What does it mean to be moral? ‘Lord Of The Rings’ case study
For a while I was hesitant to write about Lord Of The Rings for various reasons. For starters, what else can be said about the film series? Countless scholars, critics and bloggers have given their take on varying subjects within the movies.
Also, there are so many things you could say about them. The film’s score alone gives way for huge analysis (and praise), let alone start talking about theme, cinematography, etc.
However, Lord Of The Rings has been my favorite film series for a long time. These are the movies I can rewatch over and over; I rarely watch a film more than twice unless a lot of time passed already. And I never really knew specifically what made the movies so endearing and compelling to me, which is what I’m finally breaking down in this essay.
For more film recommendations check out our list of the best movies to watch during the quarantine.
Lord Of The Rings doesn’t need to try to subvert the audience’s expectations. We know we are gonna watch a huge battle and the ultimate victory or defeat of our heroes. We just don’t know how the events will unfold.
How Was the Moral Battle Won?
There is a very important moment in the first film when Gandalf realizes that The One Ring is at his grasp, he quickly tells Frodo to keep it, instead of guarding it himself. Towards the latter part of the film, Frodo is the chosen one to carry the ring on the mission to destroy it.
Why is it that they chose one of the weakest, most vulnerable members of the fellowship to carry the ring? There is a powerful wizard, a swift and killer elf, a sturdy and deadly dwarf, and two perfectly capable swordsmen.
The first reason is a little obvious. Frodo can do no harm in possession of the ring. If he were to steal it for himself, not much harm would be done unto others.
However there is a bigger and underlying reason, which has to do with size.
Not only the practical advantages of being able to sneak through the walls and armies all the way through Mordor, but the fact that Frodo is so small, Sauron won’t even pay attention because he is automatically undermining that threat.
So what does this mean? While it of course has the embodied lesson of “size matters not but the content of one’s heart”, it has more to do with the little things in life.
Internal Vs External Conflict
In the last film, Frodo has two conflicts. He must beat the obstacles to get the ring into Mount Doom and resist the temptation of the ring. He fails at both. Gollum successfully defeats him and takes away the ring, and Frodo gives in to temptation in the end. Despite being a simple hobbit, way less susceptible to the evils of the ring, he fails.
It would seem then that our heroes defeated Sauron out of sheer luck or accident. But let us not forget that Gollum is alive because Frodo saved him out of pity and mercy (such as Bilbo before him).
Gandalf said it better than I ever could in the following conversation:
“Frodo: ‘It’s a pity Bilbo didn’t kill Gollum when he had the chance.’
Gandalf: ‘Pity? It’s a pity that stayed Bilbo’s hand. Many that live deserve death. Some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them, Frodo? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends. My heart tells me that Gollum has some part to play in it, for good or evil, before this is over. The pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many.’
Tolkien rejected the idea of the Paragon. It’s the idea that a person can be morally perfect. However, he did believe that evil would always destroy and consume itself in the end. Little acts of mercy, camaraderie, love and friendship were the true vessel that would keep evil at bay.
Military and Moral Victory
Of course Tolkien valued the will to fight, and the courage to sacrifice oneself in the service of others or a cause. He did not believe however that the ultimate goal was to achieve glory through deeds of violence and death in battle, which is why we never see our heroes rejoicing and being acclaimed after the battles in the films.
He showcases this ideal through the character of Eowyn. She says what frightens her the most is to live in a cage, while others live all sorts of adventures and achieve victory. While her uncle Theoden is so afraid of death that he became shameful, she is so afraid of the shame that she seeks death. She wants to be in battle.
However, as we said, for Tolkien the moral victory is all the more important, and both Eowyn and Theoden realize this. Theoden when he decides to go to the aid of Gondor, even if it may bring him death and not an ounce of glory, but he does so because he knows its the right thing to do.
Eowyn learns this and after defeating the Witch King of Angmar, instead of pursuing glory, decides to be at peace and find transcendence and happiness marrying Faramir.
What Are We Willing to Lose?
For what values are we willing to suffer defeat?
Tolkien believes there is a little good in the worst of us, and a little bad in the best of us, but not that there’s a little good in evil and a little evil in good; he believes in human moral complexity but not in logical moral complexity.
Boromir failed in a physical sense, to return to Gondor, to protect the hobbits, and dies, but he won the spiritual battle, even if he failed, he made the ultimate sacrifice and chose to fight evil.
He lost his life in the pursuit of moral victory.
How LOTR Became a Timeless Classic
Why does this story work? Normally pure evil villains are boring, we chastised Marvel a lot for these type of antagonists. But this story is a commentary of the nature of good and evil themselves, and how they battle inside the hearts of our characters.
The most important moral acts that we can take is doing moral things when nobody is watching. Bilbo and Frodo sparing Gollum’s life, (even if that particular act will not be remembered), was fundamental for the defeating of Sauron.
Human nature is wounded, we are all inclined to evil. By resisting evil we are resisting the power of our nature.
The story of Lord Of The Rings seemed to be about a courageous hero with impecable morals who finally resists the evil of the ring. But it didn’t happen that way.
That is because Tolkien believed that the struggle to achieve goodness even if we fail, is in itself, moral. That in itself is a small victory that will help us win the later battles, because neither success or defeat are final. We keep living and even if we die, the story lives on on countless other human beings.
In the end, the stories are not about the clash of mighty armies and heroes in the battlefield, the last epic battle is literally a distraction for the real battle in mount doom (in Frodo’s heart).
Gandalf “All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us”.
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