Lord of the Rings

Will and want All beings have within them ambitions and desires, but only those who manage to resist those siren calls can overcome the inner struggle between what one wants, and what must be. J.R.R. Tolkien demonstrates this everlasting conflict between willpower and desire in his novels, The Fellowship of the Ring, and The Silmarillion. This conflict is personified within the characters of the mortal Frodo, and god Melkor, and symbolized by the …

…shield a couple from intrusion? Melkor had long ago made his choice to wander into the “dark” side, and could not find his way back. Here we have a parallel to human history, where it has been demonstrated time and time again by regular people becoming powerful politicians, dictators, or criminals, that absolute power corrupts absolutely. Tolkien masterfully deals with this theme, and concludes his novels with willpower and desire being once more in harmony.