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In the film “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)” there are many different beliefs, symbols and ritual that has different meaning to different characters. There are many rituals that takes places in this film that can be categories into van Gennep's rite of passage theory. Van’s theory groups religious rituals into tree different group stage called “separation, liminality, and incorporation” (Nye 2008). Furthermore. The separation stage can be when the person that’s undergoing the ritual separates from his usual life, for example, when Frodo was given the duty of moving the ring from Shire (his home town) to Rivendell (home of Elrond). This falls under the separation category because he is leaving his own town for the first
time and even though he is not literally alone he is doing something different than what he normally do. This stage ending is based on how the movie was perceived, however, the separation staged is believed to have end when got to Rivendell with the ring. Hence, the starting of the liminality stage, because now Frodo is different from who he was but he is not the person he will become. This stage is curtail to the ritual become this is the stage where the person decide on who he/she will become, in case of the film, this is when Frodo decides he will take responsibility of safe-keeping the ring until they destroy it at Mordor. This stage ends during the councils meeting when Frodo offered to take the ring to Mordor himself, to have it destroyed. Hence, the incorporation stage begins when Frodo becomes a member of the Fellowship of The Ring and set out on his journey to destroy the ring. Furthermore, Frodo has become a ‘new’ person, in the sense that, he is no longer the Frodo here was back at the Shire nor the Frodo he was at Rivendell. In conclusion, these three stages help others to understand the meaning being a ritual, but where this stages start and ends is determined by the person interpreting the ritual and that interpretation maybe be different from what the ritual actually is.
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
The Speedy Messenger was a tall tale about a young man that experienced extensive character development by gaining the ability to transform in many different animals, but also was held captive by the Sea King for three years. This tall tale expressed the anthropomorphic idea of rites of passage and initiation of transforming from a naïve young man to an experienced, fully grown man. Semyon was a well written character that had complete character development both mentally and physically in his journey.
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
Have you ever wondered what the “rite of passage” means or how would one consider if they had gone through a rite of passage? It could be something big that could change someone’s entire foundation, such as getting married or if that person enters to the next world leaving behind everything from the world that the individual knows of, afterlife. The novella, “The Body” written by Gordie Lachance, elaborates on this one event during his childhood, with his childhood friends, as a rite of passage between himself and his friends. This event is surrounded by the corpse of Ray Brower, a young boy around the same age of Gordie, Teddy, Vern, and Chris. It was an easygoing, playful journey where they believed that at the end of this
anit 1 of the textbook explores various rites of passage, which are ceremonies or events that mark an important stage in a person’s life. Rites of passage are important stages in someone's life. These include marriage birth, puberty, having a first party, leaving home, and death.
The rite of passage that is most significant to me is “The Setting Sun And The Rolling World’’. The rite of passage for this story is about when you are going to live on your own and make your own choices. I am going to state three reasons why this story is significant to me.
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, by J.R.R. Tolkien, is the first book in the fantasy-based trilogy of the Lord of the Rings. The book begins with Bilbo Baggins celebrating his one hundred and eleventh birthday. After his party, he then decides to leave everything behind and join a Fellowship, which has a task of destroying the ruling ring, which will give supreme power to whoever has possession of it.
French Anthropologist Arnold van Gennep created the phrase ‘Rite of Passage’ to explain ceremonies such as births, baptisms, marriage, death and funerals after observing social groups. “Detailed descriptions and monographs concerning magico-religious acts have accumulated in sufficient number in the last few years that it is now possible to attempt a classification of these acts, or rites, that would be consistent with the progress of science. Several types of rites are already well known, and it seemed to me that a large number of other rites could also be classed in a special category……These rites may be found in many ceremonies. Until the present time however, neither their close relationship nor its cause has been perceived, and the reason for the resemblances among them has not been understood.”(13) “Conversation has been such amongst people in this day and age that the meanings, strengths and eventual implications of rites has diminished in our modern culture. Even back in 1958, Eliade was quoted as saying in his book, It has often been said that one of the characteristics...
The book begins with Bilbo Baggins celebrating his one hundred and eleventh birthday. Many "Hobbits" show up at his party including his third cousin, Frodo, which is the main character of the novel and a powerful wizard named Gandalf. Biblo possed a powerful ring known as the "Ruling Ring" which gives "Supreme Power" to whoever has possession of it. At the end of the party, Bilbo uses his magical ring to turn invisible and stun his guests. Gandalf, the powerful wizard, then meets up with Biblo at his house and takes the ring from Bilbo, which is corrupting him. Gandalf examines it, realizing that the ring Bilbo has is the powerful "Ruling Ring". Knowing that the forces of evil are in search of the ring, Gandalf sends Frodo, a relative of Biblo, to destroy the ring in the only place it can be destroyed, "Mt. Doom". Overhearing the talk between Gandalf and Frodo, Sam, a "Hobbit", that is good friends with Frodo is forced on the quest to aid Frodo.
...experiences. The Old Forest emphasises the hobbits’ incredulity; the fords of the Anduin River represent the tough decisions Frodo must make concerning the future of the Fellowship. Mordor’s desolate plains reflect the evil of Sauron, and the physical and mental hardship of the Ring-bearer. Mount Doom itself signifies the emotional ascent that Frodo and Sam must make to destroy the Ring.
Everyone except Frodo and Sam arrives at the kingdom of Gondor, and though the people of Gondor are amazed and frightened at first by the huge army of walking trees that accompany them, everyone smiles and accepts them when Gandalf and Aragorn reveal themselves. The brothers Denethor and Boromir, however, see that Aragorn brings knowledge from the North which will give their kingship over to Faramir, the true King, and so they secretly conspire against him. And so later on, when the forces of Mordor arrive to attack Gondor, they successfully plot to have Aragorn positioned so he must face the Witch-King in single combat. The battle is too much for Aragorn, and just as he is about to die he is saved by Eowyn, a woman of Rohan who loves him, and Merry, who slays the Witch-king in single combat by using ancient hobbit-magic and so reveals himself to be the lost Thain of the Shire. Even as the forces of Mordor retreat, they are swept into the Sea by great ships brought by Faramir, the true Prince of Dol Amroth, from the hidden city of Osgiliath further up the Great River.
This separation is understood as caused by sin. As Friedrich Nietzsche in his book, The Antichrist, puts it, “an imaginary psychology (nothing but misunderstandings of self, interpretations of pleasant or unpleasant general feelings; for instance of the states of the nervus sympathicus, with the help of the sign language of a religio-moral idiosyncrasy, repentance, pangs of conscience, the temptation of the devil, the presence of God)” (Nietzsche 13). It offers a remedy for a self-diagnosis, sin. The Hajj allows the individual to meditate, where the believer examines his conscience. Prayer has this therapeutic effect, often compared to the placebo effect, where the individual is improved psychologically through a neutral stimuli. In the article by Heather A. Warfield, Stanley B. Baker, and Sejal B. Parikh Foxx called “The therapeutic value of pilgrimage: a grounded theory study,” it states that, “... participants were captured by the following initial codes: making meaning; making a decision; connecting with others; feeling welcomed; connecting with history; becoming aware; marking time; figuring out priorities; reflecting; being comforted; contrasting; gaining knowledge; gaining perspective or witnessing serendipitous events” (Warfield et al. 866). Religion uses rituals to allow individuals to unite themselves with a higher being and tap into the subconscious. This god
The performance of rituals is an integral part of all religions. Rituals are stylized and usually repetitive acts that take place at a set time and location. They almost always involve the use of symbolic objects, words, and actions. For example, going to church on Sunday is a common religious ritual for Christians around the...
Turner (1969) provides his own explanation of ritual and introduces the theory of ‘liminality’ and ‘communitas’. Turner explains how an individual must first be separated from society, and from the social order and structure, to fully accept the ritual and allow for deeper bonding between the participants. Next is the stage of ‘liminality’. This is the transitional period during any ritual, for example a rite of passage, in which the individual lacks any social ranking or status and remains completely unidentifiable from the group. The participants are often referred to as the “threshold people” in this stage as the experience is likened to death or being in the womb. This stage is often described as breaking an individual down to their base uniformity in order to remake them in the next stage. It is due to this that ‘communitas’ among the group is expected. ‘Communitas’ refers to the intense lifelong comradeship among the participants that remains due to this stressful experience, as referred to by Rossano (2012). At this point in the ritual, it is not actually preserving or reiterating social order. If the ritual were to end here it would actually be taking the participants from the structure of society and releasing them into “anti-structure”. However, the final stage of ritual is their reaggregation into society and therefore into social order. Once a ritual is done the participants come away with a strong bond together, which has already been described as a preservation of social order. Moreover the participants keep their sense of uniformity experienced during ‘liminality’, which reiterates social order as it means the members of the society have shared beliefs. This idea of inverting society in order to reiterate it is also touched upon by Gluckman (1952). His theory, however, is based on the idea of “rituals of rebellion”, in which social order is flipped. In
Rites form and essential part of social life. Rites invoke ancestors and the dead. The whole person, body, and soul are totally involved in worship. There are many rites of purification of individuals and communities. Religious sacredness is preserved in ritual, in dress and the arrangements of the places of worship. The sick are healed in rites, which involve their families and the community. Some of the traditional blessings are rich and very meaningful. In worship and sacrifice there is co-responsibility each person contributes his share in a spirit of participation. Symbols bridge the spheres of the sacred and secular and so make possible a balanced and unified view of reality.