Quote:
A few people have equated Isenguard with Russia. Don't you people know their history, Russia was on the side of the allies and was instrumental in defeating Germany. If there were one to one parallels with WWII (which I don't think there are), Isenguard would be an ally of Germany, Italy or Japan.
|
I hope you don't think I was equating Isengard with Russia. My point was that LotR is
not an allegory and therefore Isengard does
not equate to Russia. But the rationale behind the equation is not mere ignorance of history; Isengard was originally a member of the 'allies' before being corrupted. While it's certainly true that Hitler did not corrupt Stalin into an alliance with him, Russia's early non-agression pact with Germany as well as the appearance of Cold War tensions at the end of the war could lead one (not I) to make the analogy. One might further say that Saruman's later corruption of the Shire, with talk of redistribution and bosses, was the influence of Soviet communism on England.
But please don't take this as an endorsement of an allegorical interpretation! I meant quite the opposite.