The Most Important Day: An Essay Contest

[Riv Res]

Our Middle-earth Journeys 2nd Annual Yule Season Contest

© TolkienTown

We thought it might be fun and educational to have an Essay Contest to celebrate this years Tolkien Yule season.

The prize will be a Tolkien or Tolkien-related book of your choice if it is still in print and readily available, and doesn’t break the bank that holds our meager funds.

This will be a great way for someone to round out their personal library with something from Shippey, or Drought, or Christopher Tolkien, or Fonstad, or Hammond & Scully, or other Tolkien scholars…or something from the Professor himself.

We will ask that the winner give us 3 or 4 books to chose from for their prize.


There will only be one prize and one winner.

Here's how you enter to win the contest.

This is an essay contest. The subject matter is aside from the date that the Ring was destroyed, what is the most important date in the War of the Ring? A good place to start to review would be The Great Years Calendar.

The essay can be no longer than 1000 words, and may be embellished with images of Tolkien art. (No screencaps please.) Remember to give copyright credit.

The essay must be completely your own composition and plagiarism is not allowed.

It is acceptable that more than one person may chose the same date and the composition will be judged and voted on by the merits of the content.

MeJ Mods and Admins may participate by will be excluded from competition for the prize.

Your entry must be entered ON THIS CONTEST THREAD by 8:00am (U.S. Mountain Standard Time) on Monday, December 25, 2006.

All members of Middle-earth Journeys may enter and all members of Middle-earth Journeys may vote.

We will all vote for the winner in a poll in this same thread.

Each of us can only vote once. The voting will begin at @10:00am on December 25, 2006 and will end at 8:00am (U.S. Mountain Standard Time) on Saturday, January 27, 2007. The winner will be announced and the prize awarded by January 31, 2007.

[Finarfin2003]

Hi everyone!

What a great idea this contest is. It has prompted me to stop lurking and actually post something. And I love the question. So much room for lots of contrasting views!

Could I just seek a few clarifications...?

1. Does the 1000-word limit include (a) the title, and (b) any copyright credits?

2. Do we literally just post it on this thread, as opposed to emailing it to you? (I only ask because there's nothing here yet and I wondered if posts would only appear after December 25th.)

3. Do we include our requests for the book (and 3 alternatives) we'd want as a prize with our essays, or are you only interested in hearing those from the winner? (I'm assuming, if we have to post them with the essay, they don't contribute to the 1000 words!)

Thanks very much.

Finarfin

P.S. A thousand words? So cruel! It took me longer to reduce what I'd written to get it under the limit than it took to write the thing in the first place! (But at least it stopped me writing the four thousand word essay that it might otherwise have turned into.)

[Merry]

Greetings and warm welcome, Finarfin! We are glad that you have emerged from lurking for our contest. Please take a minute to introduce yourself in our intro thread so we can get to know you.

I'm a teacher by trade, so I'll handle your questions, with the permission of the other mods, I hope!

1. Yes, 1000 words, including title and citations.

2. Yes, post it right here!

3. Let us vote on the winner first, and then the prize can be named.

A thousand words is not much, when you think about it. But this is fun, not school, right?

[Iolanthe]

Hello Finarfin , I'm really looking forward to reading your entry!

[Finarfin2003]

Thanks for your welcome(s)! Well, here it is, as promised, my entry for the Yule Season Contest. It's hardly a major work but (to make a very weak joke from something Gandalf said to Frodo) is like the lesser Elven rings, merely an essay in the craft. I derived a great deal of pleasure from writing it and hope people enjoy reading it.

My essay contains (according to MS Word) 986 words and consists of everything between the lines across the page at its start and finish.

===================================================

Aside from the date that the Ring was destroyed, what is the most important date in the War of the Ring?

(Page references are to the 1991 British one-volume edition of LOTR.)

Frodo gave his account of the War of the Ring a title encapsulating its two main aspects: The Downfall of the Lord of the Rings and the Return of the King (p.1004). To determine the (second) most important date in the War, we must consider which were its most significant events. This requires understanding the War's essential purpose, which wasn't about preserving any particular people or realm but about overthrowing Sauron, to save the world from an everlasting age of darkness. Gandalf told Denethor, "for my part, I shall not wholly fail of my task, though Gondor should perish, if anything passes through this night that can still grow fair or bear fruit and flower again in the days to come" (p.742).

Sauron could not be defeated on the battlefield; he now had sufficient conventional forces to overrun Middle-earth without the Ring. Gandalf informed the Captains of the West that "Victory cannot be achieved by arms, whether you sit here to endure siege after siege, or march out to be overwhelmed beyond the River" (p.860). The one hope for victory was if the Ring could be "unmade", for so much of Sauron's strength was bound up in it that, if destroyed, "his fall will be so low that none can foresee his arising ever again" (p.861).

To determine our date, we must therefore focus on the Ring-bearer and his Quest and not elsewhere, however spectacular other events may have been. The Ring was ultimately destroyed, so what was the most important event which made that possible? Fortunately we have Frodo's own assessment: "Do you remember Gandalf's words: Even Gollum may have something yet to do? But for him, Sam, I could not have destroyed the Ring. The Quest would have been in vain, even at the bitter end" (p.926).

Gollum's part in the unmaking of the Ring was crucial. It was he who guided Frodo and Sam to Mordor. Frodo's plan to sneak in through the Black Gate had no hope of success. It was Gollum who guided them to the least-guarded route into Mordor, through Cirith Ungol. (Gandalf made it clear he would never have contemplated this.)

However, Gollum's role was more important even than enabling the Ring-bearer to get into Mordor undetected. With Sam's help, Frodo reached Orodruin but at the Crack of Doom his will was finally overwhelmed. "I do not choose now to do what I came to do.... The Ring is mine!" (p.924) Claiming the Ring for himself, he alerted Sauron to its presence. Frodo could not have prevented him from seizing the Ring and achieving, in Gandalf's words, a victory "so complete that none can foresee the end of it while this world lasts" (p.861). Unwittingly, yes, but it was Gollum who destroyed the Ring, biting it from Frodo's hand and toppling with it into the Fire, to the utter ruin of Sauron and all his works.

Since the destruction of the Ring would never have happened without Gollum, it necessarily follows that the most important event in the War, excepting the Ring's destruction, was the coming together of Frodo and Gollum - and not just their meeting but Frodo's success in "taming" him and gaining his co-operation. (If their encounter had ended other than it did then the Quest would have failed, for Frodo would either have lost the Ring or been unable to reach Mordor.)

The date when Gollum caught up with Frodo and Sam by the Emyn Muil and Frodo turned him into an unwilling ally was Tuesday 29th February, 3019.

However, although the above is sufficient to establish the overwhelming importance of this date, something else happened that Tuesday of enormous significance to the success of the Quest: Merry and Pippin escaped from Saruman's Orcs into Fangorn Forest, and met Treebeard. Gandalf concluded that "their coming was like the falling of small stones that starts an avalanche in the mountains" (p.485). The hobbits' tales of Saruman's treachery helped rouse the Ents, who marched on Isengard, destroying it and imprisoning the wizard in Orthanc. Treebeard then dispatched Huorns to annihilate the Orc army besieging Helm's Deep. The consequences of all this can scarcely be exaggerated.

Access to the palantír of Orthanc enabled Aragorn to reveal himself to the Enemy - a key factor prompting Sauron to play his hand before he was fully prepared and drawing his attention westwards away from the Ring-bearer.

The victory at Helm's Deep enabled the Rohirrim to ride to the defence of Minas Tirith and Aragorn to summon the Shadow Host, liberate Southern Gondor and complete the rout of Sauron's forces at the Pelennor.

The survival of Minas Tirith enabled Gondor and Rohan to march on the Black Gate, forcing Sauron to "empty his land" (p.862) by marshalling his forces in Udûn at the precise moment Frodo and Sam were crossing Gorgoroth and might otherwise have been discovered. "The Eye was not turned to them: it was gazing north to where the Captains of the West stood at bay, and thither all its malice was now bent" (p.921).

The survival of Minas Tirith also meant that after Sauron's defeat, the line of Kings could be restored in Gondor and Arnor, bringing peace and prosperity to the Western Lands.

We can see, therefore, why that particular Tuesday was the (second) most important date in the War of the Ring. Not only did the events of 29th February 3019 initiate a chain-reaction that fulfilled the primary aim of the War - the downfall of the Lord of the Rings, they also began a chain-reaction which fulfilled the secondary aim of the War - the return of the King. About the events of no other single day can this claim reasonably be made.

===================================================

Finarfin

[Merry]

Wonderful! A worthy opening volley, Finarfin. I think you make a good case for this date.

[Lindariel]

Well done, Finarfin2003! The following is 875 words.

******************************************************

Our friend Finarfin2003 makes a very cogent argument establishing the date of Tuesday 29th February, 3019 – the day that Frodo encounters and “tames” Gollum and Merry and Pippin encounter Treebeard -- as the second most important date in the War of the Ring. However, I believe that the reasons Finarfin2003 stated for the importance of Frodo’s act of pity towards Gollum point to an earlier act of pity that made Frodo’s mercy possible.

I am thinking of this encounter back in the year 2941:*

Bilbo almost stopped breathing, and went stiff himself. He was desperate. He must get away, out of this horrible darkness, while he had any strength left. He must fight. He must stab the foul thing, put its eyes out, kill it. It meant to kill him. No, not a fair fight. He was invisible now. Gollum had no sword. Gollum had not actually threatened to kill him, or tried to yet. And he was miserable, alone, lost. A glimpse of endless unmarked days without light or hope of betterment, hard stone, cold fish, sneaking and whispering. All these thoughts passed in a flash of a second. He trembled. And then quite suddenly in another flash, as if lifted by a new strength and resolve, he leaped. – The Hobbit

Bilbo came to this merciful conclusion on his own, without the benefit of Gandalf’s guidance. He probably could have killed Gollum quite easily, given the advantages of his invisibility and the sword Sting. Certainly, it would have been easy to justify doing so, as Gollum clearly intended to kill and eat Bilbo. But Bilbo’s own innate goodness and hobbity sense of fair play just wouldn’t let him do so.

And thank goodness he didn’t! As Finarfin2003 pointed out, without Gollum, the entire quest to destroy the Ring would have failed at many different points – in the Dead Marshes, at the Black Gate, on the way to Cirith Ungol, and ultimately at the very Cracks of Doom.

Gandalf himself suggests this when Frodo expresses regret that Bilbo had not killed Gollum when he had a chance:

“Pity? It was Pity that stayed his hand. Pity, and Mercy: not to strike without need. And he has been well rewarded, Frodo. Be sure that he took so little hurt from the evil, and escaped in the end, because he began his ownership of the Ring so. With Pity.”

And when Frodo declares that Gollum is no better than an orc and deserves death, Gandalf continues:

“Deserves it! I daresay he does. Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. For even the very wise cannot see all ends. I have not much hope that Gollum can be cured before he dies, but there is a chance of it. And he is bound up with the fate of the Ring. My heart tells me that he has some part to play yet, for good or ill, before the end; and when that comes, the pity of Bilbo may rule the fate of many – yours not least.”

Later, when Frodo encounters Gollum, he comes to the same conclusion:

“Very well. But still I am afraid. And yet, as you see, I will not touch the creature. For now that I see him, I do pity him.”

Even Sam, who distrusts Gollum completely and wishes on numerous occasions to be rid of the creature for good, cannot bring himself to kill Gollum when he has the chance, and is moved to make the same choice as good old Master Bilbo:

Sam’s hand wavered. His mind was hot with wrath and the memory of evil. It would be just to slay this treacherous, murderous creature, just and many times deserved; and also it seemed the only safe thing to do. But deep in his heart there was something that restrained him: he could not strike this thing lying in the dust, forlorn, ruinous, utterly wretched.

And so, I maintain that, as crucial as Frodo’s act of Pity towards Gollum proved to be in the War of the Ring, Frodo would never have been able to do so, had Bilbo not shown Gollum mercy first. Also, Frodo had the benefit of Gandalf’s wisdom and guidance in this matter and the sterling example of Bilbo’s merciful behavior in equally dire circumstances. Bilbo had no advice or experience to fall back on except his own good nature and sense of fair play. Viewed in this light, Bilbo’s act of pity is more miraculous than Frodo’s. Indeed, Gandalf proved to be completely correct – The pity of Bilbo did rule the fate of all of Middle-earth and ultimately determined the outcome of the War of the Ring.

* Let me note that I feel entirely justified in selecting a date outside of “The Great Years” because in my opinion the “War of the Ring” officially began back in 2460 when the Watchful Peace ended with Sauron’s return to Dol Guldur, the White Council was formed to oppose the Necromancer in 2463, and the Ring was found by Deagol that same year. These were the first forays of what became the “War of the Ring.”

© Cor Blok

[Merry]

The Essays are coming! The Essays are coming! This is pretty fun. Thanks, Lindariel--cogent as always!

[librislove]

Great entries! I am humbled--mine will arrive when I have time to type it in! Don't you hate real life.?

[librislove]

Here goes--I cannot compose at a computer--I must handwrite--this is about four pages, which is approx.1000 words.

September 29, 3018: The hobbits meet Aragorn in Bree

All quotes from J. R.R. Tolkien, The Lord of the Rings,New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1994.


On the night of September 29, 3018, Frodo and his companions stop at The Prancing Pony in Bree to meet Gandalf, and are dismayed to discover the Wizard is not there. They are quite alone with the Ring and the Black Riders who pursue it. To add to their discomfort, a ragged and vaguely threatening Man keeps staring at them and listening to their conversation. "I am called Strider, " he tells them, and later offers to help them if they will take him along as a guide. Frodo is uncertain about this mysterious stranger, but decides to trust him. Indeed, he wants to believe Strider is a friend even before Gandalf's misplaced letter arrives proving him one. The five set out together, and so begins the most important relationship in the story apart from that between Sam and Frodo.

On the simplest level Aragorn's presence as guide and protector, mentor, and even healer enables the hobbits to survive their long journey from Bree to the Breaking and beyond. "If by life or death I can save you, I will," he pledges to Frodo, and demonstrates his loyalty over and over from Moria to Amon Hen , from the Quest of the Three Hunters to the Houses of Healing and the Field of Cormallen. Without his saving grace, his strength, and his skill, the hobbits would not have lived to play their pivotal roles in the Ring War. Aragorn the protector is epitomized in his words at the outset of the search for Merry and Pippin after the Breaking: "I would have guided Frodo to Mordor and gone with hiim to the end, but if I seek him now in the Wilderness I must abandon the captives to torment and death." He adds that since Frodo has made the decision to leave the Fellowship and is beyond their aid, that "we that remain cannot forsake our companions while we have strength left."

The relationship has far deeper and more important components than the simple roles of caretaker and charges, however. The loving bonds of friendship that develop between Aragorn and the hobbits form the kind of constant, enduring, and affectionate relationship that Tolkien believed defined the ideals of male friendship as he knew it, experienced it, and idealized it--comfortable ties of the heart that satisfied deep needs on both sides, demonstrated profound loyalty, and remained lifelong. In the Houses of Healing, Merry tells Aragorn, "Ever since that night in Bree we have been a nuisance to you." Neither one believes this for a moment.

By the evening of September 29, 3018 in Bree, Aragorn has been lonely for a very long time, keeping vigil at the edge of the Shire. The solitary Ranger sees some quality in the friendlly hobbits that causes him to confide in them, "But I must admit. . . . that I hoped you would take me for my own sake. A hunted man sometimes wearies of distrust and longs for friendship. But there, I believe my looks are against me."
The hobbits respond to his need with their trust, their confidence, and ultimately their affection. In Rivendell, Frodo tells Gandalf that he has become "fond" of Aragorn, and that the Man has become "dear to him."
Merry and Pippin banter with him in Minas Tirith as between good friends, and kiss him and hold his hands. Sam finally decides after much internal debate to trust him, asserting to Frodo that "Strider will look after them," when he and his master must leave the rest of the Fellowship. Most tellingly, all the hobbits except Frodo continue to call Aragorn by the familiar and affectionate "Strider" long after they know who he really is. Imrahil of Dol Amroth exclaims, "Is it thus that we speak to our Kings?" It is, if the King is also our friend.

Aragorn responds to the hobbits' devotion.They offer him a safe outlet for his fundamentally loving nature. He is physically demonstrative with them, enjoys having them around, laughs and plays with them, and shares their love of tobacco. When Merry rides away to Dunharrow with the Rohirrim, he tells Halbarad, "There go three that I love, and the smallest not the least." At Cormallen, he says to Sam, who has just expressed his wonder at seeing "Strider" garbed as a King, "Yes, Sam, Strider. It is a long way, is it not, from Bree, where you did not like the look of me." After the War, Aragorn maintains his ties with the hobbits for all their lives; they come to his wedding, he travels to the borders of the Shire to visit them, their families come and go freely in Minas Tirith, and at the end, Elessar is laid to rest between Merry and Pippin. In the reader's mind, Tolkien leaves no brighter image of friendship than the sight of a tall, kingly man on bended knee so he can see eye to eye with a hobbit.

Beyond the bonds of affection, the ties between Aragorn and the hobbits have more practical results as well, Their interwoven quests to destroy the Ring and reclaim Gondor's throne cannot be separated, nor can they be accomplished apart from each other. Without the Ringbearer there can be no King, and vice versa. It is also true that the War of the Ring would have been lost without the cooperation of the various races, and the friendship of Man and hobbit symbolizes this well. Most important of all, the War of the Ring is at its heart a struggle between love and light, and hatred and darkness. Aragorn and the hobbits are a beacon in this struggle, and their relationship symbolizes what is worth saving from Sauron.

The uncertain meeting of hobbits and Man on a fall night in a border town inn marked the genesis of a friendship that shaped and defined the Middle Earth they fought for in the War of the Ring. Arwen best expresses that long, complex, intertwined, and loving relationship in the words that go with the gift of the white gem to Frodo, ". . . .wear this now in memory of Elfstone and Evenstar with whom your life has been woven." Thanks are due to Tolkien for this tapestry of love.

[Iolanthe]

This is exciting . Excellent entries from all three of you . It's very interesting to see everyone championing the cause of different days!

[Finarfin2003]

I agree - it's great reading these contrasting and well-argued differences of opinion. Dearest Mods, are we allowed to "take on" other people's choices and say why we don't agree, or should that properly wait until after the competition has closed... it's only 10 days away, after all? (Otherwise it would be like adding bits to our essays, I suppose!)

BTW - librislove, while I don't agree with your choice I was really moved by your celebration of the friendship of Aragorn. It does tend to get overlooked by comparison with Aragorn-Arwen, Legolas-Gimli, Merry-Pippin, Frodo-Sam. Good old Strider!

Finarfin

[librislove]

Thanks, Finarfin--You have a strong, healthy argument as well. For me LOTR has always been mostly about the relationships and how they both create and are created by the storyline The bond between Strider and the hobbits has always moved me--more from his side than from theirs. They lived and moved in a place where their love could be shown openly; he did not. I was hooked on him from the start, and in love with him after he told Frodo he was lonely. That made him human. His needs for personal, everday, affectionate interactions seemed so unfulfilled except for the hobbits, and without these interactions, I don't think we would have seen an Aragorn who was nearly as appealing or worthy of loyalty. In large measure , it is his interaction with them that makes him a man, not a stereotypical hero. And now I will stop, before I write another essay and disqualify myself.

[Lindariel]

Yay! There are now THREE entries! Well done, librislove! Here's hoping others will be inspired to submit their own essays. This has been really fun reading (and writing)!

P.S. I tried to add a copy of the wonderful Cor Block painting "Riddles in the Dark" to my entry, but only succeeded in putting in the web address. Could a more tech-savvy person help me with putting in the image properly? Many thanks!

[Iolanthe]

I've done it, Lindariel .

Dearest Mods, are we allowed to "take on" other people's choices and say why we don't agree, or should that properly wait until after the competition has closed... it's only 10 days away, after all? (Otherwise it would be like adding bits to our essays, I suppose!)

That's a very good question!!! My feeling is that your last comment is right - it would be a bit like adding to the essays. I think we should save it until afterwards and open up this thread for some hearty debate when we've done .