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.
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