| Insights
into the meaning of
The Lord of the Rings
by
Roy
Posner
(for Growth Online)
Impressions of The Lord of the
Rings |
Values
in The Lord of
the Rings
The Physicality of Lord of the
Rings |
The Process of Creating Great Cinema: The
Lord of the Rings
Impressions of The Lord of the
Rings
-
In The
Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien we are presented with a fantasy about
a fellowship of individuals who are on a quest to overcome the rise of the
dark forces in the land of Mordor in the East led by the disembodied power of
Sauren. The method of this quest is to meet the enemy in battle and to place a
great ring of power in a volcano in the enemy's territory which will drain
them of all their power. Though great travail, courage, and mettle the mission
is accomplished in the end. Frodo and Sam bring the ring to the crack of Mt.
Doom and the power in the East is destroyed. In the battlefield the forces of
the good are about to be annihilated when this fortunate event take place,
which causes the forces of Mordor to abandon the battlefield. Aragon, a member
of the fellowship becomes king of men.
-
The
fellowship consists of four Shirelings (hobbits), a small but powerful dwarf
(Gimli), an archer elf from a mystic race (Legolas), men (as us, Aragorn and
Boromir), and a wizard (Gandalf).
-
Events begin
when Gandalf the wizard perceives the evil emerging in the East. When he
arrives in the Shire he comes to realize that the power to destroy the evil
has been found in this pastoral land amongst these simple Hobbit people in the
form of the ring of power; the One Ring that rules all other rings of power on
earth. Frodo has come to own this ring, formerly owned by his uncle Bilbo, who
himself found it when the former owner, the creature Gollum lost it.
-
Perhaps we
can say that Gandalf is the
pioneer who perceives the problems that are
emerging, and wishes to undertake a great initiative to combat it. He is not
unlike Churchill who meets with great resistance, and yet eventually
convinces. As pioneer Gandalf is especially great because he has organized the
undertaking in great detail. Like Churchill who made his case before
Parliament, Gandalf is wise to gather the tribes of peoples together to
discuss the issue, to convince them of the impending doom. From out of that
meeting come the members of the fellowship, with representatives of the major
races of Middle Earth, excluding Mordor and a few other allies. Gandalf has
organized the convincing stage of his effort, even before he has organized the
actual effort. Many pioneers are simply at the mercy of society's acceptance
in the first place; whereas he has organized the acceptance. He is
following
the most positive process of success at the level of the pioneer. He has inner
powers to help him in that regard. That is a valuable asset and resource for
Infinite success, which is what is almost required in this story.
-
It is a story
of good and evil, and anyone and everyone sees it that way. Still we can go
further for related or deeper truths. One is that the races of Middle Earth
were unorganized as a whole; as each one pulled in its own direction, or had
hostile feelings to others. We see that the Great Enemy forced them to come
together, to work together to overcome the Evil. Thus, the Evil was the great
force that enabled them to overcome thousands of years of disharmony, turning
it into the first degree of an essential unity. Evil was the cause, the
enabler of their progress and evolution. We can, of course, see this
paralleling the situation in current Europe, as a result of events of World
War II, where unity was forged as a result of the Evil of fascism. Such things
as the forming of the United Nations, the forming of a common European
currency, and the European Union, would not have come into being without the
negative events of World War II. (Negatives are positives in disguise; seen
most clearly as one rises to higher levels of consciousness.) Like the races
of Middle Earth, the nations of Europe were in disharmony prior to WWII. In
addition, the actions they took were often questionable ones, that brought out
their own greed and mercenary qualities that in the end only facilitated the
rise of Nazi Germany.
-
We see a
couple of clear cut examples of this treachery among the races on the Good
side of this great battle of Middle earth. King Theoden has been mesmerized by
his counsel Wormtongue who is doing the bidding of the evil Sarumen, who is
the agent of the Great Evil, the disembodied spirit of Sauren. Theoden is
powerless to act, to marshal his forces, in the face of danger because he is
under the dark spell of Sarumen through Wormtongue. Likewise, the Steward of
the kingship of Gondor (who reigns over another kingdom of men), acts out of
complete falsehood, causing his sons Boromir and
sFaramir to suffer
greatly, not to mention all of the people
in his kingdom. He also fails to act in the face of
treachery. His falsehood gets entangled in the treachery of Mordor causing so
much pain for those around him, whereas Theoden comes around as a result of the
wizardry, rationality, and leadership of Gandalf. The Steward is thus an example of the complete
anachronism.
-
A Great
Threat comes from the outside to the disorganization and (even petty) conflict
inside of the Good nations of Middle Earth.
-
We see that
virtually all individuals involved on the Good side must rise beyond their
current psychological nature to deal with the great
threat. A study can be made showing the transition of
character each had to make. The most obvious examples are the hobbits who
are simple agricultural people thrust into the great conflict. Frodo, Sam,
Merry, and Pippin must throw off their simple ways to meet the
threat. In
the end they succeed through a monumental physical and
psychological effort, including physical/vital
values of courage,
determination, and perseverance, and psychological values
of teamwork, harmony, friendship, All for One and One for All spirit, etc.
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Even
the evolved person of Gandalf
must undergo change. The obvious change he goes through is when he is
"reborn" as Gandalf the White to an even greater power. What I found
particularly enjoyable is how this great sage and mystic was able to adapt to
incidences that challenged his own individual limitations. A few times the
Hobbits Merry or Pippin did outrageously stupid things that had near term dire
repercussions for the safety of the fellowship and its mission. Yet each time
Gandalf came around quickly and saw that each of their foolish actions led to
unfoldings which helped out the cause. He thus moved from anger with their
stupidity to recognition of its purposefulness in the larger scheme of things.
[See thoughts on "Seeing
beyond the positive and negative'] This is the workings of a rational man. He bore no grudge; he saw the wider
truth in their stupidity, which led to events that actually benefited the
traveling community. (E.g. Merry and Pippin were moved to take actions to make
up for their stupidity, which were very helpful in the flow of events and
final outcome.)
-
Even
Galadriel the great seer of the Elves, and narrator of the story, does not
quite see the ultimate positive outcome of the story, which comes as a result
of the workings of the rise of consciousness of the individual members of the
fellowship. (Rise of consciousness and personal evolution transcends the
ability of even the greatest seer in that land to perceive the final outcome.
Life needs to run its course for the full truth to come out; an obvious yet a
profound idea.)
-
Many
life
responses* can be seen throughout the story.
We see perhaps 2-4 major ones
in each episode. At least two dozen minor ones can be found in each of the
three books/films if one studied them carefully. Some minor ones can be later
perceived as major ones upon repeated study. Seeing the global views of life
response in the story is yet another fascinating perspective. As we saw the
transitions that a group of individuals like Darcy, Mr. Bennet, and Eliza made
in response to the single great event of the elopement in
Pride and
Prejudice (which from their side enabled positive life response
when the elopement was suddenly settled), we can see such composite life
response around major events or perhaps the overall or ultimate events of
The Lord of the Rings.
*"Life Response"
is the way life suddenly, abundantly, and miraculously responds positively
on the outside to a corresponding change of your consciousness inside,
apparently defying notions of cause and effect, and space
and time. E.g. you change an attitude
and suddenly a moment later someone who you never
knew before contacts you from half way round the world
with news of a big contract, of monetary gain, or other success for you. We can learn to make such
responses from life occur all of the
time, enabling vast accomplishment, success, and happiness in life.
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One question
that rose in my mind is whether you can see as much life response, or
character of life in a fantasy like The Lord of the Rings as you
would in a story like Pride and Prejudice. It would seem that Austin
is closer to her characters in one sense than Tolkien because she lives in
that world. The closeness to the reality of life, and thus a true unfolding of
that life including life response is at least currently better suited to the
"real" type fiction of Austin, then the fantasy type fiction of Tolkien. On
the other hand, in the fantasy we have the opportunity to express the subtlety
of a Gandalf, of the inner forces and powers at work in life (though they are
in the story more mystical and magical than spiritual; not unlike Harry
Potter). This is the current reality. A step further in this evolution of
literature is that we can bring in the spiritual into the common stories of
man, as Bob attempted in The Legend of Brahman and I attempted somewhat in The
Journey. Celestine Prophecy and other works have taken this on; though the
great works that marry conscious elucidation of the spiritual truths married
to a story of fiction are yet to be produced. Even beyond these are the people
who actually live lives of spiritual truths which enable infinite
life response, giving a new slant on the term "reality is stranger than
fiction."
-
One life
response I particularly enjoyed
is in the second film, The Two Towers. The kingdom of
Rohan has fallen under the spell of Sarumen, the evil wizard who now serves
the dark lord Sauren. The king Theoden is under this spell of Sarumen though
the treachery of his council Wormtongue. Wormtongue also has eyes for the
courageous and beautiful daughter of Th�oden, Eowyn. When he approaches her
with his affection, Eowyn vehemently rejects his advances, noting his
treachery. A moment later she runs out of the castle which overlooks a great
plain with mountains in the distance, and sees the sudden arrival of three
members of the fellowship, including Gandalf, who have come to awaken king
Theoden out of his spell. Her fervent and strong rejection of Wormtongue
attracts this positive outcome, which in the moments that follow lead to the
reawakening of Theoden from his dark spell through the wizardry of Gandalf,
and his commitment of the forces of Rohan to the great struggle.
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There are
many such rapid abundant positive responses to be seen from this story;
fantasy fiction that it may be. The same with negative responses. Still I
believe the true richness of life depicted in literature will bring out life
response in is greater fullness. It can span the details of the true realities
of life, to a portrayal of the subtle and spiritual powers that are
consciously being utilized by the characters. Melded together it would be the
beginnings of a
Great Literature. If lived, then Great Life on Earth.
-
To return to
the earlier theme of the necessity of evil: We see this clearly in the
relationship between the treacherous creature Gollum who guides Frodo and Sam
to Mt. Doom where the ring is dropped which ends the power of evil in the
world. Gollum, a former Hobbit himself, since he initially came in possession
of the ring, has become monstrous, with two sides to his nature; one sweet,
and the other villainous as he covets the ring and all of its power for good
and evil for himself. Though it is known by Sam that his motives are mostly
dark, we see that even Sam's justifiable anger [no anger is
actually ever justifiable,
even Gandalf's miffs with Merry and Pippin] and hostility towards Gollum
cannot overcome the fact that Gollum was the one individual who could guide
Frodo and Sam to Mt. Doom. And he does so, enabling the successful outcome of
all events, though Gollum's own demise. Thus we see evil, or at least a kind
of split-personality treachery of Gollum's, at work
that enables the final outcome to take place. Gollum's treachery serves a
greater truth than his own evil. In fact, it moves events forward. Without
him there would be no great positive outcome. (Unless Frodo and Sam were
to become conscious individuals who can use inner resources to marshal other
positive forces towards them that would have more easily enabled their
success. These are speculations of the spirit.)
-
Gollum's
split-personality can be seen as an embodiment of good and evil
that represents the conflicting elements of good and evil in society.
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As the seer
Galadriel points out in the narration of the story, men cannot overcome the
allure of the power of the ring, as when Boromir's great forefather (men)
could have destroyed it an permanently, eliminating evil from returning to the
world, only to keep it for himself, which enabled the Great Darkness to come
back through Mordor. (Parallels to the greed that enabled the Great Depression
which supported the rise of the Nazis can be made. Other events in history
will serve this purpose.)
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The true hero
of the story can be said to be Sam, who provides
psychogical strength and protection for the
heavy load that Frodo carries around his neck (the ring.) His positive
attitude is unyielding, and helps Frodo complete his mission at Mt. Doom.
Enough cannot be said for the role of Sam; just as enough cannot be said for
the active and involved mysticism and truth awareness and leadership powers of
Gandalf (mirroring or even surpassing the character of a similar Merlin in
literature), and the bravery of Aragon, Gimli, and Legolas. Aragon the man
transcends his former physical bravery at the end as he
summons a power of great
faith to bring on board the banished but frightening invisible warrior race who
eventually help
in the destruction of the army of Mordor. [The faith comes through the great
sword of power reforged by the mystical-like elves,
which had been used hundreds of years earlier to fight
back a previous iteration of the dark force.] At that point,
through depiction of faith, Tolkien has brought
in a touch of spirituality into the story. This is but
a small example of the
possibility of the merging of spirit, fantasy/creativity, and character in a
future great literature an film.
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It is
interesting
that just as the Two Towers film was completed the two towers of 9/11 fell.
Thousands of people around the world have had some
premonitory experiences such as seeing sign of 9/11 before it came about.
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Jackson the
director has followed the process of accomplishment to a great extent,
through vision, values, direction, goals, organization of the details, and an
unyielding persevering effort; all of which gathers, focuses, the energy
behind into a great power for accomplishment. The results is great
achievement, art, as well as financial success.
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For 25 years
the baby boom generation wanted
Tolkien's story of the Ring brought to life in film.
This monumental effort is the realization
of their dream, a dream of creative idealism. It was written by a man of a previous
generation who knew the threats of world war; who married this
dire experience to the pastoral, poetic,
culture-expanding, freedom, fantasy themes and values appreciated by
the baby boomer and later
generations.
-
Much of
the fantasy literature and film of
recent decades owe
their origins to Tolkien.
-
A true
spiritual influenced literature, i.e. where people call in
the Divine spirit, the
spiritual Being, into the Becoming moments of events, can even replace,
reinforce, and ennoble such mystical/magical literature. There is a
spirit beyond the mystical or magical that can take the
younger generations beyond the magic/mysticism of the enormously successful
Harry Potter series (whose magic is
a kind of training wheels for spirit).
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There are
endless perspectives and insights that can be derived from
the epochal tale of The Lord of the Rings.
Here I have just touched on a few that have come to mind after
viewing the third and last installment.
-
I know I am
just touching on a few angles, and then so incompletely. I welcome anyone
else's insights and perceptions on the story.
Contact Us
Values
in The Lord of
the Rings
Values
abound throughout
The Lord of the Rings,
whether it be the personal values of the individual players, or the social
values of the communities and the greater collectives. To point out
some examples-
- The
value of
All for One
and One for All
can be seen amongst Aragorn, Gimli and Legolas.
- The
value of
teamwork
and common
purpose
can be seen in the Fellowship
- We
see the value of close
communication
and coordination
as the fires rise throughout the different lands to signal one another of the
impending great battle against Mordor
- We
see family values
in the Shire amongst the Hobbits
- We
see a kind of cosmic
punctuality
when Gandalf tells Aragorn to look for the light in the East in five days
hence exactly as the sun will rise. Gandalf arrives just at that time just as
he said with his army to save the day.
- We
see organizational values of
planning,
coordination,
etc. by Gandalf to organize the fellowship. (Planning
is a skill, which is different than a value. e.g. Aragorn had the skills of
tracking and hunting, Gandalf and Elrond of negotiation, Gimli of the ax, and
Legolas of the bow and arrow.)
- We
see respect for
the individual
(of other's opinions) when Gandalf is tolerant of nay-saying opinions of
Boromir and others at the forming of the fellowship in Rivendell
- We
see the value of
service
to others in society as people give of themselves to fight the evil.
- We
see endless examples of
physical
courage.
We see other examples of
vital courage,
as e.g. demonstrated by Sam. We see
mental courage
by Gandalf and Elrond, the leaders of the elves, who look out to the
deeper truths and
realities
of the situation, and embrace it. (These are also values of
strength
and toughness.)
-
Boromir fights the Uruk-hai trying to protect Merry and Pippin, showing great
courage and heroism.
We
see the
self-givingness and the
goodness of
Sam, which are spiritual values.
- We
see Aragorn's value of
reason
and diplomacy
in the face of arguing parties.
- We
see the value of seeking
meaning
in the world as Gandalf explains to Frodo Frodo's life's purpose, or when Sam
pleads to fight for goodness and everything decent in the world.
- We
see Gandalf's fierce pursuit of the value of
Truth;
i.e. the truth, the reality of the situation that must be understood and
confronted head on.
- We
see the persistence of Sam's
right
attitudes;
i.e. his
positive
attitudes
in the face of grave difficulty and danger.
- We see
the
persistence,
perseverance and
determination
of Frodo and Sam
- We see
the
cooperation
that develops amongst the races; e.g. the Elves with the peoples of Rohan.
(They have had a difficult relationship in the past. Thus we also see negative
values and attitudes as well throughout the story.)
- The
value of
sacrifice
is everywhere.
-
Even Gollum
trusts
(Frodo) on one side of his nature; while the other distrusts.
-
Gandalf makes
reasonable
decisions everywhere; even has the supra-reason
of intuition, revelation, et al, as he sees into the truth of things and
senses the future. This relates to his own value of
knowledge
and wisdom.
(Sarumen's wizard's pride and love of power overcame
his wisdom.)
-
Gandalf, Elrond, and King Theoden demonstrate leadership skills, and
value it.
-
Merry and Pippin share the values of
fun
and enjoyment
no matter how frivolous and simple-minded.
-
Bilbo sought
adventure;
i.e. "Romance of
life," a
great value at some points in his life. (The other hobbits are ordinarily the
opposite; they seek the
security
of the Shire, which produces one of the dynamics of the story as they confront
the reality of Mordor which requires them to
journey
out of the Shire.)
- The
value of
friendship
is seen in many places; as in the relationship between Merry and Pippin, and
Frodo and Sam, and between Aragorn and Legolas.
-
True love
is embodied to a large degree in the relationship between Arwen and Aragorn; as it is for Eowyn.
Arwen demonstrates virtue.
-
Loyalty
is expressed in many places. E.g. it can be seen in Gimli
and Legolas, and ultimately in Samwise for Frodo. Even Faramir is loyal to his father the Steward
who sends him on a ruinous mission.
-
Resourcefulness
is in many places as they make the best of difficult situations; e.g. in
battle, within the constraint of unfolding events, etc.
-
Merry and Pippin learn to
take
responsibility
for their foolish actions.
-
Gandalf is
calm and
quiet
in the face of difficulty. (This is more of an attitude than a value. Attitudes
issue more from the feelings and emotions of the vital tinged with a little
mind, whereas values is a mental ideal and sentiment shaped by the emotions.)
-
Positive values toward
nature and
the environment
come from Tolkien, expressed by Tom Bombadill (in the book), and is embodied and
symbolized by the tree Ents.
-
Gandalf, Galadriel, and the leader of the elves (Elrond) embrace the value of
having the
Global view
of things.
- The
elves value
serenity
and deep
contemplation.
- Men
value power,
as in the power of the ring. As Galadriel points out, it has been their
downfall. (Obviously,
Sarumen and others on the dark side also value the same. They also value
force.)
-
Frodo feels
gratitude
toward Sam for his support; which is a spiritual attitude and value.
- Sam
values the
gallantry
and nobility
of Faramir when Faramir saw the truth of the situation.
-
Eowyn shows
strength
against the treachery of Wormtongue.
- The
Hobbits value
pleasure;
i.e. the simple physical pleasures.
- The
values of
tradition
are seen in varying places and cultures.
-
Tolkien values
the quest
and the beauty
of surroundings, architecture, nature. He
also values the beauty and fullness of language.
- Sam
likes to
nurture
(as he does with Frodo), just as he likes to nurture plants and trees as a
gardener.
-
Aragorn values what is
right
and just
and acts (action)
on it.
-
Elves value
solitude;
hence where they live is hidden from sight.
-
Samwise has a certain degree of faith,
which is another spiritual value.
Get more
information on personal values,
business values, and
society's values.
In watching
the third film of The Lord of the Rings, it struck me that this is a story
about the evil that rises in the East, which is attracted by the UTTER
PHYSICALITY* of the "good" nations of the
West. What enables the victory of the West is their ability to come together
and overcome their own physicality -- accomplished through an alliance of
these disparate nations; where before each nation pulled in its own
direction, or was simply oblivious to the concerns of the world (e.g. the
Hobbits). This is analogous to WWII. Everything in the story issues from
that fact, and even Gandalf's wisdom is the wisdom that calls for physical
courage, strength, heroism, practical organization, collaboration, etc. --
fundamental ways to overcome the physical challenge induced by his own
peoples' physical view of the world. Any deeper knowledge expressed in the
story is shallow. The action is all at the material plane, something we in
the modern West easily identify with; which is one reason for the popularity
of this story. I.e. we relate to the expression of positive Western material
values, avoiding the deeper meaning of things.
Compare that
to the
Bhagavad-Gita where Krishna, against the backdrop of similar battle, addresses
the issues of causality, soul, etc. At play are more than the physical
values offered by Gandalf to the people to overcome the physical threat
self-induced through its own physicality. At play is the very meaning and
purpose of life, especially for the individual.
The wisdom Krishna's brings to Arjuna is a distillation of the ancient
Rishi experience of the spirit. Now man needs to find that. In the West,
the physical age, or the era of the physicality of man is coming to an
end. It can be seen in the emergence of the European Union. The USA
needs to take the next step, perhaps an even greater step. A movement to
rationality, collaboration, etc. may be a necessary interim step.
------------
*On "Physicality" -- Man's lowest consciousness is
expressed in his physical consciousness, aka his "physicality." That
physicality expresses not only as brutality, but as unconsciousness,
inertia, unwillingness to change, anachronistic tendencies,
inflexibility, lack of tolerance and openness, a material only view of
the world, expression of ego, ritualistic religion, etc. Nature breaks
the physicality of nations when those peoples experience natural
disaster, when the nation is attacked by another, and in other ways.
Nature, as an instrument of a Higher Consciousness (the Spirit), enables
that people to progress to a higher consciousness through such negative
means. The same occurs for individuals, through the difficulties of
life. A higher approach to progress is through conscious self-awareness,
through rationality and spirit. the progress of man through Soul instead
of the difficult path of Nature is the future that awaits man. (See
thoughts on the Way of Nature's Course)
The Process of Creating Great Cinema: The
Lord of the Rings
We see the
qualities needed for great success in life by viewing director Jackson's
personal qualities in bringing Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings to the
screen. First, there is a great interest in bringing this work to
the public. This is his vision. Second, he has specific goals in
mind for carrying out that vision (e.g. make three films in one go
round, raise $500 million, earn $3 billion in revenues, etc.) Third, we
see that his interest includes deep values as demonstrated by his
dedication to the deepest meaning and spirit of the books. This is the
key hidden secret to his success! Fourth, there is his organization
of the quantitative goals and qualitative goals (i.e. his values) into
the myriad of objectives necessary for their achievement. E.g.
the required departments, the project plans, the right marketing,
finance, people, etc. This turns the directed energy into a vast
power for accomplishment. Fourth, there are the right strategies and
time-bound action to dos that will enable the objectives to be carried
out in a myriad of details. Fifth, there is an enormous, tireless, and
persevering effort born of his great physical and vital energy
(established in part by his very positive attitudes) to carry out the
action to dos to perfection. Finally, and perhaps most
interestingly, there is a great creativity and dynamism unleashed
in the process, revealing the infinite variations, potentials, and
possibilities of life. Together these ingredients are the recipe that
enables an overwhelming success, and engenders a great Delight of Being.
(One other thing: He has captured, got hold of, something deep that is
emerging in the subconscious of society. He is a pioneer individual
uncovering an aspect of an emerging higher consciousness in the world.)
For more on the process of accomplishment for the
individual, click here.
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