Lord Of The Rings As A Metaphore free essay sample

For Ww2 Essay, Research Paper The Lord of the Rings, a Metaphor for World War II Joe Shmoe 1/16/2000 The book The Lord of the Rings ( which the writer originally intended to be one book ) resounds with symbolism and metaphor which reflects the epoch in which it was written. Although the writer claims this narrative has no # 8220 ; interior significance or # 8216 ; message # 8217 ; # 8221 ; and that the narrative is simply a narrative to be told, it would take a far stretch of the imaginativeness non to happen the thoughts of the book as metaphors for the existent universe around it. The really kernel of the characters and secret plan lends the book so wholly to the thought of its metaphorical representation of World War II, it is obvious why the writer would deny the relation. The narrative begins with Bilbo go forthing the Shire after his 133rd birthday. He gives the Ring, which is the beginning of limitless, perverting power to Frodo, Bilbo # 8217 ; s adopted inheritor. From this point, Gandolf, the Godhead and cryptic ace, helps lead Frodo and a set of other Hobbits and heroes on a pursuit to destruct the one ring in order to maintain it out of the appreciation of Sauron, who is the representative of all immoralities in the universe. While this at face value may non look to hold a relationshiop to WWII, the really nature of metaphor, the comparing of two unlike thing to show a significance, allows these two thoughts to coexist and make an wholly new thought. The Ring in the narrative represents the centre of power and action throughout the novels. The Ring was created by Sauron in an earlier age, along with eight other rings, in order to increase his power. The Rings all represented greater power but were tainted by the forging and the forger. The Ring which Sauron made for himself, is the ultimate beginning of power, the power of hatred. The Ring is a metaphor for hatred. It makes the wearer of it unseeable to prising eyes. Through the usage of hatred, a individual can dissemble his true character from those around him. Besides with the Ring, any wearer is granted the power of invisibleness, but merely specially trained people can tackle its true power, which is to change the universe around it. So is true with hatred. Merely those who are genuinely consummate in the art of address can utilize hatred to its full potency and extreme. Besides, the Ring has a side consequence: it corrupts that which is good to evil and distorts those who u se it to conceal from others. This is true, excessively, of the power of hatred. Those who begin with the best purposes normally cause more injuries than that which they originally intended to work out. As a individual uses hatred to mask him from what he fears the universe sees them as, he becomes what they fear the universe sees him as being. Such is the instance of the character Smeagol. The character of Smeagol, as told by Gandolf, began life as a absolutely nice Hobbit. But after his cousin Deal discovers the Ring while fishing, Smeagol murders him, steals the Ring, and uses the power of invisibleness to steal organize his fellow Hobbits. Finally he is twisted by the power of the reign and becomes a horrid animal, afraid of the visible radiation of the Sun. In this context, Smeagol can be seen as a metaphor for the German people before and after the popularisation of the ideals of the Nazis. The Ring maintains the significance of the power of hatred, but this clip it is welded by a power outside of its wearer. In the narrative of Smeagol is an unseeable manus, the manus of Sauron. He guides Smeagol down the way of immorality in order to convert him to return the Ring to him. This is besides true with Hitler and the German people. He used the power of hatred to pervert the German people to the point where they would stand aggressive war and dangerous offenses agains t humanity # 8211 ; things which they would neer hold imagined making before hatred was brought into the equation. The Ring was given its perversive qualities by its maestro and Godhead Sauron. Sauron enters the novel as the representation of pure immorality. Sauron neer really negotiations nor straight participates in any of the novels, but without him at that place would hold been no narrative. Sauron is most clearly Hitler # 8217 ; s analogue in the strategy of things. They both sought to utilize hatred to derive power over those around them. They both fell to the defect of hubris. Hitler thought that Germany could non lose, the Aryan race would govern the universe, and the idea of this non go oning neer crossed his head. Sauron, in the same vena, could neer understand the thought of his enemies non utilizing the Ring against him in order to get the better of him. In his great haughtiness, he assumed the enemy would see that the quickest manner to triumph would be by utilizing the Ring to convey an terminal to him. This is where the character of Gandolf sees the possibilities of the Ring. In a conversation with Frodo, Gandolf tells Frodo ( after Frodo asks him why he do es non merely utilize the ring to destruct the ground forcess of Mordor and kill Sauron ) , that if he had even touched the ring, he would hold been so greatly drawn by its power that he would non hold been able to command himself. He says that in the beginning it would be for the good of the people, but in the terminal he would be every bit evil as Sauron of all time was by the corruptness of ultimate power thereby giving Sauron triumph in his licking. This is the power of hatred. Even when originally used for the best purposes, it ever ends up aching the 1s who use it, despite of any good they originally intended. The character of Gandolf is the metaphor for Prime Minister Winston Churchill. Gandolf is the steering manus and the sage who sees through the challenges and hurtles of taking the hobb its through to the terminal and the devastation of the Ring. Throughout the books, Gandolf acts as a wise man and sage who gives moral support if non ever existent aid. Such was the function of Churchill. Through his understanding and apprehension of the universe around him, he kept the British people out of the traps of hubris and blind hatred which were used by the Germans in order to convey themselves to the standing of universe power. This is the same with Gandolf and his refusal to utilize the ring against Sauron and his forfeits in order to get the better of the greater immorality. Gandolf, the frequenter of the Shire and the sage of the Hobbits, would hold been nil without his people-the Hobbits. The Hobbits, an retiring peaceable common people, are the best metaphor in the novel for the British common man. The Hobbits get down the novel as a quiet agrarian people who are no less concerned about the departures on of the universe around them. They took their enjoyment by imbibing at the local saloon and eating as many repasts a twenty-four hours as they could afford. As the novel advancements and so as the war progresses, the Hobbits becomes more and more aware of the universe around them and matures as a race. So is true of the British people. Through a baptismal of fire, the British people pulled together through some of the darkest hours of modern history in order to be able to predominate in the terminal over hatred and favoritism. At the terminal of the novel, Saruman invades the Hobbits # 8217 ; state, The Shire. In this event, they go through their concluding approach of age, as did the British people in the panic bombardments of London and other towns and metropoliss. The character of Saruman is non every bit much representative of any one specific individual, but can more identified as treachery at the offer of power. His closest analogue in World War II is the Viche Regime. The Viche authorities was established in France as a Nazi puppet authorities and was led by former nationalists who, at the offer of greater power in the hereafter, betrayed their state and sided with the Nazis. The same is true with Saruman. Saruman was the leader of the Council of Wizards as the Chief of Order, in charge of keeping balance in the universe. He went over to the side of Sauron at the offer of greater powers through the Ring, but subsequently betrayed Sauron in order to capture the Ring and obtain the powers for himself. His original purposes, as were likely those of the signers of the resignation understanding between France and Germany, were good. He sought to capture the Ring and convey greater order to the universe, but he fell victim to his ain lecherousne ss for power and became what he had originally sought to destruct. This is true of the Viche authorities. It wanted to salvage the Gallic people from the Blitzkrieg of the Nazis, but in the terminal became little more than marionettes of Hitler and the Nazi government. Saruman was defeated in his fortress of Isengard by the overpowering power of the Ents. The Ents are a race of giant, thought, nomadic trees. The Ents, despite their huge power and wisdom, are of all time cautious about any actions they wish to take. When several of the Hobbits get lost in the forests of Fangorn, the place of the Ents, and when they run across Fangorn, the leader of the Ents, they tell him of the great immoralities of Saruman and the menace which he poses to Fangorn and to the remainder of Middle Earth. Fangorn tells them that he is good cognizant of the menace of Saruman and that a moot, a meeting, had already been called several hebdomads earlier and that he is on his manner to the moot and invited the Hobbits to come along. At the moot, even though all of the Ents agreed that something had to be done about Saruman, it took many hebdomads before any action was really taken. Once it was, it was fleet and effectual. In this, the Ents draw a perfect corollary to the Americans in World War II. FDR, who is Fangorn, knows the menace of Hitler, but does non instantly move upon it. He merely acts upon it after a long, drawn out procedure. Once America has decided to come in in to the war, it does so in expansive manner. The Ents, after get the better ofing Saruman, hold him confined in the cardinal tower of Isengard. When one of the Hobbits asks the Ents why they do non kill Saruman, they say that they can non convey themselves to kill anther populating thing, and subsequently let Saruman to get away because they could non bear keeping a living thing confined. While this is non precisely true of the Americans in WWII, it does reflect upon our na vet in the dealing of the universe around us during that clip period. The characters in any fresh service as the manner of transit for the significance of the novel, and this narrative is no exclusion. While the characters are non the lone metaphor the participants in WWII, they are the most apparent and easy described. Because the really nature of metaphor, any two elements can be drawn together to organize a metaphor. It is the occupation of the enlightened reader to construe both the writer # 8217 ; s significance of the metaphor and his ain personal significance of the metaphor. The really power of the metaphor is its ability to exceed specific epochs and civilizations. While stating something is ruddy may intend one thing to one individual and a wholly different thing to anther individual from another civilization, stating something is a rose gives it non merely deepness of significance but besides a more cosmopolitan apprehension. So is true for this series of novels. While history can be taught and read in a actual sense, it is better understoo d to an enlightened mind through the interlingual rendition of metaphor ; the actual lacks the indispensable character of deepness, which gives metaphor its really power of communicating.