo, but has allowed his character to grow.
First, I should mention exactly how Bilbo came upon the ring. He fell down a dark hole after he was knocked unconscious when he and his company were trying to escape the goblin infested cavern in the Misty Mountains. He fell down into dark cavern, and when he awoke and traveled through the cavern for a short while, he found the ring by chance. Throughout his adventure, he has used it to hide from enemies and dodge their attacks. This ring has also allowed Bilbo to commit more courageous actions and grow stronger as a character. For example, he used the ring in order to lead the vicious, carnivorous spiders away from his friends so that he could save them. He even used it in order to confront Smaug himself. The ring is like a catalyst in a chemical reaction, it increased the speed of the reaction of Bilbo's courage growing from his adventure. You could even say that it is like a catalyst because it caused Bilbo's courage to grow.
I do not believe that the only reason that Bilbo is courageous is because of the ring. Bilbo could have used the ring to run away from his adventure, abandoned his friends to save himself. He did not, however, run away from the troubles of his adventure and confronted them using a hide-and-strike method (almost like guerrilla warfare). This proves that Bilbo had some inner courage that needed to be awakened, and the ring was just the tool to awaken it.
First, I should mention exactly how Bilbo came upon the ring. He fell down a dark hole after he was knocked unconscious when he and his company were trying to escape the goblin infested cavern in the Misty Mountains. He fell down into dark cavern, and when he awoke and traveled through the cavern for a short while, he found the ring by chance. Throughout his adventure, he has used it to hide from enemies and dodge their attacks. This ring has also allowed Bilbo to commit more courageous actions and grow stronger as a character. For example, he used the ring in order to lead the vicious, carnivorous spiders away from his friends so that he could save them. He even used it in order to confront Smaug himself. The ring is like a catalyst in a chemical reaction, it increased the speed of the reaction of Bilbo's courage growing from his adventure. You could even say that it is like a catalyst because it caused Bilbo's courage to grow.
I do not believe that the only reason that Bilbo is courageous is because of the ring. Bilbo could have used the ring to run away from his adventure, abandoned his friends to save himself. He did not, however, run away from the troubles of his adventure and confronted them using a hide-and-strike method (almost like guerrilla warfare). This proves that Bilbo had some inner courage that needed to be awakened, and the ring was just the tool to awaken it.
Wednesday, January 4, 2012
The Hobbit blog's: why breaking tradition can benefit one's character
Don't have anything to do with adventures, that is one of the main hobbit traditions. Nothing good comes from adventures. A respectful hobbit is one who enjoys the benefits of a peaceful day and the comforts of his/her hobbit hole. Bilbo Baggins is no exception. He would sooner stay at home and relax by the fire before going on an adventure, or at least that is what he used to think before he went on his own adventure.
Bilbo has grown so much as an individual from the adventure he went on. He has grown in both courage and wisdom. Originally, he was shy and weak. Even in the beginning of the adventure, he was very dependent on Gandalf, the wizard. Later on, however, the dwarves started to depend on Bilbo, and he had to learn how to be strong physically and mentally. One example of how Bilbo grew physically was when he saved his dwarf companions from the spiders. He had to cut the dwarves free from the spiders' webs and he had to fight off the spiders. One example of how Bilbo grew mentally was when he came up with an elaborate strategy for how to get the dwarves out of the wood elves dungeon cells. Basically, after he got them out of their cells, he decided to hide them in barrels that were to be thrown into the river back to where the came (because they were filled with wine given to them by the humans who lived nearby and the elves had to return the barrels). If Bilbo did not go on this adventure, he would not have been able to summon up such courage or be able to think up such clever tactics. By breaking the tradition of not going on adventures, Bilbo was able to become stronger and wiser. He does not seem to regret going on this adventure either, and believes he has also become quite an impressive burglar because of it.
Bilbo has grown so much as an individual from the adventure he went on. He has grown in both courage and wisdom. Originally, he was shy and weak. Even in the beginning of the adventure, he was very dependent on Gandalf, the wizard. Later on, however, the dwarves started to depend on Bilbo, and he had to learn how to be strong physically and mentally. One example of how Bilbo grew physically was when he saved his dwarf companions from the spiders. He had to cut the dwarves free from the spiders' webs and he had to fight off the spiders. One example of how Bilbo grew mentally was when he came up with an elaborate strategy for how to get the dwarves out of the wood elves dungeon cells. Basically, after he got them out of their cells, he decided to hide them in barrels that were to be thrown into the river back to where the came (because they were filled with wine given to them by the humans who lived nearby and the elves had to return the barrels). If Bilbo did not go on this adventure, he would not have been able to summon up such courage or be able to think up such clever tactics. By breaking the tradition of not going on adventures, Bilbo was able to become stronger and wiser. He does not seem to regret going on this adventure either, and believes he has also become quite an impressive burglar because of it.
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