The Return of the King: An Individual’s Quest to Restore Honor
Marcus Ramsay
In The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, the director Peter Jackson uses certain characters and scenes to show the viewer how all the characters struggled through many different forms of hardship in order to restore honor and stability to their home of Middle Earth. Frodo, a young hobbit from the Shire, is given the seemingly impossible task of carrying the Ring of Power across Middle Earth, facing many evil enemies all while carrying the burden of the ring. Aragorn, the future King of Gondor, was living with only the memory of Arwen, his one true love and was most likely fighting in the hope he would one day see her again. Gandalf the White, the born-again wizard has lived a long and relatively happy life, but feels responsible to fight to the death for Middle Earth if he knows there is a chance of it being saved. All of these characters are fighting for a cause much bigger than themselves, however with perseverance and a lot of luck they were able to destroy the Ring of Power and bring an end to the evil reign of Sauron. The morals developed in The Return of the King can be correlated to an individual’s ideas of struggle and perseverance in real life. Jackson is attempting to show the viewer the when a situation effects one’s friends, family and lifestyle, it takes everyone’s effort to make a difference, no matter your size or importance in the world.
Frodo Baggins is a very literal way of Jackson showing viewers that no matter someone’s size, they still have the ability to make a huge impact on society. Frodo is just a young Hobbit who has never left his home of the Shire when Gandalf first gives him the task of carrying the ring. Hobbits are relatively small compared to the other beings of Middle Earth, and the fact that Gandalf would ask Frodo to carry such a burden seemed quite ridiculous. At one point Merry asks Gandalf if there is “any hope left for Frodo?” Gandalf simply replies, “There was never hope,” indicating he believes it was his own poorly judged instinct that has sent Frodo to his apparent death. The Return of the King also reflects that a death defying task such as Frodo’s can ruin an individual’s self-esteem and seemingly corrupt them to the inner core. After the ring is destroyed, Frodo spends 4 years feeling the guilt of knowing that he did not complete the task, and tells his Uncle Bilbo that he has “lost” the ring, not destroyed it like he was meant to. Near the end of the film, Frodo asks himself “How do you go on when in your heart, you know, there is no going back?” In his attempt to restore honor and certainty to Middle Earth, Frodo was corrupted by the temptation of the ring, and is forced to live with the guilt of knowing he has failed. He remained unhappy until he sailed away on the Elven ship, to the “white shores” that Gandalf promised would bring him eternal happiness.
Aragorn, the ranger from the North who eventually becomes the King of Gondor was forever haunted by the knowledge that his ancestor fell for the power of the ring when it had the opportunity to be destroyed. Perhaps this is why he was so driven to have the ring destroyed. Peter Jackson uses Aragorn and a role model of sorts who gives the other characters hope in times of darkness. During many of the battle scenes, Jackson uses dark lighting to symbolize the evil and corruption in the scene. Often enough, when Aragorn enters there will be light again, with victorious music playing and fast shots or fighting. Even as the King of Gondor, Aragorn tells the hobbits to “bow to no one.” He believes that no matter someone’s size, when one has done a great deed like the hobbits did, they are the ones who should be hailed as heroes. When it becomes apparent that Aragorn will be crowned king, a white flower blooms on the seemingly dead Tree of Gondor. Jackson uses the color white to symbolize hope, which Aragorn is bringing to the people of Gondor. Once Mordor is finally destroyed there is no longer a dark cloud hanging over Gondor, and with their new king and the absence of evil the honor is restored, and the people can be happy once again. Aragorn also shows his honor by fighting for the one he loves. He often dreams of Arwen the Elf Princess, the woman he loves. As the evil in Mordor grows stronger, Arwen grows weaker and comes closer to death. Aragorn knows to have the opportunity to see his love again he must do anything in his power to get Frodo and Sam to Mordor to destroy the ring. The decision to bring out all of Sauron’s armies may seem foolish to the viewer at the time, but Aragorn proves it is the right decision when Frodo and Sam make it to Mount Doom relatively unscathed.
Gandalf is another character used to show hope in the film. Everything about Gandalf shows hope and honor, from his magic tricks to his white robes to his age, showing he is wise and an all knowing savior of sorts. Gandalf often speaks of death as “white shores,” portraying to the viewer the idea that life after death can be better than the current life we are living. The scene in which Gandalf tells Merry about death proves to the viewer that he is a very honorable man, as he does not fear death but he fears the battle ahead. This shows he still has the courage to stand up and fight to defend the ones he loves, instead of running away from the fighting to the “white shores” he often speaks of. The color white that Gandalf wears is also a symbol of hope to the viewer. Gandalf can be a bright light in a dark room, guiding the viewer into the sun.
Although the concept of hobbits, wizards and magical rings may be seemingly far-fetched, The Return of the King shows the viewer that it is possible to restore honor when all hope is lost. Though the plan is not always certain, when individuals work together in unity anything is possible. Jackson uses certain characters to show that anyone has the ability to restore honor to their homes.
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