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The significance of journeys in literature
The significance of journeys in literature
The significance of journeys in literature
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In the book, The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien, the author chooses to include some aspects of the epic hero and epic journey archetype and not others. This is used to develop the protagonist, Frodo, and the journey as a whole. Frodo does not fit the usual characteristics of an epic hero. However, his journey and the people who travel with him on his journey are typical epic journey archetypes.
Frodo fits some epic hero archetypes and not others. Frodo is not born to greatness and he does not have any extraordinary powers. That is why Frodo is such a great candidate to carry the ring. He will be least susceptible to let the ring overtake him and make him evil. However Frodo does fit the epic hero archetype of having a flaw. At
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The event that sparks the journey is when Gandalf explains the power of the ring and tells Frodo to take the ring far from the Shire. Along the way Frodo acquires companions to help him on his quest. Frodo and his companions, Sam, Merry, Pippen, Gandalf, Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli, make up the fellowship of the ring. The group is created when the Council of Elrond decides to destroy the ring, “‘Thus we return once more to the destroying of the ring,’ said Erestor” (Tolkien 302). The fellowship must venture into the evil lands of Mordor to destroy the ring and save Middle-Earth from the evil of Sauron. On their journey the fellowship is helped by Lady Galadriel, an elf who rules Lothlórien. She allows them to stay in her kingdom before they set out onto their journey again. A low point in the quest takes place at Weathertop. Frodo, Sam, Pippen, Merry, and Aragorn find themselves stuck as they are ambushed by Black Riders. During the battle Frodo is stabbed by one of the Black Riders. This is not a normal stab stab however, “he felt a pain like a dart of poisoned ice pierce his left shoulder” (Tolkien 221). The wound is not like a normal wound and could have killed Frodo, possibly ending the journey. Since The Fellowship of the Ring is only the first book in the trilogy of The Lord of the Rings, the protagonist, Frodo, does not have a triumphant return or gain something more important than the
Instead of thinking about himself, Frodo thinks of the people around him in the Shire. Like Luke where he leaves despite his fears, Frodo leaves and not only faces his fears of the unknown but goes in order for the people of the Shire to stay safe despite the fact that he may die showing his selflessness. While on the Death Star, Luke shows his selflessness when goes to save Leia when hearing of her presence on the Death Star. He insists when he talks to Han in the control room that “The droid belongs to her. She's the one in the message.. We've got to help her” (Lucas New 56). Risking his life to save someone he barely knows, Luke shows his selflessness as he wants to save Leia. Both J.R.R. Tolkien and George Lucas have their heroes commit these acts in order to show that they are selfless because through this it is shown that they care about others. Frodo and Luke demonstrate selflessness when Frodo takes up the ring at Rivendell and when Luke joins the Rebel Alliance. When taking up the responsibility to take up the ring at Rivendell at the Council of Elrond, Frodo shows his selflessness as he is cognizant that no one else is willing to take the ring and speaks up as“No one
For example, Bilbo fits the role of the hero, because he sacrificed and helped all the characters along the journey. Stated in the amazing book, The Hobbit, the author wrote, “It was at this point that Bilbo stopped. Going on from there was the bravest thing he ever did. The tremendous thing that happened afterwards were are nothing compared to it. He fought the real battle in the tunnel alone, before he ever saw the vast danger that lay in wait” (Tolkien, J.R.R., The Hobbit, page #233). Bilbo had basically sacrificed himself, so all of the other characters and himself could get through the journey safely. Their hero, Bilbo became braver each and every day while he tried to help and support them. Written in the fantastic book, The Hobbit, the author has written, “‘I have no idea at the moment-if you mean about removing the treasure. That obviously depends entirely on Smaug. Getting rid of dragons is not all in my line, but I will do my best to think about it. Personally I have no hopes at all, and wish I was safe back at home’” (Tolkien, J.R.R., The Hobbit, page
An epic hero is character who is brave and noble, and that person is someone who carries good leadership traits and goes through an epic journey. Usually an epic hero is from an epic, and an example is Odysseus. Odysseus goes through a journey to return back to Ithaca, his homeland. In the modern era, there are epic heroes all around us. They can be in books, movies, or plays. One great example of a modern epic hero is Woody from Toy Story 3. He is confident, courageous,selfless, and humane. Woody is a toy cowboy and his owner, Andy is going off to college. Woody and his buddies get misplaced and get donated to a child day care center. There, they have to try to escape and return home, after realizing how bad the place
Along their journey, they have memorable experiences and learn about the One Ring’s imperceptible powers. Furthermore, Frodo and his fellowship discover the powers of the One Ring growing along with the armies of Sauron with respect to time. Ultimately, Frodo and his eight companions must do what it takes to destroy the One Ring and
Through his burden of carrying the ring, Frodo is subject to many new perspectives that make him realize the importance of the group. Without the help of the others, especially Sam, Frodo would have not been able to accomplish the great task he was given. At first Frodo does not want Sam to come along as he feels it’s too dangerous to subject his friend to. This illustrates his perspective in the beginning of the story of being selfish and thinking that his journey can be taken alone, “It would be the death of you to come with me, Sam," said Frodo, "and I could not have borne that.""Not as certain as being left behind," said Sam."But I am going to Mordor.""I know that well enough, Mr. Frodo. Of course you are. And I'm coming with you.” He later learns through new perspectives that without the help of Sam he would not have gotten far in his journey. Frodo is foreign to the harsh reality he is thrust into. Not only is he away from home, he is also burdened with the task of keeping the ring safe. This burden becomes quite a strain on Frodo, “There is no real going back. Though I may come to the Shire, it will not seem the same; for I shall not be the same. I am wounded with knife, sting, and tooth, and a long burden. Where shall I find rest?” J.R.R Tolkien The Lord of the Rings. With the help of Sam and the realization that he is doing this for more than himself,
Archetypes bring order to everyday life- without them there would be chaos. Human use them to predict what may happen, and to empathize with people all around the world. Homer’s the Odyssey has several of these archetypes. The Odyssey is an epic poem, said to have been written down in the time of Ancient Greece. Archetypes are characters, actions, or situations that are generally a prototype of human life. Today, readers can gain insight through the archetypes in the Odyssey. Three main archetypes are: the hero, the monster or villain, and the crossroads.
When Frodo’s journey is about to unfold, the ring that was given to Frodo by his uncle/cousin Bilbo turns out to be the One ring that holds the essence of the dark lord Sauron. Because of Gollum, the previous owner of the ring, Sauron becomes aware of the rings locations and sends out the Black Riders to collect his precious.are sent out to claim the ring (Tolkien). This conflict is foreshadowed on page 13 and 14 of the prologue. “ He returned to his home at Bag End on June the 22nd of the fifty-second year (S.R. 1342), and nothing very notable occurred in the Shire until Mr.Baggins began the preparations for the celebration of his hundred-and-eleventh birthday (S.R. 1401). At this point this history begins.” Tolkien is very subtle with most of his writing, besides imagery and personification, examples like foreshadowing and metaphors are very hard to pick up on. This event sets the story in motion, and gives the readers a glimpse of what challenges Frodo is to face in the future. Another very important conflict arises between Boromir, Captain of Gondor and Frodo Baggins. In chapter 10 of the second book when the Fellowship is at Amon Hen, Boromir follows Frodo into the woods,and insists that Frodo let him have the ring but Frodo says no. Boromir attacks Frodo for the ring due to the influence of the ring pulling him in, but Frodo slips on the ring becoming
For a character to be an epic hero, he must possess four characteristics. These four characteristics include the following: (1) he must be high born, (2) the hero must have human weaknesses, (3) he must be brave,and 4) he must be clever. In The Odyssey, Homer’s character Odysseus was an epic hero because he possessed all four of the characteristics.
...; and if by life or death I can save you, I will,” (194). Aragorn, also known as Strider, accompanied the hobbits from the Prancing Pony Inn all the way to the Council of Elrond. Gandalf was also a guiding path for Frodo keeping him updated on the evils of the Ring. I CAN’T FIND A QUOTE. But even with all his guidance Frodo still feels temptation from this Ring of power. “A sudden unreasoning fear of discovery laid hold of Frodo, and he thought of his Ring. He hardly dared to breathe, and yet the desire to get it out of his pocket became so strong that he began slowly to move his hand. He felt that he had only to slip it on, and then he would be safe,” (83). Frodo Baggins with knowledge and guidance was able to make good choices throughout his journey to Mordor in the Fellowship of the Ring because of his knowledge of the Ring and the guidance that surrounded him.
In every epic story, the center of attention will be on the epic hero. Usually all the epic heroes have some kind of special power, which keep them different from other characters. Later on, their epic journey these powers, help them to win the glory, which make them epic heroes. In Beowulf, Beowulf is truly an epic hero, because of his wisdom, strength and bravery.
Frodo Baggins, the main character in the movie faces many compelling circumstances in his quest and is challenged to sacrifice much of himself. The first challenge Frodo has to face when Gandalf as...
An epic hero is admired for their monumental achievements. In all ways of there lives they live to be an epic hero . Each possess the same characteristics which allow them to be considered an epic hero. Both Characters possess a otherworldly amount of courage, bravery and an overwhelming drive to defeat the supernatural beings in their life, in Achilles case it was his avenging his brother's death and for Beowulf it was protecting the villagers of Heorot from the evil Grendel.
Dorothy, the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and the Cowardly Lion leaves the Emerald City and head back through the forest. The wicked witch of the west commands her army of flying monkeys to bring Dorothy and Toto to her. She warns them to be careful with the handling of the ruby slippers; these slippers in her possession would give her ultimate power. The army of monkeys, flies through the sky, grab Dorothy and fly away with her. They also grab Toto, leaving the Tin Man, Scarecrow, and Cowardly Lion behind. Dorothy is not afraid of the witch, but begs her for Toto. The witched bargains with Dorothy for the ruby slippers. Dorothy remembers being told by Glenda not to remove the slippers from her feet. However, she relents and offers the ruby slippers
The two Hobbits set off on a journey in which they meet up with others that join them on their journey such as Gimli the "Dwarf", Legolas the "Elven" archer, Boromir a "Human" tracker, Aragorn the heir to the "Human" throne, two more "Hobbits" Merry, Pippin and the powerful "Wizard" Gandalf. They travel across "Middle Earth" fighting off many "Orcs" and "Black Riders" which are in search of the ring by the orders of the powerful evil "Wizard" Sauron. During their quest, they encounter many ambushes by the "Orcs" which they overcome and usually slay. In some of the ambushes, Frodo uses his ring to become invisible to escape from the "Orcs" and "Black Riders".
Heroes are present in many of the films produced today and these heroes generally follow both Campbell’s “Hero’s journey” and “Heroic Archetypes”. Some of Campbell’s tenets for a hero are that he must be called to a quest, he will face trials and tribulations, face temptation, complete a task, and eventually return home. The hero must also fit an archetype and its quest, fear, dragon, task, and virtue. Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey is in fact one of the aforementioned heroes. Bilbo Baggins has always wanted an adventure and one day he is called on a quest to win back the Dwarfish kingdom of Erebor from the dragon, Smaug. Bilbo had not realized at the time of his departure that he was a hero and at first he even refused to go on the quest. Bilbo fits many of the tenets of the departure, initiation, and return of Campbell’s “Hero’s Journey” along with one of his archetypes. Joseph Campbell defines a hero as “someone who has given his life to something bigger than himself” and this is what Bilbo Baggins has done by accepting his quest to aid the Dwarves on their journey to the Lonely Mountain.