The one section that intrigued me the most in the third chapter was the one on Wraiths and shadows. The underlying question asked whether Ringwraiths were alive or dead creatures. When I looked over this inquiry, I immediately thought of a relation to Vampires, due to the fact that both creatures are among the living and the dead. However, Ringwraiths appear to be more mysterious and happen to be composed of smoke, almost as if they are merely invisible, but otherworldly as well. I also began to wonder about the connection between Tolkien’s emblem of fear in comparison to J.K. Rowling’s emblem. It’s interesting how J.K. Rowling came up with Dementors in her Harry Potter series, where they have the same quality of Ringwraiths: that of instilling fear into any who come near them, as well as working psychologically. However, Rowling’s embodiment of fear is much different than that of Tolkien’s. While Ringwraiths are composed of mist, given solid shape by their armor, and need aid to fly, the Dementors have a skeletal frame, are given a more fluid shape by the cloaks that embody them, and they have the ability to fly on their own accord.
Another aspect of evil that I found fascinating in this chapter involved the section on “Two Views of Evil”. I was interested to see Shippey discuss Orcs as having challenges that involved morality. Shippey mentioned one particular Orc, Gorbag, and how this Orc was “convinced that it is wrong, and contemptible to abandon your companions.” It appears that the humanity from once being an elf had not completely faded away. Needless to say, this one particular Orc at least, still recognized that sense of companionship and sympathy, even towards his enemies. The way Tolkien describes the forces of Orcs throughout most of The Lord of the Rings allows the audience to feel that the Orcs are pure evil and that there isn’t any form of good among them. However, the audience becomes so wrapped up in the despair that Frodo and Sam have to go through after the attack of Shelob that the reader doesn’t notice the subtle inflections and emotions held behind this terrible Orc’s words.
One final part of the context that caught my interest pertained to Shippey mentioning Gandalf being “sent back”. While I am still uncertain as to what Gandalf had been sent back to, Shippey discusses the form in which Gandalf had been sent back, which had something to do with the Valar and Eru. If we had not had the lecture in class about the first two ages of Middle Earth, then I probably would have skipped over most of that paragraph because I wouldn’t have understood any of it. However, the paragraph actually kept me interested because I managed to understand the context. When I had read that part of the story about Gandalf having been “sent back” I had imagined him as reforming on his own and using his own energies; not having been aided by higher powers. So the entire storyline of the trilogy does seem to take on another meaning at certain points in the book, mainly because there isn’t only Sauron or Gandalf to worry about, but there are other powers, even greater than them, still in existence and yet not becoming a part of the immense war.
