Symbols are objects, characters, figures, or colors
used to represent abstract ideas or concepts.
The Ring
As a physical object with a mysterious claim over its
owner, the Ring acts as a concrete symbol of the ambiguity of evil
that Tolkien explores in the novel. The Ring has a tangible presence
and it maintains easily observable powers. The Ring causes its wearer
to physically disappear, but it also weakens the owner’s personal
sense of identity with each use. In Mordor, the Ring appears to
be an undeniable symbol of the physical force of evil. It grows
progressively heavier with Frodo’s each step toward Orodruin, and
it causes the violent eruption and dissolution of Mordor’s power
with its deposit in the Cracks of Doom. At the same time, the Ring’s
weight is perceivable only to the wearer, for Sam carries Frodo
and his Ring with surprising ease. The Ring, in its ambiguity, symbolizes
both the power and the horror attributed to it, in the pride of
its owner and the physical destruction that the owner’s pride delivers
upon himself and others.
Minas Tirith
The great city and fortress of Gondor situated on the
border with Mordor, Minas Tirith symbolizes the precarious condition
of the West in the conflict against Mordor. As a city, Minas Tirith
evokes a sense of human history and the hope of future progress.
Its survival determines the survival of humankind. The white walls
of Minas Tirith, organized into the beauty and order of seven concentric
circles, symbolize the ability for moral choice among the denizens
of the West. The white exterior can be marred or preserved. Recalling the
Arthurian myth of the Fisher King, in which the physical condition
of the ailing king is mirrored in the barrenness of the land, Sauron’s
corrupting influence over Denethor has caused the walls of Minas
Tirith to deteriorate. The White Tree, the city’s symbol, remains
broken. Aragorn’s rise to the throne leaves physical marks of his
spiritual and political renewal of Gondor on the city of Minas Tirith.
The city walls are restored, and a new sapling of the White Tree
is replanted in the Court of the Fountain.
The Great Eye of Sauron
Like the Ring, the Great Eye of Sauron indicates both
the physical force of evil and the elusive quality of evil. Perched
atop Sauron’s Dark Tower, behind Mount Doom, the Eye scans the borders
of Mordor, but its gaze is not exhaustive. Frodo and Sam slip under
its searching glance to reach the Cracks of Doom. The Eye is distracted by
the forces of Aragorn to the north. Nevertheless, as Frodo and Sam
approach the Cracks, the Eye becomes strangely aware of the hobbits’
presence, and the dark land underneath trembles. Through the Eye,
Sauron appears capable of directing his will toward the physical
world in a stream of power. As with with other forms of evil in
the novel, the extent of the Eye’s real power remains elusive. It provides
a physical image for Sauron, but, at the same time, Sauron remains
only a shapeless idea behind the Eye. The only thing we know definitely
is that the Great Eye is constantly open and searching. The final
moments of Mordor indicate that, just as Denethor believes everything
Sauron shows him through the palantír, so Sauron
believes everything the Great Eye sees occurring outside the Dark
Tower.
