Parsing Out Dystopia: "The Time We Are Given"
The second chapter of The Fellowship of the Ring introduces Frodo Baggins (and the reader) to the true nature of the ring that Bilbo ended up possessing (and being possessed by) in The Hobbit. Years pass during the chapter, where Gandalf the Grey initially keeps checking in on Frodo from time to time before, suddenly, the wizard vanishes for nine years.
Frodo begins to believe Gandalf will never return when, in due course, he reappears with a startling message. After meticulous research Gandalf has determined that the ring Bilbo left for Frodo is, in fact, the One Ring forged by Sauron the Great, the Dark Lord.
The final proof comes when Frodo reluctantly gives the ring to Gandalf (it suddenly feels “heavy” to the hobbit when he does this) and the old wizard, to Frodo’s astonishment, immediately throws it into the roaring fireplace. When they finally retrieve it, both can clearly see ancient Elvish lettering but the words are in the evil Black Speech of Mordor running along the ring inside and out. Gandalf won’t speak the foul language of Mordor, though he knows it well, but he recites it in the “Common Tongue.”
“One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.”
Shortly after this Frodo learns the full significance of the ring Bilbo gave to him. It is the One Ring, lost by Sauron in a battle literally ages ago. And now the shadow of Sauron is rising again – to find the ring.
In that moment, Frodo is overwhelmed with existential dread. “’I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo.
“’So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time we are given.’”
One of the great things about having read The Lord of the Rings so often over a long period of many years is that, each time, the magnificent metaphorical power of the work strikes me in a different way.
Right now we are all inside Frodo’s existential dread. We wish this would not have happened in our lifetime. But it did. The shadow grows. It is looking to take what each of us has. Life.
Gandalf’s words are calming and incredibly reasonable. We don’t get to pick the times in which we live. We only get to pick what we do within the time that we are allotted. That profound wisdom is universally applicable to all peoples of all ages. It is a simple eternal truth.
The wizard says it in a way that is soothing, full of commiseration. But, surprisingly perhaps, what he says is not hopeful. He doesn’t say that you’ll do alright. Things will be tough but you will preserve. The world will be a better place when this is over.
Actually, knowing Tolkien, he thinks the world will be much worse when this is all over. The author was staunchly Catholic and thought the Fall of Man was perpetual, an on-going catastrophe. No, Tolkien doesn’t make Gandalf an optimist; he makes him something more relevant to the growing Shadow upon Middle-earth.
The optimist would see better things coming out of this global pandemic. And maybe things will turn out that way after all. But, Tolkien created Gandalf to realize the serious gravity of the situation and to have sense enough to know things would change after the Shadow was beaten, if he was beaten. That was no certainty.
Nevertheless, Gandalf has hope. The power of the One Ring seems immense and yet he has Frodo recall that Bilbo “gave it up in the end of his own accord; an important point.” Rather than being optimistic, Tolkien writes Gandalf as a character who creates his own hope by what he gleans from the facts. And those facts are that, despite the power of the Ring, Bilbo did freely give it away.
Tolkien’s lesson in The Lord of the Rings is both modern and pertinent. It is not that things will turn out for the best of their own accord. It is, rather, that if things turn out for the best it is because of the difficult personal choices we make. Gandalf teaches us something useful for these times.
I can think of no more relevant psychology for these extraordinary times. It is one reason so many Tolkien fans turn to this particular passage during times like this.
It actually took me a couple of nights to find where this was written in the book. I was looking in the later chapter where the Fellowship journeys through the great ruined kingdom of Moria. That is where Gandalf says this to Frodo in the film version. What I had forgotten since my last reading was that the wizard actually says this earlier on in the trilogy, before very much actual peril has come to Frodo on his quest to destroy the Ring. In fact, this is said before the quest even begins.
After I righted my perspective to the original narrative I found the passage with no trouble. On paper it works where Tolkien put it, creating a sense of foreboding in the novel. In the film it made more sense to use it later, when the audience has clearly seen the power and evil and treachery of Sauron. In the book, Tolkien’s writing conveys that weight on its own, something that is just not possible visually.
In Tolkien basically every “great” place, like Moria, or time, like Lothlorien, is ruined or in decline, giving way to something else. Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age is a very dystopian place for the Elves and the Dwarves. They are fading as the Time of Men emerges. This great change happens in The Lord of the Rings. Gandalf senses the peril before him as well as the understanding that things will never be the same.
That is a double uncertainty so reflective of Tolkien. Sauron might seize his Ring from Frodo. We don’t know. And even if he doesn’t, the fierce struggle probably means things will we different in Middle-earth after victory is achieved.
We find ourselves precisely in this same place and time. The virus might be controlled but it will kill a lot of people. We don’t know if it will come back every year or not. We don’t know if it will mutate into something more deadly or not. We don’t know if we will discover a vaccine or not. Yet, the best approach is to practice Gandalf’s wisdom right now.
“All we have to do is decide what to do with the time we are given.” That is how to be a hero in dystopia. Do the best you can. Definitely don’t be complacent but don’t overreact either. It is OK to be afraid but you still have to function and rise to whatever challenge this crazy global situation throws at you.
What am I going to do now? Tolkien helps me with that question.
Frodo begins to believe Gandalf will never return when, in due course, he reappears with a startling message. After meticulous research Gandalf has determined that the ring Bilbo left for Frodo is, in fact, the One Ring forged by Sauron the Great, the Dark Lord.
The final proof comes when Frodo reluctantly gives the ring to Gandalf (it suddenly feels “heavy” to the hobbit when he does this) and the old wizard, to Frodo’s astonishment, immediately throws it into the roaring fireplace. When they finally retrieve it, both can clearly see ancient Elvish lettering but the words are in the evil Black Speech of Mordor running along the ring inside and out. Gandalf won’t speak the foul language of Mordor, though he knows it well, but he recites it in the “Common Tongue.”
“One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them.”
Shortly after this Frodo learns the full significance of the ring Bilbo gave to him. It is the One Ring, lost by Sauron in a battle literally ages ago. And now the shadow of Sauron is rising again – to find the ring.
In that moment, Frodo is overwhelmed with existential dread. “’I wish it need not have happened in my time,’ said Frodo.
“’So do I,’ said Gandalf, ‘and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time we are given.’”
One of the great things about having read The Lord of the Rings so often over a long period of many years is that, each time, the magnificent metaphorical power of the work strikes me in a different way.
Right now we are all inside Frodo’s existential dread. We wish this would not have happened in our lifetime. But it did. The shadow grows. It is looking to take what each of us has. Life.
Gandalf’s words are calming and incredibly reasonable. We don’t get to pick the times in which we live. We only get to pick what we do within the time that we are allotted. That profound wisdom is universally applicable to all peoples of all ages. It is a simple eternal truth.
The wizard says it in a way that is soothing, full of commiseration. But, surprisingly perhaps, what he says is not hopeful. He doesn’t say that you’ll do alright. Things will be tough but you will preserve. The world will be a better place when this is over.
Actually, knowing Tolkien, he thinks the world will be much worse when this is all over. The author was staunchly Catholic and thought the Fall of Man was perpetual, an on-going catastrophe. No, Tolkien doesn’t make Gandalf an optimist; he makes him something more relevant to the growing Shadow upon Middle-earth.
The optimist would see better things coming out of this global pandemic. And maybe things will turn out that way after all. But, Tolkien created Gandalf to realize the serious gravity of the situation and to have sense enough to know things would change after the Shadow was beaten, if he was beaten. That was no certainty.
Nevertheless, Gandalf has hope. The power of the One Ring seems immense and yet he has Frodo recall that Bilbo “gave it up in the end of his own accord; an important point.” Rather than being optimistic, Tolkien writes Gandalf as a character who creates his own hope by what he gleans from the facts. And those facts are that, despite the power of the Ring, Bilbo did freely give it away.
Tolkien’s lesson in The Lord of the Rings is both modern and pertinent. It is not that things will turn out for the best of their own accord. It is, rather, that if things turn out for the best it is because of the difficult personal choices we make. Gandalf teaches us something useful for these times.
I can think of no more relevant psychology for these extraordinary times. It is one reason so many Tolkien fans turn to this particular passage during times like this.
It actually took me a couple of nights to find where this was written in the book. I was looking in the later chapter where the Fellowship journeys through the great ruined kingdom of Moria. That is where Gandalf says this to Frodo in the film version. What I had forgotten since my last reading was that the wizard actually says this earlier on in the trilogy, before very much actual peril has come to Frodo on his quest to destroy the Ring. In fact, this is said before the quest even begins.
After I righted my perspective to the original narrative I found the passage with no trouble. On paper it works where Tolkien put it, creating a sense of foreboding in the novel. In the film it made more sense to use it later, when the audience has clearly seen the power and evil and treachery of Sauron. In the book, Tolkien’s writing conveys that weight on its own, something that is just not possible visually.
In Tolkien basically every “great” place, like Moria, or time, like Lothlorien, is ruined or in decline, giving way to something else. Middle-earth at the end of the Third Age is a very dystopian place for the Elves and the Dwarves. They are fading as the Time of Men emerges. This great change happens in The Lord of the Rings. Gandalf senses the peril before him as well as the understanding that things will never be the same.
That is a double uncertainty so reflective of Tolkien. Sauron might seize his Ring from Frodo. We don’t know. And even if he doesn’t, the fierce struggle probably means things will we different in Middle-earth after victory is achieved.
We find ourselves precisely in this same place and time. The virus might be controlled but it will kill a lot of people. We don’t know if it will come back every year or not. We don’t know if it will mutate into something more deadly or not. We don’t know if we will discover a vaccine or not. Yet, the best approach is to practice Gandalf’s wisdom right now.
“All we have to do is decide what to do with the time we are given.” That is how to be a hero in dystopia. Do the best you can. Definitely don’t be complacent but don’t overreact either. It is OK to be afraid but you still have to function and rise to whatever challenge this crazy global situation throws at you.
What am I going to do now? Tolkien helps me with that question.
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