A Trip to Middle Earth

Confession time, I am NOT very knowledgeable about the Lord of the Rings. I like the movies. I liked the books, but I only read them once and honestly, it took me about three months and I probably won't make the commitment again. I don't speak Elvish, have no idea how the whole heritage of Aarogon works, or how he can be the king that returns so mightily. Put me in a room with ten random people, I may know more about Middle Earth lore than nine of them. Put me in a room with LotR fans, I will be sent away with a Hobbit-sized imprint on tushy (Hobbits have big feet they tell me...). I do, however, believe that J.R.R Tolkien was an absolute genius. He really did craft a tale that is one of the best ever written and created two absolutely compelling villains, Sauron (the big fiery eye) and the seemingly innocent, and I should add, inanimate ring. These two wildly ambitious and compelling pictures of evil strike a chord that few villains can match and do an amazing job of explaining a hard to explain world view.

If someone can email my high school English teacher that thesis, I would really appreciate it.

First the eye, that was once a man who created a bunch of rings. When old J.R.R. first told his friends that his main villain was never going to utter a line, combat with any hero or even directly impact the area around him, I imagine that his friends responded with the kind of enthusiasm that I reserve Creed music (read: none). That just isn't the way that villains work! They give away their plans and cackle. They utter cheesy lines that are repeated by college students for years. They do...something. Tolkien's villain looks at things. And looks some more. Even with all of the effort put into keeping the ring from him, we are never given any real insight into what exactly would happen if he got his ring back. Would he gain a body again? Would his big eye get bigger? We simply do not know. So what is exactly so special about Sauron? It's that he is a corrupter. He is a liar. He is an intimidator. Without a word, or awesome armor, he can control thousands and scare a thousand more. I have to admit, it's kind of cool. Saruman looks into his seeing ball (wow, I am so bad at Tolkien terminology) and sees Sauron, in all of his power and this wise and powerful wizard changes sides. Pippin looks into the same ball and the poor Hobbit can't speak for awhile. These kings come under his spell and who knows how many years later, after Sauron's evil has consumed their bodies and souls, they are still following his bidding. All of his followers are best remembered for who they were before coming into contact with him. The orcs were once elves, the ringwraiths were the kings of old, Saruman was the wisest wizard. Look at what happened to the kings of Gondor and Rohan! One goes insane by looking in the crystal ball, the other seemingly becomes possessed by Saruman working with Sauron! Sauron corrupts whatever he touches. Such is his way. He is not just evil though, he is patient. He comes back into the scene only after he is forgotten. When he is no longer part of the world dialogue, when legends of his first defeat are no longer told, he emerges. It is so important to remember though, he waited until he was invisible. Basically I like Sauron (as a character) because he is give me the willies evil.

The ring is an equally hard to fathom villain, but it is a villain nonetheless. The ring's purpose is not unlike Sauron, it corrupts those who encounter it (see the haunting Gollum), what is unique to the ring though, is that it holds the power to make those who encounter it believe that they can control it. Isildor doesn't destroy it when he has the opportunity to do so, Boromir dreams of using it to save his people, Frodo proves to me not as incorruptible as he first appears, Gollum finally is destroyed trying to maintain control over it. It finds the evil that lurks in the heart of all those who hold it (or even come near it). It seeks out vanity, greed, shame, fear and it uses those emotions. It destroys trust and intimacy. It consumes good intentions. It Sauron in disguise. Ultimately it sounds like a fruit I have read about and a promise that one bite would make you like God. Adam and Eve's apple, hanging from the neck of a Hobbit, tempting all to take it. Daring them, prodding them, assuring them that they can really handle them. Ring of power indeed.

The portrayal of evil in the Lord of the Rings is a huge and slippery thing to detect and to explain. Is external? There is Sauron, he is lying and intimidating. He wields a giant army, one that brings fear to all who lay eyes on it. He is the risk to the world after all. But couldn't it be internal? Aarogorn can't touch the ring, because he is only human. He is knows that his imperfection is breeding ground for that ring and its power. Boromir struggles with insecurity and anger before he sees any ring. The elves bemoan the greed of man, they do not trust the more internal evil in man's heart. Tolkien refuses to place his hand in either the internal or external camp. Middle Earth does indeed have an ultimate evil, but others can't use that as cop out for thier own faults. Conversely, evil is more than a character flaw, it is an external threat and it wants to consume the whole world. I am stuck, as a Christian, this is what I was always taught (of course I was also taught the LotR was evil because it had wizards, but that is neither hear nor there). I was always told that evil was out there and in my own heart. I don't hear that much these days. I hear that evil is out to get us, in the forms of other people usually. Or, I am told that I am greedy and bad, but fix-able. If I focus, or try real hard, maybe I can be okay. Tolkien buys into neither. He saw evil in his world and his own heart and that emerges in his book. I say "bravo". I think we need to remember this.

After all, I read this book once about people who forgot about evil. I think it might of had a ring in it...