It isn’t a secret that we live in some pretty dark times, and in dark times such as these, it’s very easy to feel hopeless and depressed. A study by the CDC found that in 2021 more than 4 in 10 high school students felt persistently sad or hopeless. An even higher number is anticipated for this year.
In these confusing times, it’s very easy to laugh at the Lord of the Rings for being morally uncomplicated. After all, at the end of the day, the good guys win and the bad guys lose. There’s a clear line between good and evil, though the real world is so much more complex than that. Therefore, LOTR is simplistic and not relevant in our modern world filled with complexity and moral grayness, the logic goes.
But that philosophy is wrong. Lord of the Rings remains very pertinent, and the themes that the story represents are what we need today, perhaps, more than ever.
When we’re introduced to Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings, he’s Frodo’s gardener and friend, and most certainly not a great hero. He doesn’t even volunteer to go on the quest. Gandalf forces him to go with Frodo after eavesdropping on their conversation, but in the end, many argue that he’s the true hero of the story. Why?
Well, one moment really explains this point of view. When Sam is in Mordor, the realm of pure evil, he sees a star, and what follows is one of the best quotes from the entire series.
“There, peeping among the cloud-wrack above a dark tor high up in the mountains, Sam saw a white star twinkle for a while. The beauty of it smote his heart, as he looked up out of the forsaken land, and hope returned to him. For like a shaft, clear and cold, the thought pierced him that in the end, the Shadow was only a small and passing thing: there was light and high beauty forever beyond its reach.”
At this one crucial moment, when it would be so easy to give up, Sam chooses to persevere, and it’s his hope that allows him to carry on. It’s this hope that gives him the strength to carry Frodo up Mount Doom. It’s his hope that eventually destroys the ring.
Our world is dark, but it won’t always be that way. Eventually, this shadow will pass. Nothing is ever truly hopeless.