The Lord of the Rings: Insights

The Lord of the Rings Insights:
The Virtues of The Lord of the Rings
In contrast to the singular "gray" character of Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, is the multitude of "gray" characters in Robert Jordan's fantasy series The Wheel of Time. The hero, Rand, battles an emerging second personality and may be going insane. He is expected to bring salvation to the world from the Forsaken and the Dark One, but will also bring chaos and doom. Basically, there is no chance of a happy ending. Everyone is striving to lessen an unhappy ending.

Rand begins as the "small town" farm boy setting out on his first adventure, which draws the reader to Rand's situation. Then, as the story moves forward, Rand changes into a paranoid, untrusting young man, who shows signs of madness. After Rand's change, there is little that any reader would like to have in common with Rand, except possibly his romantic troubles. He has not one romantic interest, but three and he tries to juggle them all, instead of settling on one. This is one area that he remains a young man, confused by the women, unable and probably happily unwilling to settle on one woman, while the three continue to vie for his attention.

Nearly every character on the side of the "good" guys has selfish motivations, which bubble to the surface during most decisions. The "good" guys are simply less despicable than the "bad" guys. The multitude of "gray" characters makes the story more realistic, or does it? It's still in a fantasy setting, but now one large element of fantasy, that of the fairy tale battle between "good" and "evil" characters has been removed. In its place are two sides who have selfish motivations and the reader is left to decide which side will cause the least destruction to the common man.

As stated above, this series isn't as universally appealing as is The Lord of the Rings. This series is aimed at those who prefer to do a majority of their reading in the context of the fantasy genre, much like those who are most comfortable reading westerns, mysteries or romance. The Wheel of Time will not appeal to those who do not regularly read fantasy. Jordan has taken modern and complex characters and dumped them into a genre generally known for its simplicity and portraying matters in black and white. Most who read fantasy or westerns or romance are reading that genre to get away from the complexity of reality and want to step into a world whose rules and boundaries are simpler and more clearly defined.

The Lord of the Rings Items Available at eBay - Scroll for additional items

Available at Amazon.com:

Peter Jackson Films:

Middle Earth Collection:
Theatrical Blu-ray
Extended Blu-ray
Collector's Blu-ray

The Hobbit Trilogy:
Theatrical: Blu-ray + DVD
Extended: Blu-ray | DVD

An Unexpected Journey:
Theatrical Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | Prime Video
Soundtrack: CD | MP3
Extended Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | DVD | Prime Video | Soundtrack: CD | MP3

Desolation of Smaug:
Theatrical Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | Prime Video
Soundtrack: CD | MP3
Extended Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | DVD | Prime Video | Soundtrack: CD | MP3

Battle of the Five Armies:
Theatrical Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | DVD | Prime Video | Soundtrack: CD | MP3
Extended Edition:
Blu-ray | BD 3D | DVD | Prime Video | Soundtrack: CD | MP3

LotR Trilogy:
Theatrical: Blu-ray | DVD
Extended: Blu-ray | DVD
Posters

Animated Film Adaptations:

The Hobbit:
DVD | DVD (SE) | Prime Video
The Lord of the Rings:
Blu-ray | DVD | Prime Video
The Return of the King:
DVD

Books by J.R.R. Tolkien:

The Lord of the Rings Set
The Hobbit
The Fellowship of the Ring
The Two Towers
The Return of the King
The Silmarillion
The Unfinished Tales
Beren and Luthien
The Children of Hurin
The Fall of Gondolin

Audio Presentations:
The Lord of the Rings:

BBC Dramatization (CD)
NPR Dramatization (CD)
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Hobbit:
BBC Dramatization (CD)
NPR Dramatization (CD)
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Fellowship of the Ring:
BBC Dramatization (CD)
NPR Dramatization (CD)
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Two Towers:
BBC Dramatization (CD)
NPR Dramatization (CD)
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Return of the King:
BBC Dramatization (CD)
NPR Dramatization (CD)
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Silmarillion:
Unabridged Reading (CD)

The Children of Hurin:
Unabridged Reading (CD)