4 ms·
An important distinction, I think, is that good and evil are tangible and unambiguous as forces in the world, but there is still plenty of room for complexity i
by gipp 3y ago
An important distinction, I think, is that good and evil are tangible and unambiguous as forces in the world, but there is still plenty of room for complexity in the struggle of good and evil within an individual. Is Smeagol truly evil? Is Denethor? Especially true if you move beyond beyond LotR proper -- Feanor, Turin, etc. Plenty of complex individual struggles even within a relatively simple and immutable binary of good and evil in the world's epistemology.
- smogcutter 3y agoDenethor is an interesting character. He’s one of the only (if not the only?) antagonists who is not evil. Denethor’s flaw is that he has given up hope. Denethor is the only cynic in middle earth.
- funnybeam 3y agoTheoden also had given up hope until Gandalf shook him out of it And the defenders at Minas Tirith, Saruman, even the elves - the whole lot of them in middle earth have given up hope. Despair is one of the key themes running through all of Tolkiens work. Denethor was far from alone