Pity inspiring - The Barrow-Downs Discussion Forum

theWhiteLady · 07-27-2002, 07:44 PM

Greetings, Evisse the Blue! This thread immediatly caught my eye and I love the thoughts you bring out.

One of Tolkien's skills as a writer and a creator was being able to make his stories, characters, ect. believable. I think one of the essentiel factors he used in shaping his 'villians' was causing the reader to pity them. As stated above, it makes them human, so to speak, and helps us connect with them. The perfect example of this is Gollum. At first a revolting and disgusting creature we learn to pity his torment. We are able to see the war in his mind, and we learn that there is good combating the stronger evil. The same is with Wormtongue, he was enslaved by his greed and treachery; in the same way Saruman was enslaved by his pride and lust for power; we see such people daily. Their wills are not their own, their decisions are influenced by a power that was allowed to take over. We pity the man who can no longer be his own master and realize we could easily become that man.

Greetings, Bethberry! I am glad to be able to find your wisdom, even if it may not be at the White City. It is delightful to see you again [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] *bows* On the subject: I believe there to be many central themes or issues in the Lord of the Rings, but I agree that pity is definitly one of them. I look forward to reading your next post!

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07-27-2002, 07:44 PM	#7
theWhiteLady Wight Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: Tennessee Posts: 116	Greetings, Evisse the Blue! This thread immediatly caught my eye and I love the thoughts you bring out. One of Tolkien's skills as a writer and a creator was being able to make his stories, characters, ect. believable. I think one of the essentiel factors he used in shaping his 'villians' was causing the reader to pity them. As stated above, it makes them human, so to speak, and helps us connect with them. The perfect example of this is Gollum. At first a revolting and disgusting creature we learn to pity his torment. We are able to see the war in his mind, and we learn that there is good combating the stronger evil. The same is with Wormtongue, he was enslaved by his greed and treachery; in the same way Saruman was enslaved by his pride and lust for power; we see such people daily. Their wills are not their own, their decisions are influenced by a power that was allowed to take over. We pity the man who can no longer be his own master and realize we could easily become that man. Greetings, Bethberry! I am glad to be able to find your wisdom, even if it may not be at the White City. It is delightful to see you again [img]smilies/smile.gif[/img] bows On the subject: I believe there to be many central themes or issues in the Lord of the Rings, but I agree that pity is definitly one of them. I look forward to reading your next post!