Tolkiens Epic Fantasy-Novel: the Middle-Earth - Term Paper Example

? The role of Wizards in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth and their symbolism & importance to Modern Society J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy-novel, the Middle-earth is one of the most important books of the twentieth century. The readers are drawn to Tolkien because he is an escapist writer. The novel mainly centers of the theme of influence and power. It also relates several issues of the middle ages to the modern world such as technology, religion among other. The book enables readers to flee from horrors to modern life, to find refuge in a mythical and unreal world. The modern age can be described as being unspeakably terrible. For people to understand these issues well, Tolkien uses game as the best way of passing the information. In this case, he chose to give people characters of wizards such as Saruman, Gandalf, Maiar, Radagast, Pallando and Alatar. Each of these characters was then assigned a role by the Valar to go and assist the Middle-earth contest Sauron. During this mission, Tolkien reveals how some of these wizards were able to accomplish their missions as others fail due to their quest for power and control, something which is still present in the modern world. The role of Wizards in J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth and their symbolism & importance to modern society Introduction The middle-earth is a fictional setting by J.R.R Tolkien’s fantasy publication according to Iron Crown Enterprises (parag. 1). The game is composed of two to five players, with each player required to choose one of the five wizards to represent them in the game. Midway in the game, a turn is made consisting of players wondering around middle-earth with the assistance of other well established characters of the middle-earth attempting to gain power and influence which would help them during the war against The Dark Lord. It can also be seen in the process, one player trying to kill and harass his characters with specific hazard cards. In the mean time, the responsibilities of each player change clockwise around the table where their turn comes. Moreover, the game rule provides that any player can win by destroying and acquiring the One Ring after undergoing convoluted set of events. The wizards in this fantastic piece play a major role as it can be seen that they were sent by Valar to help the residents of Middle-earth contest Sauron. The wizards include Maiar, Saruman (man of kill), Radagast (tender of beast), Alatar, and Gandalf (elf of the staff). They are also referred to as Istari. Each of these wizards is given color characteristics. Saruman, for instance, is white (the most powerful of the five); Radagast, brown; Gandalf, grey; and Pallando and Alatar sea-blue (also referred to as Blue Wizards) (Purtill 6). The objective of this paper is to explore the role of these Wizards, their symbolism and importance in the modern society. Saruman, the White as he is referred to in this fiction, is one of the principal antagonist Wizards in this novel. He is also depicted as the leader of the Istari, sent by their master Valar, their godlike creature to go and challenge Sauron, who is the leading antagonist in the novel. Nevertheless, his greed for power makes him leave his mission and instead begin pursuing power for himself. In this regard, he illustrates corrupt power due to his quest for knowledge and order at the expense of helping the people of Middle-earth. This leads to his downfall even as he rejects the opportunity for redemption when given. According to Tolkien, Saruman serves as an example of technology and modernity being replaced by external forces more in tune with nature (12). For instance, the first encounter made with Saruman is in The Fellowship of the Ring, where Frodo and Gandalf went to consult with him as their superior leader on what needed to be done to get the lost ring (Stanton 44). Here, Saruman manifests his greed for power and influence by proposing that the wizards ally themselves with the increasing power of Sauron so as to be able to control Sauron for their own benefit. He continues to suggest that they could as well take the ring for themselves and confront Sauron. Nevertheless, when Gandalf turns down his suggestions, Saruman decides to incarcerate him in the towor of Orthac situated at Isengard, hopping that this would help him learn more from Gandalf where the lost ring is hidden (Tolkien 67). In fact, according to Gandalf, Saruman’s greed for power and influence made him industrialize the green valley of Isengard as well as establish his own army of Wolves and Orcs to challenge Sauron. Saruman’s attempts to find the ring makes him order his Orcs to search for the ring. In the process, the army confronts Frodo and his henchmen. The army then captures two of Frodo’s closest friends Pippin and marries who later escape into the Fangorn forest. Despite all these attempts, Saruman was later on arrested and casted out of the White Council as well as from the order of the wizards by Gandalf. He later makes his last appearance toward the end of the novel, The Return of the King, after the defeat of Sauron according Tolkien (82). It is noted that after pleading in vain for his release by Ents from the Orthanc, he decides to trek to the north where he is reduced to begging together with his servant Grima Wormtongue, whom he keeps beating and cursing. Gandalf is another wizard of extreme power and wisdom in the novel. His roles mainly manifests in The Fellowship of the Ring, where he teams up with others to assist in conquering Sauron. Gandalf is described by Tolkein as the last of the wizards to emerge in the Middle-earth. Tolkien notes that Gandalf was least and less taller than other wizards and looked more old with grey-hair and clad, yet he possessed the greatest spirits and was also the wisest. He is also said to be one of the most focused of all the five Istri’s sent to Middle earth. He plays a vital role in The Lords of the Ring. He is able to accomplish the role assigned to him (protecting and guiding the people of the Middle-earth). This is evident in the fact that despite being betrayed by Saruman, he is still able to organize his followers to defeat Saruman, as well as conquer Sauron. These earns him the title of Gandalf the white after the death of Saruman (Lord of the Rings 1). Tolkien argues that without his actions and guidance, probably the Middle-earth would have been lost to Sauron. In this regard, he is able to tame the horse Shadowfax and taking him for himself. Furthermore, before proceeding to Orodruin, he uses his magic and wisdom to carefully study the maps of Middle earth and Gondore’s, where he learns of the One Ring. In fact, his war with Balrog turned out to be mortal. Nevertheless, he sacrificed himself by battling Balrog so that his friends can escape from captivity (Harvey 94). Radagast as one of the Istaris in the tale was assigned the responsibility of acting as a messenger to the other Istaris. This role he accomplishes for a while as he is seen delivering messages from Saruman to Gandalf, in which case he is able to convince Gandalf to meet Saruman after their relation has gone sore. He also manages to give the birds in his service to Saruman’s and Gandalf’s service. He mostly dwelt at Rhosgobel near Mirkwood border during his mission. However, he is also one character who becomes charmed by birds and beasts, something that later makes him fail to accomplish his mission (Bates 93). Pallando and Alatar, the Blue Wizards, are also very important Istaris in the novel. They are sent to the east by Valar to help conquer Middle-earth. Nevertheless, they do not feature prominently in the novel. It is, however, thought that they might have failed in their mission and got corrupted like Saruman. That is manifested through their fall, which gave rise to magical cults found in the east where they had been sent. Despite this notion, some argue that they possibly might have succeeded in their mission, stating that the victories witnessed in the west could not have been possible were it not for their success in the east (Rutledge 36). Modern society Symbolism in Wizard (Middle-earth) J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy-novel, The Lord Of The Rings is one of the most important books of the twentieth century. The readers are drawn to Tolkien because he is an escapist writer. The book enables readers to flee from the horrors to modern life, to find refuge in a mythical and unreal world. The modern age can be described as being unspeakably terrible. More people were killed in the twentieth century through violent means than in all of the previous centuries. Currently, the ratio of civilian to military deaths has doubled. The modern culture can be described as being the culture of death (Wood 4). The lord of rings symbolizes the world of unprecedented evil. The modern world is characterized by extermination ovens and concentration camps, of terrorist attacks and ethnical rivalries, of epidemic diseases and mass starvation and deadly material self-indulgence. The book does not encourage human beings to turn away from such evils affecting the earth. Instead, Tolkien’s book encourages mankind to confront the problems affecting them. Rather than human beings grinding their faces in these horrors, the book presents the means in which human beings can cure the ills of their age. This important book teaches human beings how to escape into reality. Tolkien achieves this remarkable accomplishment by embedding the gospel as the underlying symbolism of his book, its deep background and implicit hope (Wood 5). The fact that Tolkien wrote a boy’s adventure story symbolizes male chauvinism in the modern society. The book excluded one-half of human races because of the inclusion of few women characters. In addition, the women in the book have been depicted in highly idealized terms. In particular, Galadriel’s eleventh princess proves to be terrible in her beauty. She is depicted as not being sweet as well as being falsely pure. Further, her character is set to diminish once the ruling ring is destroyed (Rutledge 213). The natural wilderness such as the forest of Fangorn is an admirable place and is a symbol of how the environment in the modern continues to be exploited. The sprawling of cities has meant that there is no concern over the destruction of the countryside than once characterized the earth. The environmental degradation of the countryside brought much grief to Tolkien that he stopped driving a car once he saw the ruin that city highways had caused. The city and the wild are meant to be symbolic, each being humbled and rejuvenated by the other. The mythical world of the middle-earth is made non-religious so that readers can see Christianity reflected in it more clearly. Readers of the Silmarillion are not surprised to learn that a full fledged theology lies in the back of Tolkien’s Hobbit-books, and that it silently forms the lord of the rings (Rutledge 214). The middle earth is also a symbol of warfare. In 2009, Henry Allingham died at the age of 113 thereby becoming the world’s oldest man. Allingman was also one of the known surviving British veterans of World War 1. Along with Allingham and millions of others, Tolkien symbolizes the horrors of trench warfare. In the modern world, trench warfare is characterized by artillery barrages, machine-gun fire, poison gas, and dreadful living conditions. Allingham’s observations about war show that the postwar world is still challenged by genocide and combatants. Despite the consequences, war continues to affect humanity. Accounting for the causes of war, along with other characteristics and consequences, stands as a sustained priority across generations of scholarship (Chance 315). There is a strong sense of God’s revelation in Israel and Jesus. In real sense, these definitive acts of divine self-disclosure cannot be repeated, not even literally. Gandalf does not die due to anyone’s sins and if he survives the end of al things, it will be because he is one of the maiar, not because, like Christ, he has been resurrected to die no more. In addition, Gandalf does not possess Christ-like qualities. For Tolkien, every Christian is meant to take on the form of Christ (Brennan 23). The essence of fairy stories is that they satisfy our heart’s deepest desire: to know the world other than our own, a world that has not been flattened and shrunk and emptied to mystery. To enter this world, the fairy tales resort to fantasy in the literal sense. The book deals with representations of things not generally believed to exist in our primary world such as elves, hobbits, wizards, dwarves, ringwraiths, wargs, and orcs. Far from being unreal or fantastic in the popular sense, these creatures embody the invisible qualities of the eternal world-love and death, courage and cowardice, terror and hope that always affect the visible universe (Brennan 23). Two important world views can be learnt from Tolkien’s artistic works. The work symbolizes the evil and good races. In particular, the Elves symbolize the good more than other groups’ known as the valar and the Maia, who have been symbolized as being evil. Consequently, it is pointless to try and convert the Orcs with the aim of making them good. The orcs are evil and deserve to be resolved from the face of the middle-earth. There is the held opinion that the good orcs had already died. This view of the people of the middle-earth has led to unending bloody wars (Tolkien Archive, par 7). Gandalf the grey in this tale symbolizes bravery, kindness and honesty. From the onset, he is able to stick to the rules of his master, the Valar, who had sent him to go and help the people of Middle-earth by fighting Sauron. His bravery enabled him accomplish this mission as he was able to face off Saruman, their previous supreme leader of the order after betrayal. His bravery is also seen when he defeated Sauron despite the difficulties and risks involved. It was until after accomplishing his missions that he left Middle-earth together with his henchmen, Frodo, Bilbo and Galadriel. His honesty and kindness is manifested when he decline to punish Pippin after discovering that Palantir had been stolen and for communicating with Sauron. He argues that it is enough to look the eyes of the hobbit and observe if there is no lie (Lord of the Rings 1). Gandalf also appears as the dominant symbol of Christ as seen in The Lord of the Rings. This can clearly be seen by looking at how Gandalf came to the Middle-Earth and then considering how he handled himself throughout the tale. The first encounter we have with him is when he was sent by Valar from the land of Valinor to go and liberate the people of the Middle-earth from evil and protect them from Sauron. As the story proceeds, we hen encounter Gandalf in The Silmarillion, where he introduces himself as a spirit known as Olorin, and only took the flesh of men for the people of Middle-Earth to be able to trust him and have faith in his mission. This is quite similar to what Christ did when be when he came down from heaven to the Earth and took on bodily form to save the humankind from Satan and evil (Lord of the Rings 1). In fact, when we first encounter Gandalf in The Fellowship of the Ring, he appears as a wizened man, with bushy eyebrows, long grey beard, a flowing cloak and wearing wooden staff. These appearances also resemble those of Christ. Moreover, like Jesus, Gandalf always sought to help others, fight evil and restore hope everywhere he goes. It can also be seen how Gandalf travels extensively that the men of Gondor and Elves refer to him as Mithradir, meaning the grey pilgrim. It is also evident that just like Jesus; Gandalf also had several different names with unique meanings. The names include Lathspell, Incanus, Mithrandir, Thanrkun and Olorin among others (Lord of the Rings 1). Gandalf’s symbolism of Christ also becomes most evident through his actions as a leader of the Fellowship, which had been appointed by the Council of Elrond in Rivendell. It can be seen here that when things got worse on the road, Gandalf and the whole Fellowship are forced into the Mines of Moria so as to try passing under the misty mountains. This journey appears to be very slow through the mountainous terrain until came a climax when the Fellowship is scared away by the demon of the ancient world known as Balrog. At this daring moment of grieve, surrounded by darkness, fire terrified screams and whizzing arrows, Gandalf through his wisdom realizes that no one among them would be able to escape the Moria alive not unless he sacrificed his life for the sake of the entire fellowship. This is similar to what Jesus did when he sacrificed his life so that everyone on earth can be saved from sins. As Jesus once put it, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friend according to John 15:13, (Purtill 32). The book also elaborates that as the Fellowship begins to cross the long, ragged bridge of Khazad-dum, unfortunately the Balrog follow them from behind forcing Gandalf to take the rear guard and swiftly turns to take on the monstrous beast alone. Under high risk of being killed by the monster on the bridge surrounded by darkness, he bravely takes on the beast sacrificing his life for the sake of his friends. He happens to fall from the bridge, as tears can be seen flowing from Hobbit’s eyes since hope is ultimately lost (Stanton 29). This can also be seen from Aragorn, whose heart wavers for the loss of his trusted mentor. Nevertheless, he continues with the fight as he chases the great demon through darkness until he slays the Balrog. It is then that Gandalf dies for exertion of power. Tolkien notes that the fellowship feels lost without Gandalf, but Valar decides that Gandalf’s mission is not yet accomplished and raises him from death more powerful and glorious than before. After rising from the dead, he continues the fight where he ended up destroying Sauron as well as Saruman and later became Gandalf the white. This can also be compared to the story of Jesus Christ who rose from death on the third day according to John 6: 15-28. The transformation of Gandalf from Gandalf the grey to Gandalf the white can also be taken to symbolize purification. This is based on the fact that he sacrificed his life in order to save those of his Fellowips and refining his mission of aiding the free people of Middle-Earth according to Harvey (48). It is then that he begins his new life as Gandalf the white, from exactly the position where Saruman once began his. By Contrast, Havey notes that Saruman allowed his quest for knowledge over wisdom to denigrate his original caring and change him from white into many colors (48). This transformation may also be taken to symbolize his wisdom and compassion, he acquired out of great experience over time, the same way elder in the society with grey hair can be sources of such understanding and caring. In the novel, Tolkien also brings out the conflict between Eru Luvatar and Melkor. The two symbolizes God and Satan (Harvey 51). In addition, Tolkien used The Silmarillion, to symbolize Genesis, the first book in the Bible. For instance as we find that The Silmarillion talks of the creation and fall of the Elves, just as the Genesis talks of the creation and fall of man, as well. The use of the Silmarillion in the novel appears to allow room for later Christian history. For instance, at some point in the novel, Tolkien uses Finrod, the dominant character in The Silmarillion in speculation of the need of Uru’s (God’s) final manifestation to save the humankind. In the book, it can be concluded that the Elves symbolizes the chosen races. The chosen race is immortal; they can never be affected by diseases and are immune to ageing and disease. The elves have life after death guaranteed. The Ilvatar group symbolizes the non-chose whose life span is shorter than those of human beings. This groups is mostly affected by diseases and ageing. The difference between the elves and the Ilvatar threatens to destroy the middle-earth (Tolkien Archive, par 8). Influences on culture Tolkien motivated other artists to compose other works of art such as rock music. The most evident of these influences of art are musical in nature. In particular, Tolkien g eve permission to composer Carey Blyton to compose a Hobbit overtures. As a result, Tolkien was happy to learn that he had inspired a musical composer with his book. The music of the youth which was known as rock and roll was also inspired by Tolkien’s works. The youth were among the people who were fascinated by the lord of the rings and the hobbit in the 1960s. It makes sense to conclude that other rockers in the modern world learnt from the works of rockers who worked in 1960s and in 70s. The Tolkien’s influence on popular culture symbolizes the depth that the book had affected the popular culture. Rock and roll was the poetry of the day as well as symbolizing popular culture (Noel 27). Another way in which Tolkien’s work influenced culture is witnessed in the genre of role playing games. After the publishing of the book by Tolkien, war gamers began putting in orc, dwarf, and goblin armies. In order to achieve role playing in the games, the gamer would first create a character which had skills of their choice. It is important to note that each skill has a certain level attached to it. While playing the game, participants are required to use a skill by rolling dice and the number they role in conjunction with their skill level determines success of failure. The world of Dungeons and Dragons is influenced by many of the same races as Tolkien’s middle earth. Another game that was influenced by Tolkien’s works is known as the Empire of the petal throne which was created by Professor M.A.R. Baker. Baker is relevant to this topic because he was fascinated by languages and ventured in trying to create a detailed and a real world. The playing of role taking games was influenced by Tolkien’s artistic works; in addition, the wide knowledge and fame enjoyed by the games can be attributed to Tolkien (Brenican 87). The book also has a lot of theological themes reflected through narratives such as the triumph of humanity over evil, battle of good against evil, and the activity of grace as reflected through Fodo’s sympathy to Gollum in the Lord of the Rings. This is not only the incidence where we find Tolkien bringing out religious influence in the novel, rather there are also instances of immortality and death, pity and mercy, salvation, resurrection, self sacrifice, repentance, justice, fellowships, healing as well as authority. The religious themes are mainly brought out through Gandalf the grey, whom we see resurrect from death just the same way Jesus Christ did. This clearly brings out the issue of Christianity as a religion in the novel. Furthermore, the Lord’s Prayer, “And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil” is said to have been in the mind of Tolkien as he described the struggle Fodo underwent against the power of One Ring. Definitely, Christian influence is the concept of the fall of man, which Tolkien agues to have influenced the Kinslaying at Alqualonde, Ainulindale and the fall of Numenor, as well (Harvey 59). The actions of Gandalf in the tale as brought out by Tolkien can be discerned by a fifth grader. Through Gandalf, Tolkien tries to show readers the power of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross, resurrection, decent into darkness and glorification of his new body. All these elements have impacted a great deal on the culture of people across the world, especially Christianity as a religion. This is because, it informs its redoes that Jesus Christ was send by God for a purpose, which is to save mankind from Satan and evil just the same way Valar sent Gandalf to go and save the people of Middle- earth from Sauron. To date, this is the common belief among Christians all over the world that Tolkien is trying to fantasize through wizards (Brenican 13). The question that one may ask about the Middle-Earth is what is the One Ring? The One ring in this case symbolizes material possessions, more importantly, the power which such possessions give one over the others. From the novel, we find that the Dark Lord Sauron created several rings of power which he gave to the many rulers of each race such as the dwarves, elves and the mortal men (Stanton 102). All these rulers were intrigued by power of the rings. They however, betrayed, even though, for Sauron made a more powerful ring capable of controlling all those who possessed the others. It is seen that the ring kept corrupting all those who are around it, any time it is closed. Moreover, even those who want to use it for good purposes eventually brings on evils once they have used it, as Gandalf even feared it himself. This is very similar to what is happening in our world today. It is noted that those who attempt to find power in the world, slowly undergoes temptations to abuse and control others for their own good. Through the ring, we get to understand the role played by Boromir in the novel. Boromir is shown depicted in the novel as the son of Denethor and a steward of Gondor. We see Boromir being sent by his father to represent their people at the Council of Elrond so as to discuss with them the rising evils of Mordor, the Sauron’s homeland. This happens to be a very sensitive issue to Boromir, since his people have been engaged in a tag of war in order to keep the evils of Mordor from overrunning the western and Northern territories. It is also noted that his people have sacrificed their lives at the expense of protecting others. Nevertheless, Boromir seem desperate for something to turn the tide of the combat. Being desperate makes him falls to the temptation invoked by the One Ring. Later on we find his gives into this temptation and making all attempts to forcefully snatch the ring from Frodo. Nevertheless, we find him regret his actions later after failing to get the ring (Stanton 22). Work Cited Bates, Brian. The Real Middle-earth: Exploring the Magic and Mystery of the Middle Ages, J.R.R Tolkein, and he lord of the Kings. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan, 2003 print. Brenican, Anthony. Tolkien Influence, From Led Zeppelin To Rush To Dungeons And Dragons, He’s Everywhere. Toronto Star Newspapers Ltd. 2002. Print. Chance Jane. Tolkien And The Invention Of Myth: A Reader. University Press of Kenturky. 2004. Print. Harvey, Greg. The Origins of Tolkein’s Middle-Earth for Dummies. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2003 print. Iron Crown Enterprises (ICE). The Middle-Earth the Wizards. http://globetrotter-games.com/index.htm?E&game/reviews/eMidEar0.htm Lord of the Rings. Gandalf the Grey. http://www.lord-of-the-rings.org/books/gandalf.html Brennan Janet. Tolkien and Shakespeare: Essays On Shared Themes And Language. Mcfairland. 2007. Print. Purtill, Richard L. J.R.R. Tolkein: Myth, Morality, and Religion. San Francisco: Ignatius Press, 2003 print. Rutledge, Fleming. The Battle for Middle-Earth: Tolkein’s Divine Design in the Lord of the Rings. Cambridge: Wm.B. Eardmans Publishing, 2004 print. Stanton, Michael N. Hobbits, Elves, and wizards: Exploring the Wonders and Worlds of J.R.R. Tolkein’s the Lord of the Rings. New York, NY: Palgrave Macmillan. 2002 print. Tolkien, J.R.R. The Return of the King: Being the Third Part of the Lord of the Rings. New York, NY: Haughton Miffin Harcourt, 2012 print. Tolkien-archives. Tolkien’s middle earth-real world influences. Retrieved on 23rd August 2012 from: http://www.tolkien-archives.com/library/essays/tolkiens-world-real-influences.html. Noel, Ruth. The Languages Of Tolkien’s Middle Earth. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co. 1980. Print. Wood Ralph. The Gospel According To Tolkien: Visions Of The Kingdom In Middle Earth. London. Westminister John Knox Press. 2003. Print. Read More