ipl-logo

Fate And Free Will In The Lord Of The Rings

791 Words4 Pages

Truth of Fate and Free Will

First of all, what is Fate and Free Will? Well, Fate is the development of events beyond a person's control, regarded as determined by a supernatural power. And Free Will is the power of acting without the constraint of necessity or fate; the ability to act at one's own discretion. Throughout the books of The Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, several characters have been spotted using one or both of these. One is Aragorn and he mainly uses Fate, a great character for Free Will is definitely Gandalf, and Frodo is a great example of both types. Aragorn had many signs that were pointed towards his destiny of Fate in The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, and The Return of the King. The title of the third book basically tells you which route Aragorn is going to take. Some of the first signs that were shown was in The Fellowship of the Ring when Frodo got the letter from Gandalf saying “look for the man they call strider” also “All that is gold does not glitter, Not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, Deep roots are not reached by the frost. From the ashes a fire shall be woken, Alight from the shadows shall spring; Renewed shall be blade that was broken: The crownless again shall be …show more content…

But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” Note Gandalf’s use of the word “decide” in this seminal passage. There are times and circumstances thrust upon us beyond our control. Forces exist that try to exert or impose their will for good or ill. It is our lot to join the dark tide, or resist. But while these forces can influence, they cannot wholly divest control from beings of free will. Bilbo and Frodo choose to let Gollum live, acts of Mercy that are beyond the striving wills of even the greatest powers. “For even, the very wise cannot see all ends,” Gandalf says.” (Henry David

Show More
Related
2164 Words | 9 Pages

This passage comes from the novel The Hobbit written by J.R.R Tolkien, which is made into a movie by the director Peter Jackson. Peter Jackson made many alterations to the movie in hope of making the story more appealing but he was not regarding the intentions of the author. This story

Read More
678 Words | 3 Pages

I took it fair and square! It was my share of the treasure!”. Bilbo took a big risk, but from this, it showed his stubbornness whether or not it causes a

Read More
763 Words | 4 Pages

Controlled by Temptation “Do not tempt me! I dare not take it, not even to keep it safe, unused.” (95) This statement sets the tone for the remainder of the book, The Fellowship of The Ring by J. R. R. Tolkien. In this story the keeper of the ring has a great responsibility to keep it safe, while also dealing with the consequences of its custody.

Read More
1174 Words | 5 Pages

‘But,’ said Bilbo. ‘No time for it,’ said the wizard. ‘But,’ said Bilbo again. ‘No time for that either! Off you go!’”

Read More
538 Words | 3 Pages

I longed to disappear.’ ‘Don’t do that!’ said Gandelf, sitting down. ‘Do be careful of that ring, Frodo! It is partly about that that I have come to say a last word.

Read More
644 Words | 3 Pages

Destiny over Free will Free will is a term unheard of nowhere days because of how much the media portrays that we have to do what other people say such as politicians. Some people are destined to think that everything we say and do has already been written out in a script somewhere in heaven and that God already knows what we are going to do before we even do it. People do not possess free will but are governed by fate because in Dante's Inferno the people who were brought down to hell were brought down because they were destined to go down the wrong path and that's why they are in hell and there are special places for people whose fate was a little too heinous and they were forced to go in the middle of heaven and hell and sometimes other people are also destined to lead us to our fate such as Virgil in Dante's inferno. People do not possess free will but are governed by fate because we think we have a choice to change our decisions but what if

Read More
338 Words | 2 Pages

In Lord of the Rings, J.R.R. Tolkien uses the villain and the quest archetypes to show how we as humans always need to have hope even when times are hard and it seems like there is nothing left fighting for. In the beginning of Lord of the Rings, Frodo and the fellowship of the Ring set off on a journey to Mordor to destroy the ring of power, Mordor is a very very hard place to get into because it is full of evil and it is where the villains are, but Frodo and Sam kept hope because they had each other and they thought they could complete the quest they have to go on. But as the story went on, the ring started to change Frodo and take control of him, just like it did to many other people who posses it, during their quest, one of Frodo's’

Read More
783 Words | 4 Pages

Fate is often described as the will or principle by which things in general are believed to come to be . The question of fate has been pondered over for ages , with the epic poem, Beowulf, raising questions on the concept of fate versus free will. The epic raises the question in the form of the complex,yet dynamic character Grendel. Although it seems at certain points that Grendel acts on free will ,he is in fact led entirely by fate. The idea of fate leading Grendel’s life is made entirely from the fact that he was born a monster and an unfortunate descendant of Cain.

Read More
1088 Words | 5 Pages

In Act I, the three witches visit Macbeth and Banquo on the heath. The witches make three predictions; past, present, future. Macbeth is Thane Of Glamis, he will be the Thane of Cawdor, and then he will become King, and Banquo's sons will become king but not Banquo. Later in the same scene, Ross and Angus meet Macbeth. They tell Macbeth that he is now the Thane of Cawdor by Duncan's command.

Read More
1426 Words | 6 Pages

Religion is a large part of modern life. It influences our belief system and values, as well as shapes who we are as human beings. However, most individuals decide upon and follow a belief system on a voluntary basis. Imagine not only being forced to follow a belief system, but having this system dominate your every action. This is the case for classic epic heroes, such as Oedipus, Odysseus, and Aeneas.

Read More
2025 Words | 9 Pages

Tolkien's The Fellowship of the Ring is a novel in which the dichotomy of good and evil seems simple. Yet with closer reading we realise that evil within Tolkien’s story is necessary for the good to grow and prevail. The good cannot become the best version of itself without first facing the evil, accepting it, and conquering it. To call the Lord of the Rings an escape from the tensions of social conditions or our own nature is a gross oversimplification that reveals a true lack of understanding about Tolkien's work.

Read More
313 Words | 2 Pages

Beware the thane of Fife… Be bloody, bold and resolute; laugh to scorn

Read More
723 Words | 3 Pages

Fate Versus Free Will In Macbeth Fate versus free will is a theme well known throughout literature and in life as well. Is life controlled by fate, or are people’s lives dependent on the choices they make? In Macbeth, Shakespeare emphasizes the idea of fate vs. freewill, indicating that both elements play a role in the lives of individuals, as well as society as a whole. The main character, Macbeth’s, life is a combination of fate and his conscious decisions. The witches in Macbeth can control the fates of many, but only to a point.

Read More
542 Words | 3 Pages

The Scientific Method Contrary to popular belief, we don’t necessarily need to be scientists to make use of the Scientific Method. We utilize this method throughout everyday life. The Scientific Method is the principles and procedures for the systematic pursuit of knowledge involving the recognition and formulation of a problem, the collection of data through observation and experiment, and the formulation of testing a hypothesis [Merriam-Webster]. There are five key components to the Scientific Method: making an observation, forming a question, forming a hypothesis, organizing an experiment, and drawing a conclusion.

Read More
870 Words | 4 Pages

The world today consists of children roaming the streets, technology taking over the world, and being able to work wherever you 'd like, but, could you imagine a life without all these things? Believe it or not there was a time in life where these things were very uncommon to see. This would be known as the Victorian era. This time period was between 1837 and 1901. Daily life was very different from now.

Read More

More about Fate And Free Will In The Lord Of The Rings

Related Topics

Open Document