So, here it goes. Another attempt at grabbing my audience’s attention with some new-fangled words! =) Again, SO sorry for the delay! College life is a bit hectic, but I’m going to try my hardest to make sure I post at least once a week! (I will REALLY try very hard, I promise!)
Ok, so where did we leave off the last time? Tolkien. And his awesomeness. Ok. Hmmmm. Ah! Here’s some humor to break up the tension (if there is any in the first place.)
The connection between the two AMAZING fantasies of Star Wars and LOTR didn’t actually hit me until just recently, when my friends and I watched Star Wars IV, V, and VI (4, 5, and 6 if you can’t read Roman numerals he he.) I suddenly saw myself in the character of Luke, just as I’ve seen myself in the character of Frodo. It was an interesting experience. But let’s move along here!
What makes Frodo and Luke so similar?
Well, they both have an incredibly innocent, loving, and forgiving personality. They have both been given a seemingly impossible task. Both have been faced with certain future sufferings and almost certain death, with a great and surprising ending that takes them, and the audience, by surprise.
Luke, being raised without his parents on a far-distant planet away from any real big inter-galactic turmoil and such, has led a pretty sheltered existence, and is interrupted (gladly, I think, in some regards) by the finding of a droid, R2D2, with a message for “Old Ben.” This Old Ben just happens to be the Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi, who instantly sees and knows that Luke, being the son of Darth Vader, or Anakin Skywalker turned evil, is meant to be a Jedi himself, and urges Luke to leave his home behind to fight the Empire and destroy the enemies of the free people of the universe.
Frodo has a similar story. Raised in a distant place away from home (which is originally Buckland where his mother and father lived before they tragically drowned in a boating accident), Frodo has led a sheltered life himself. Although not in anywhere the same circumstances as Luke, Frodo has a very special calling himself, finding the One Ring being left in his possession from his Uncle Bilbo. Frodo is urged in his own right (in a different way) by Gandalf, to leave his home and to make his way to places unknown in order to ensure the safety of the people of the Shire, and eventually, of the whole of Middle Earth.
Both encounter awful dangers, losing an appendage of sorts (Luke a hand, Frodo a finger) in the long run, and both finding at the end something more than they’d ever imagined being able to see themselves in a light once their journeys had ended. The completion of this journey for both brought them to the great triumph of being able to see and experience the freedom of the people they’d saved through their self-sacrifice.
This is a timeless lesson, a great masterpiece of work in fiction, spirituality, the depth of the human person, soul, spirit, and heart in such great works of fantasy and fiction.
I remember being struck by the ideology that Frodo held in his person as the character that God (I have no doubt) inspired, and now I am finding a similar feeling with Luke. Different stories, but very similar lead characters to bring such inspiring stories of hope, lasting courage, and friendship and loyalty, and both have left and will continue to leave a lasting impression on the world, in more ways than just in cinema (although those alone are astounding.) God is love. And He shows Himself in His courage, bravery and love, through these characters.
Frodo rox.
Luke rox.
The end. =)
And the word is....clam sauce! (Ok, that’s two words, but whatever! lol)
God bless you all and have a great week!! (I will try my HARDEST to post again soon! =)
