A BEAUTIFUL BOOK : THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
I have finished reading a beautiful book, "The Fellowship of the Ring", part 1 of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. http://www.lordoftherings.net has more details.
When my friends and I saw the picture based on the book a year or so ago, we were none too impressed. A colleague I know mentioned that the picture does not do justice to the book - and that the book is far better. Having read it now, I can confirm that statement !
Tolkein, the author, explicitly states in the foreword that the story should not be interpreted as a metaphor. It was written around the time of the second world war and the parallel drawn then between the story at that age was naturally the war itself. Tolkein says it was his intention only to narrate an engaging story - and engaging, for me, it certainly is !
To those who have not read the book, the story in its essence is of short, humanlike, mythical creatures called hobbits who have to take a ring with evil powers to a place and destroy it. The protagonists among the hobbits are Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin. They are aided by several other allies including a dwarf, an elf and a wizard ; hence the title "The Fellowship". The book is all about the voyage of the hobbits and the others.
In spite of the author's warning, my mind did locate some metaphors in the book ! The ring gives the person who wears it the power to be invisible. It also exerts an influence over the person controlling the person and transforming him/ her. The presence of the ring slows down aging. The person also is controlled by the ring and gradually becomes unwilling to cast away the ring.
It strikes me that the ring itself is a metaphor for power. When we display the desire to get things to be done as we like, we show a craving for power. Isn't this something like the ring which can take a person wherever s/he likes without anybody else knowing ? Also, when we seek to command and browbeat others to do things the way we would like it to be done, aren't we the slaves to power ? The parallel with the ring which begins to influence the person who wears it is uncannily similar ! I remember the quotation attributed to Lord Acton : "Power corrupts - and absolute power corrupts absolutely"
In the story, the wizard tells Frodo not to give the ring to him since it would prove to be a temptation that he (the wizard) would not be able to resist. Frodo alone wears the ring on a couple of occasions and does not fall under its effect. He is able to cast it aside even after experiencing the power it provides. Frodo is an unlikely hero. Instead of the archetypal hero found in most other books, he is somebody who has the stature of a child - and a similar attitude ! He and the other hobbits acknowledge that they are neither as strong nor as wise as the men, but at the same time, he and the other hobbits also show a resilience and fortitude that earns the admiration of the wizard.
In my opinion, that is the way to handle power and responsibility : not with arrogance, but with humility, straight-forwardness and a quiet strength. At the end of the book, Frodo experiences the danger of what could happen if the ring falls into the wrong hands. Instead of shirking responsibility, he proceeds to the place where the ring is to be destroyed alone. He takes this decision after experiencing the danger.
When we face crises in life, what we need to do is also the same. In the words found in another popular movie, "With great power comes great responsibility". I cannot agree more ! I can hardly wait to read the remaining two parts of the trilogy !
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NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
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===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged as
the properties of their owners.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
I have finished reading a beautiful book, "The Fellowship of the Ring", part 1 of the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy. http://www.lordoftherings.net has more details.
When my friends and I saw the picture based on the book a year or so ago, we were none too impressed. A colleague I know mentioned that the picture does not do justice to the book - and that the book is far better. Having read it now, I can confirm that statement !
Tolkein, the author, explicitly states in the foreword that the story should not be interpreted as a metaphor. It was written around the time of the second world war and the parallel drawn then between the story at that age was naturally the war itself. Tolkein says it was his intention only to narrate an engaging story - and engaging, for me, it certainly is !
To those who have not read the book, the story in its essence is of short, humanlike, mythical creatures called hobbits who have to take a ring with evil powers to a place and destroy it. The protagonists among the hobbits are Frodo, Sam, Merry and Pippin. They are aided by several other allies including a dwarf, an elf and a wizard ; hence the title "The Fellowship". The book is all about the voyage of the hobbits and the others.
In spite of the author's warning, my mind did locate some metaphors in the book ! The ring gives the person who wears it the power to be invisible. It also exerts an influence over the person controlling the person and transforming him/ her. The presence of the ring slows down aging. The person also is controlled by the ring and gradually becomes unwilling to cast away the ring.
It strikes me that the ring itself is a metaphor for power. When we display the desire to get things to be done as we like, we show a craving for power. Isn't this something like the ring which can take a person wherever s/he likes without anybody else knowing ? Also, when we seek to command and browbeat others to do things the way we would like it to be done, aren't we the slaves to power ? The parallel with the ring which begins to influence the person who wears it is uncannily similar ! I remember the quotation attributed to Lord Acton : "Power corrupts - and absolute power corrupts absolutely"
In the story, the wizard tells Frodo not to give the ring to him since it would prove to be a temptation that he (the wizard) would not be able to resist. Frodo alone wears the ring on a couple of occasions and does not fall under its effect. He is able to cast it aside even after experiencing the power it provides. Frodo is an unlikely hero. Instead of the archetypal hero found in most other books, he is somebody who has the stature of a child - and a similar attitude ! He and the other hobbits acknowledge that they are neither as strong nor as wise as the men, but at the same time, he and the other hobbits also show a resilience and fortitude that earns the admiration of the wizard.
In my opinion, that is the way to handle power and responsibility : not with arrogance, but with humility, straight-forwardness and a quiet strength. At the end of the book, Frodo experiences the danger of what could happen if the ring falls into the wrong hands. Instead of shirking responsibility, he proceeds to the place where the ring is to be destroyed alone. He takes this decision after experiencing the danger.
When we face crises in life, what we need to do is also the same. In the words found in another popular movie, "With great power comes great responsibility". I cannot agree more ! I can hardly wait to read the remaining two parts of the trilogy !
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
NOTE:
I had originally written this blog in another site. Since that site is no longer accessible, I am uploading it in this blog at http://fewidlethoughts.blogspot.in/ using the same date as the original blog dates.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
===== COMMON TEXT FOR ALL BLOGS =====
++++++ BEGINS ++++++
When I created my first blog, I thought I was
being clever by being "anonymous" and let my
opinions speak for themselves (see the archive !)
Imagine my embarrassment when I saw my name
displayed ! So now, while I still retain the blog
name as "Anonymous Expressions", I will only
request you to ignore my name and concentrate on
my opinions instead !
All copyrights and trademarks are acknowledged as
the properties of their owners.
The opinions expressed in the Weblogs are my
personal opinions. Please tell me if you spot any
factual mistakes or don't like the way I have
expressed a view. If I can see your point, I will
correct the mistake. You can email me at
kiran.suma@gmail.com.
*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-
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