Rafael Muniz
Professor Siewers
FOUN 098-52
12 December 2021
One Force to Rule Them All, One Regime to Bind Them
In a desolate, burning landscape, seemingly under eclipse to speak of its darkness, a totalitarian regime that spans all across the land of Middle Earth is upheld from one strong, all seeing, seemingly unbeatable force known as Sauron. “In the land of Mordor, where the shadows lie”, one force to rule them all, two men to end him. One Ring to save them all, and through the darkness mend them (Tolkien 50). Throughout the pages of J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings saga, Sauron’s overarching totalitarian control over Mordor, and even Middle Earth as a whole, lives on through said control, and even after the demise of said rule because of his manipulation throughout the inhabitants of Middle Earth by tearing away their own feeling of oikophilia whilst upholding his own version of a “permanent lie.” As Roger Scruton describes in his philosophical How To Think Seriously About The Planet: The Case For An Environmental Conservatism, this concept of oikophilia regards one’s “love and feeling of home” (Scruton 3). Combine the manipulation of the opposite of such a concept, at the population of Middle Earth’s expense, with the “permanent lie” concept Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn describes in The Gulag Archipelago as acceptance of such rule as “the only safe form of existence”, in this case for the most part as a result of people “giving in to fear” because of the power Sauron holds, and the result is the establishment of Sauron’s true totalitarian iron grip on Middle Earth and its people (Solzhenitsyn 325). The abuse of such tactics against people is not only something found on the pages written by one of the greatest storytellers of all time, but it can also be found on the pages of most history books, no matter the time period, as well as future books about the “history” we currently interpret as the present, if the iron grip of these totalitarian regimes is not loosened by a fellowship of our own.
As the Council of Elrond takes place in Rivendell, the group tries to decide what the fate of the One Ring should be, and whether or not it is something that they should keep to themselves to use as an advantage against Sauron and any other enemy they may face. Because of the overwhelming temptations of the One Ring, as well as the void of power and control that Sauron’s demise would bring, this decision is not as simple as to use the One Ring against him. Regarding the twisted wizard Saruman, Elrond wisely states that “If any of the Wise should with this Ring overthrow the Lord of Mordor, using his own arts, he would then set himself on Sauron’s throne, and yet another Dark Lord would appear (Tolkien 267). Here, the Council realizes that the One Ring must not be used against the evil they face, as the use of his own evil would simply turn the user into what they are already trying to defeat. In this way, the totalitarian control of Sauron would simply have been replaced because of the void of power left in his absence. In this example, Tolkien depicts the Council as split on this decision, writing the likes of Frodo, Gandalf, and Elrond as eager to destroy the power so that it will not fall into the wrong hands once more restarting the cycle, while also including temptations of those who either consciously or subconsciously would like to fill this supposed void of power after the demise of Sauron themselves.
After Bilbo Baggins suggests that the Council must decide on who will bear the ring to bring about its destruction, as using its power was no longer in the question. Although with lighthearted moments provided by Bilbo, Frodo, and eventually Sam, the majority of the Council of Elrond was written in a darker tone because of the gravity of how important of a decision must be made. At the time of such a decision, “all the Council sat with downcast eyes, as if in deep thought” as this was greater than any of them alone as well as all of them combined. This was a matter of the oppressed vs the oppressor. A matter of ending the regime burdening them all. A matter that J.R.R. Tolkien had experienced firsthand. In the Battle of the Somme, known as one of the most gory battles of the First World War, Tolkien spent “four months in the trenches”, losing “two of his closest friends” along the way (Officer’s Service Record: J.R.R. Tolkien). As a result, J.R.R. Tolkien had to keep a serious tone throughout the Council of Elrond not only because it was important for the fight of good against evil in his Lord of the Rings saga, but it was also important for the fight of good against evil that he had experienced in his own life, a fight that has cost him.
As the Council of Elrond ponders their decision for who will have to take on such a dangerous journey, Frodo steps in to take the first step of many towards bringing an end to Sauron’s reign. Because Sauron manipulated the population of Middle Earth’s feeling of oikophilia to his benefit, the only thing that could contest such a manipulation is if somehow, some way, someone’s oikophilia was stronger than that of Sauron’s masterful manipulation under his regime. Frodo Baggins’ and Samwise Gamgee’s love for the Shire, as well as life as a whole, stands as such a threat against such manipulation. While yes, both of them were tempted to be manipulated by the One Ring (Frodo more than Sam), they never fell victim to Sauron’s further manipulation because of their love of home. Frodo steps up to the Council and announces that he “will take the Ring” on such a perilous journey (Tolkien 270). Shortly thereafter, Sam jumps out from hiding to ask Elrond if he surely “won’t send him off alone” (Tolkien 271), joining his good friend Frodo on the continuation of this journey. These two are some of the only few that would be willing enough to go on this journey, and end up being the only two that end up going on to Mordor, because of the permanent lie that Sauron and his power have established to make himself seem not only all powerful but also undefeatable. Because of such a manipulation of this permanent lie, it would seem that nobody would ever even imagine going up against such an enemy with any hope to survive. Tolkien needed to write someone with hope, or even more so a will to act on said hope, and Frodo and Sam were the two perfect characters to stand up against unbeatable odds. No matter the darkness that lies ahead, the toxicity of Mordor, Frodo and Sam were certain on their journey, as Frodo had stated much earlier on that “as long as the Shire lies behind, safe and comfortable, I shall find wandering more bearable” (Tolkien 62). The concept of comfort like this is something that even Tolkien himself struggled with throughout his life and may have even shown itself in his writing. In Tolkien’s letter to Rayner Unwin, dated October 24th, 1952, he describes how he needs to move as his once charming home “has become uninhabitable – unsleepable-in, unworkable-in, rocked, racked with noise, and drenched with fumes” which he even later on in the message references such a situation in modern life as “Mordor in our midst” (Tolkien 135). One could say Tolkien’s own feeling of oikophilia had been slowly manipulated at his own home to eventually give him a sense of “hate of place”, with the description of his home bearing striking similarities to what Frodo and Sam would eventually face in Mordor.
On their journey to Mordor, Frodo and Sam come across a disheveled, beheaded statue of a former king, vandalized by the foul creatures of Mordor, but with one glisten of hope. Because of the conflict between Frodo and Sam’s oikophilia and Sauron’s desperate attempt against such feelings, the two hobbits had begun to lose hope before said glisten of hope reminded them of what they were fighting for, and why Sauron’s totalitarian regime must be brought to an end as soon as possible. Once Frodo notices that the detached head of the statue on the ground has gold and silver flowers growing out around it to form a new crown, he cries out that “The king has got a crown again!” and that “they cannot conquer for ever!” (Tolkien 702). Here, Frodo’s seemingly lost hope returns with a burning realization. In this example, Frodo fully regains his willingness to do what must be done to bring about an end to the suffering of all of Middle Earth. In this way, Sauron’s efforts to keep the population of Middle Earth down with his manipulations fail once more thanks to the strength of these two hobbits.
Shortly after this revelation though, Sauron’s efforts show true once more. Because they have not yet brought the regime to an end, its power is still strongly working against them until they manage to do so. After Frodo’s refreshing revelation, “the Sun dipped and vanished, and as if at the shuttering of a lamp, black night fell” (Tolkien 702). Here, Tolkien demonstrates how Sauron’s grip over Middle Earth can persist even through times of hope. In this example, Tolkien changes the scenery to accomplish this goal, bringing about darkness because what Frodo and Sam were excited about was life in the light. In this way, the dipping of the sun not only acts as a reminder to Frodo and Sam of the intense challenge that they are burdened with, but also why overcoming the burden is an absolute necessity for the sake of everyone else within Middle Earth.
On Frodo and Sam’s journey through the Land of Shadow, they face many obstacles as a result of Sauron’s severe manipulation of his territory, many obstacles that they must overcome for the greater good of Middle Earth. Because Sauron heavily manipulated Mordor from the evil land it already was into something much worse, Frodo and Sam struggle against the landscape as his manipulation becomes more and more of a worthy opponent against their overwhelming oikophilia. Tolkien’s way of describing Mordor can be interpreted in quite a few different ways, although they all function together quite well as a whole. First, Tolkien depicts that “Mordor was a dying land, but it was not yet dead”, as “here things still grew, harsh, twisted, bitter, struggling for life” (Tolkien 921). Here, Tolkien greatly emphasizes the severity of how life, or even the lack thereof, persists in Mordor. In this example, Tolkien depicts how life keeps on going, even through excessive struggle as a result of Sauron’s manipulations. In this way, although this life refers to plants, it still strongly relates to the suffering that real people do face under “harsh, twisted” totalitarian regimes, as they “struggl[e] for life” (Tolkien 921). Which is all the more reason for such a regime to be brought to an end, as it is not only affecting these mere plants, but every living being as well.
Directly prior to Tolkien’s description of the land, Frodo and Sam stop for some water they could find because the land had taken such a toll on them. Because of Tolkien’s own experiences, he wrote Frodo’s and Sam’s journey throughout the perilously manipulated Mordor in a very specific way. Although Tolkien himself stated in a letter to Professor L. W. Forster dated December 30th, 1960, that he does “not think that either war (and of course not the atomic bomb) had any influence upon either the plot or the manner of [The Lord of the Rings’] unfolding” he does go on to say that influence might in fact be there, “perhaps in landscape”, and that some aspects of the saga “owe something to Northern France after the Battle of the Somme” (Tolkien 226). As a result, it could be said that the way life struggles to push forward in the desolate landscape of Mordor could in fact be related to the terrors of the barren wasteland that is known as a war-torn landscape. A simple way to go forward from here would be to simply agree with what he said and just move on to more fruitful topics, though as a matter of fact there may yet still be much more fruit to uncover here. Though Tolkien did not intentionally relate many topics to his firsthand experience in the First World War and his observance of the Second World War, he may have actually subconsciously made certain writing choices because of his own experiences. As most people who have seen the pure danger of true life or death scenarios of war and came back to tell the tale have stated, war certainly does change a person. Even Tolkien himself stated in a letter to his son, Michael Tolkien, dated June 9th, 1941, that “one war is enough for any man”, meaning Tolkien was most certainly affected by his time in service (Tolkien 45). At their break for water, Sam offers to drink the disgusting waters of Mordor before Frodo because “if it’s poisonous, or something that will show its badness quick, well, better me than you, master”, so that Sam would be able to save Frodo from a death by the water by succumbing to the poisons of Sauron himself (Tolkien 921). Through this, it could be interpreted that Tolkien actually wrote this scene the way he did so that Sam could have the chance to save his good friend, a chance that he himself did not have when he lost two of his closest friends in the Battle of the Somme.
After destroying the One Ring and bringing about an end to Sauron and his totalitarian rule, Frodo and Sam finally get to return to the home that kept their oikophilia so strong and instead find it changed. Because of the void of power after Sauron’s demise, many are now trying to either fill its place of benefit off of the chaos that ensues in the meantime. While asking around to find out what had happened, they hear that “since Sharkey came it’s been plain ruination” (Tolkien 1013) Here, it is revealed that this Sharkey character has filled the void of power to control those already influenced by Sauron’s permanent lie. It is then revealed that Sharkey is actually Saruman trying to prioritize off of said void of power. As stated in The Lord of the Rings: A Reader’s Companion, Saruman was earlier actually “terrified and desperate” and that “the full horror of service to Mordor is perceived by him”, revealing that even Saruman fell victim to the absolute manipulations of Sauron’s permanent lie and could only benefit from his own power once Sauron was brought to an end (Hammond and Scull 251). Sauron’s rule certainly did have many negative effects because of his abuse of the permanent lie and the feelings of oikophilia, but even after his demise his rule still has ripple effects that will likely last in Middle Earth for many years to come.
As all of these tales go, the problems that endure within them simply fade away once the reader closes the book and takes a deep breath in and out. However, once the reader comes back to reality, they are faced with the same problems disguised under a different mask. Totalitarianism as a whole, the manipulation of the oppressed’s feeling of oikophilia to the benefit of the oppressors, and so many more darker deeds all exist in our society of today, our society of yesterday, and our society of tomorrow, all under a system of interlocking permanent lies. Sure, Mordor itself may not exist and Sauron as a literal, physical all seeing eye may not either, but the concepts of such stretch far out from the pages of J.R.R. Tolkien’s masterful work. Whoever wears the mask of the totalitarian controller, whoever fills that void of power, whether these methods are enforced by the likes of the North Korean and Cuban governments of today, the Soviet Union and Nazi Empire of yesterday, or whatever horrors may follow tomorrow, these systems have always been the same, always with the suffering of the oppressed, and it seems like it will always continue to be so. The key word near the end of that statement, however, is “seems.” If we find a way to stand up against the oppressors, unite for the common good of all, saving the people of today and tomorrow in remembrance of those lost yesterday, these systems will not always continue to be the same. As said before, we can find evidence of such terrors in our current history books, and today’s horrors will surely be in the history books of tomorrow, but it is actually up to us to decide what the present will be like tomorrow. We must not only find ourselves on the right side of history, but we must write history to be on the right side of all
mankind.
Works Cited
Hammond, Wayne G, and Christina Scull. The Lord of the Rings : A Reader’s Companion.
Houghton Mifflin, 2005.
Scruton, Roger. How to Think Seriously About the Planet : The Case for an Environmental
Conservatism. Oxford University Press, 2012.
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Letters of J.r.r. Tolkien : A Selection. Edited by Humphrey Carpenter and
Christopher Tolkien, First Houghton Mifflin paperback ed., Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
Tolkien, J. R. R. The Lord of the Rings 50th Anniversary One-Volume Edition. Houghton Mifflin,
2004.
“Tolkien’s Service Record.” The National Archives, 30 June 1915,