I had a feeling that this would be an interesting chapter before I started reading it. It’s a topic that I find generally appealing and I was eager to read it.
The first thing that struck me was what Shippey said about how Gandalf’s warning of the ring was accepted, even by the critics that shot down Tolkien’s books at every turn. And how the reason was that events in the early twentieth century and literature of the same time changed people’s opinions of how power is rooted in evil. I couldn’t agree more with the accusation that absolute power corrupts absolutely, possibly because of what I’ve seen in world events lately, or what I’ve learned from history classes in school. And I agree with Shippey when he says that’s how the idea of the ring being a thing of great evil even in good hands is such a powerful concept to this day.
The section on images of evil has exactly what I need for my research paper. It deals with the Ring Wraiths and their origins. Shippey discusses their etymology, or lack-thereof.
Brian Nacov October 30, 2008, at 05:31 PM
