A Symbolic Study of Forests in Jrr Tolkien's Lord of the Rings

CHINU JAMES

Fairy lands and mythical creatures are the two things that exist only in literature. Lord of the Rings is a fantasy tale written in trilogy by J. R. R. Tolkien. The British writer has created a whole new world of Middle earth. Elves, Wizards, Hobbits, dwarves, talking trees are all part of this mystical land. From his early childhood onwards he was a keen observer of nature.

Like many epics Lord of the Rings is the story of a quest. Tolkien presents us with the story of Frodo Baggins. In Frodo’s journey Tolkien’s magical landscapes not only present us with a strong background where almost all the actions take place but also forms various symbols that has deep connections with the inner self of the hero as well as the writer. Frodo Baggins is a Hobbit. A hobbit is never heard of in literature until Tolkien introduces them in his work The Hobbit.

“Hobbits are an unobtrusive but very ancient people, more numerous formerly than they are today; for they love peace and quiet and good tilled earth; a well- ordered and well-farmed countryside was their favorite haunt. They do not and did not understand machines more complicated than a forge- bellowers, a water- mill, or a hand-loom though they were skilful with tools.”(FOTR 1).

Tolkien describes Hobbits as a peaceful people living in their peaceful land Shire. Shire depicts Tolkien’s love for English countryside. Hobbits leaving in Shire are not much found of machines. Hobbits represent the innocent country folk living in English countryside. Tolkien lived and wrote at a time when scientific prosperity was beginning to show its evil sides. Dark lord Sauron and his dark force represent industrialization. The peaceful atmosphere that prevailed in Shire is disturbed by the arrival of dark riders of Sauron in the same way as the English country side is overtaken by industrialization.

Frodo Baggins along with his gardener Samwise Gamgee called Sam and two cousins, Meriadoc Brandybuck called Merry, and Peregrin Took, called Pippin leave for Rivendell. They are followed by dark riders. Gildor and his company of Elves save them. Elves are fairest, brightest and immortal. But unlike the myths Tolkien presents them as tallest and

JETIRAG06073 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 343

beautiful creatures. They spend the night together in the “wood of the hills above woodhall” (FOTR79). The bower where in the middle of the woods is an enchanted place untouched by anything unnatural. The great hall in the middle is made of living trees, as are the beds in which the Hobbits sleep. Elves are so pure that they take their power from the natural world. Gildor says that he is leaving middle earth and going to the Great Sea like many of his friends. They are doing so because their age is coming to an end, regardless of what happens to the ring. Tolkien lived and wrote during an age that has seen the worst of progress in the form of two world wars. He believed that whatever is coming will bring more bad than good. Its results will be decline than progress of nature.

The Hobbits leave for Crickhollow. It is a small house bought by Frodo. Crickhollow is in Buckland, the edge of Shire. It is unlike Hobbington or Bag End. Buckland is surrounded by The Old Forest and Brandywine River. At Crickhollow Frodo has a dream in which he hears the sound of animals, sniffing around looking for him. Then he is on a barren field. He hears the sound of the great sea, which he has never heard before. He smells the smell of salt. He sees a tall white tower before him and struggles to climb it. Then he sees a light and hears the sound of thunder. This dream has a huge significance in the events that will follow. But it also shows Frodo’s fear and anxiety. Tolkien has used nature as a source for showing the unconscious self of Frodo. Animals sniffing around are an example of how much he is afraid of the dark forces. The barren field represents Mordor. His inability to climb the tower shows the fear of death at Mordor.

“The forest harbors all kinds of dangers and demons, enemies and diseases” (Zimmer in Cirlot 112). The next day they enter The Old Forest. They feel that the trees are watching them. They plan to head towards the northeast. They feel that the trees are blocking their way. Instead of northeast they head towards southeast. They are going deeper and deeper into the forest instead of going away from it. They turn left again and again. This shows the unconscious self of these hobbits. They are scared and there is no one to guide them. Their fear is making them vulnerable. They don’t want to leave the protection of Shire. Though they want to succeed they are unable to take a risk. Their fear of the unknown doesn’t let them leave. It is expressed in Frodo’s words “But where shall I find courage? That is what I chiefly need.”(FOTR83).

In the forest, the Old Man Willow cast a spell on them which makes them drowsy and they all fall asleep except Sam who resists the temptation. Old Man Willow is a cunning and opportunistic willow. Here we can see that nature is presented as an active participant in the novel rather than a passive background. It has a will of its own to choose between good and evil. The Old Man Willow is not much concerned about the Great War between Sauron and Elves.

JETIRAG06073 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 344

Again we see that Glorfindell rescues Frodo and his companions on their way to Rivendell from dark riders. Glorfindel is an Elf. He uses his Elvish powers to make the water of Bruinen flow heavily. The river floods and the dark riders had to flee. In the forthcoming parts where Gandalf tells the story of his rescue from the Orthanc tower of Saruman and the journey of fellowship, we find many instances where Tolkien uses nature as a source of both good and evil. Gwaihir, the Great Eagle rescues Gandalf from Orthanc Tower, a flock of birds are send by Saruman to spy on the Fellowship and heavy snowfall that prevents them from entering Cartharas are all examples that show that both good and evil are instilled in nature.

Elven Smiths and Saruman are ensnarled by Sauron with the promise of great learning. Their greed for knowledge has corrupted them. Tolkien makes a reference to the story of Adam and Eve. They were corrupted by their greed. The Snake offered them the fruit from the tree of knowledge. They forgot what God had asked them to do. Their disobedience led them to the expulsion from Eden. Again we find that Legolas, the Elvish prince and Gimli, the dwarf become close friends though Elves and Dwarves are traditional enemies. Elves live in harmony with nature while Dwarves mine the earth for riches. They live in caves. Caves are as much part of the beautiful nature as forests are.

Lothlorien is perhaps the most beautiful forest ever created in literatutre. Tolkien’s imagination has given birth to a wonderful mystical land. “Lorien” the name means land of gold and dream.

“There lie the woods of Lothlorien! that is the fairest of all the dwellings of my people. There are no trees like the trees of that land. For in the autumn their leaves fall not, but turn to gold. Not till the spring comes and new green opens do they fall and then the boughs are laden with yellow flowers; and the floor of the wood is golden, and golden is the roof, and its pillars are of silver, for the bark of the trees is smooth and grey. So still our songs in Mirkwood say. My heart would be glad if I beneath the eaves of that wood, and it were springtime!” (FOTR326)

These are the words of Legolas. He praises the forest for its beauty and purity. We find that Lothlorien is just the opposite of the Old Forest. Old Forest symbolized darkness. We don’t find many people residing in this forest. The trees there hurt more than they help. Old Forest increases the fear inside the Hobbits where as Lothlorien comes as a relief to a weary group of travelling fellowship. Its beauty enthralls them. It’s not only the Elves or Hobbits that are fascinated by the beauty of the forest but everyone who comes there. The Old man Willow attacks the Hobbits where as the Elves in Lothlorien try to help them. Lothlorien has its own

JETIRAG06073 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 345

secret history. It’s a magical place that inspires love, unlike the Old Forest that inspires wickedness. Legolas tells the history of Lothlorien.

“… many of the Elves of Nimrodel’s kindred left their dwellings and departed, and she was lost far in the south, in the passes of the White Mountain; and she came not to the ship where Amroth her lover waited for her. But in the spring when the wind is in the new leaves the echo of her voice may still be heard by the falls that bear her name. And when the wind is in the South the voice of Amroth comes up from the sea; for Nimrodel flows into the Silverlode, that Elves called Celebrant into Anduin the Great,..”(FOTR332)

Lothlorien also represent the inner self of the Hobbits. The Hobbits are no more afraid. Lorien represents the beauty and hope that they conceive in their hearts. Frodo has realized and accepted that his destiny is connected with that of the Ring. Hobbits are the only people in the fellowship that lack any special powers or skills. Legolas has great eyesight, Aragon and Boromir are good fighters, Gandalf is a wizard and Gimli is good with his axe. It is this weakness that makes Hobbit, the rightful person to carry the Ring. With anyone else the Ring could create another Lord Sauron.

Though Frodo missed Gandalf and his guidance, he decides to listen to himself at Amon Hen. He wears the Ring. For the first time he sees the Great Eye with its fierce desire for the Ring. He hears a voice to remove the Ring from his hands and resist the temptation. Frodo decides to do what he wishes to do. He learns that he no longer needs a guide. He decides to take the Ring to its end all by himself.

Fangorn Forest where the Ent treebeard lives plays a major part in the novel. Tolkien has combined his imagination with the scientific fact that trees are basically living creatures.

‘They found that they were looking at a most extraordinary face. It belonged to a large Man-like, almost Troll-like, figure at least fourteen foot high, very sturdy with a tall head, and hardly any neck. Whether it was clad in stuff like green and grey bark, or whether that was its hide was difficult to say.”(TTW452)

Ent treebeard is a gigantic figure. He hates Saruman and his orcs because they cut down many trees. He calls for a meeting of Ents. The Hobbits get excited as it feels to them that the whole forest is moving. Tolkien reminds us of Shakespeare’s one of the greatest tragedies Macbeth in which the Witches foresee the death of Macbeth in connection with the movement of the Birnam woods. Indeed it does happen so in the play. Here the movement of Fangorn forest is connected to the end of Saruman’s cruelties. They decide to fight against Saruman. Tolkien JETIRAG06073 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 346

indicates to the hazards man will bring by cutting down trees. Nature is not a passive sufferer. It will turn its back on us when its suffering will become unbearable. Tolkien indicates to the believes in many mythologies that natural calamities such as floods, earthquakes, ozone layer depletion, tsunami, etc are a part of nature’s mode of punishing us. Cutting down trees and destroying the nature will only result in hazardous effects.

“I am not altogether on anybody’s side because nobody is altogether on my side” (TTW461).The Ents attack Saruman’s Orthanc tower. They release the dam indicating that dams are not good for the nature. Increased number of dams do more harm than good. Here the broken dam brings the whole land under flood killing the orcs and making Saruman a prisoner in his own tower.

At Fangorn forest we learn that the Hobbits who were until now reluctant to fight back are not like that at all. Their unconscious self has grown to its fullest. They recognized the power instilled in them and are ready to use it for their own benefit. The Hobbits have gone full circle now in their journey of self-discovery and are able to ensure the assistance of the Ents. In other words, they are now able to form a meaningful connection with their own unconscious Self and find help and inspiration there. The Ents invade the evil Saruman’s domain and destroy it. The Fangorn Forest symbolizes simultaneously the destructive forces of the collective unconscious but also its Saviour aspect.

At last we are introduced to a barren land. This land is none but the land of the Great Eye. Mordor is deprived of any plants and trees. All we find here are orcs and trolls. Along with them there are some monsters. Here all nature represents is evil. Tolkien shows us what he saw. He was a soldier and had seen the worst effects of the world war. T.S.Eliot’s poem The Wasteland might have influenced him. In Mordor there are only hard stones and rocks. It’s a land without any vegetation. Tolkien indicates that excessive use of science will bring the distruction of our land.The Ring was made out of the fires of Gondor. Frodo destroys the Ring and brings peace to the land.

Though Lord of the Rings is a fantasy novel, it has given us a lot of things to dream about and many wonderful thoughts to think about. What we want is a question that must be answered. Do we prefer a land like Lothlorien or is it Mordor that we want ?

JETIRAG06073 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 347

Works Cited

1. Cirlot, J.E. A Dictionary of Symbols. New York: Welcome Rain Publishers,1962.

2. Tolkien, J. R.R. The Fellowship of the Ring: Lord of the Rings. London: Houghton

Mifflin Company, 1954. Print.

3. Tolkien, J.R.R. The Two Towers: Lord of the Rings. London: Houghton Mifflin

Company, 1954.Print.

4. Tolkien, J. R.R. The Return of the King: Lord of the Rings. London: Houghton Mifflin

Company,1955.Print.

JETIRAG06073 Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (JETIR) www.jetir.org 348