For my
monster, I chose Gollum from Lord of the Rings. While he may not be your
typical monster, or even the main monster figure of the series,
he is quite monstrous. The first
time I saw the film at the ripe old age of ten, it was mainly physical characteristics
that made Gollum worthy of the title of a monster. However, as I watch the
films now, his monstrosity is more so linked to the state of his heart. The
physical becomes only symptomatic of an internal condition. For those not familiar with the story, Gollum
was once a hobbit, the picture of inherent goodness, named Sméagol. But once he
laid eyes on the ring, his desire for it consumed him. Nothing else was of
importance; all that mattered was the ring. He loved it more than anything, and
it took everything from him. In this drastic shift from Sméagol to Gollum, there
is a transition not from order to chaos, but from inherent goodness associated
with a hobbit, to the inherent evil and soullessness of a monster.
I
think that Gollum most closely relates to Thesis VII of Cohen’s Seven Theses.
In this thesis, he says, “Monsters are our children” They are part of
ourselves. In this case, Gollum comes to represent a covetousness, rather a
dark desire, a sinful nature. And this darkness dwells in each of us; they are
part of us. Just as Cohen points out, we can push them off, or hide them, but
that doesn’t solve anything. They’re not gone, and they do come to the
forefront again. However, Cohen also points out that they bring with them
knowledge and bring about questions, and this especially pertains to Gollum.
His darkness comes to the forefront and brings with it questions and
understanding, namely of the Catholic thought of Tolkein’s background. Gollum’s
desire for the ring ultimately leads to his destruction because he continues to
indulge it; he chooses the ring over all else time and time again. However,
there are many opportunities for redemption, and even false alarms of it, when
you believe he has turned a corner. He has numerous chances to turn away from
the darkness the ring has conjured in him, but he doesn’t. Gollum and his fate
thus become representative and a symbol for the results of living in darkness
according to Tolkein’s ideology.
I agree that Gollum shows the seventh thesis. His "monstrosity" is truly a part of himself. This part of Gollum is the deep and evil curiosities/desires that have come to the surface, being provoked by the ring. We do see him at times trying to bury his monstrous side, but it always seems to engulf him in the end. (The monster always returns??) In this way, I suppose maybe the ring itself is a kind of monster. We all have dark tendencies hidden below the surface, and it is often the monsters job or goal to bring these to light. Could "the ring" be Gollum's personal monster, bringing about his evil tendencies? The ring also always returns to Gollum's mind, as he tries at times to ignore it, he always seems to come back to his obsession.
ReplyDeleteAs an avid Lord of the Rings fan, I really like your choice to look at Gollum as a monstrous figure. My favorite part about Gollum as a monstrous figure is how he depicts the struggle of the monster within ourselves. Gollum is a great example of how his true self is destroyed and turned into a monster as he is consumed by desire for the ring. This is a similar struggle to one that many people face, a desire for an object or goal that drives them to give up other things that are important to them. Everyone struggles with some kind of monster inside them, and Gollum is a visual of what happens when the monster inside consumes the original person. Smeagol still manages to come out at times, but eventually the monster prevails.
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