Eucatastrophe
"Then Treebeard said farewell to each of them in turn, and he bowed three times slowly and with great reverence to Celeborn and Galadriel. 'It is long, long since we met by stock or by stone, A vanimar, vanimálion nostari!' he said. 'It is sad that we should only meet thus at the ending. For the world is changing: I feel it in the water, I feel it in the earth, and I smell it in the air. I do not think we shall meet again.'"
The Return of the King, Book VI, Chapter VI, Many Partings, page 281.
I figured I had better follow suit with the recent string of college entries I have seen. After having watched The Fellowship of the Ring: Extended Edition (EE) and The Two Towers: EE over the past two days, I decided a Lord of the Rings tie-in might not be too shabby. The college issue is touchy for various people. Quite frankly, I am quite anxious for college. I view college as a true litmus test for how I've been shaped and molded these past eighteen years and as a grounds by which to evaluate my person. Where I excel, in which areas I need improvement, down which avenues I would like to venture, all in pursuit of that fluttering mayfly known only to myself as myself. This summer has been home to quite a bit of soul-searching, and while personal truths remained difficult to come by, I firmly attest to a feeling of higher elevation of sorts; I guess a more uplifted state of being, despite various hardships and deleterious setbacks--some of which I think I shall sense for quite some time. That's not to say I do not condone feelings of sadness. Emptiness has been a rampant feeling this past summer, and Gandalf, I think, has a terse way of saying it: "I will not say: do not weep; for not all tears are evil." However, I deem them seasonal myself. People have repeatedly told me that college will serve me well and provide me with a wealth of invaluable memories, and at first I struggled to identify the meaning--I would say I was sailing into the past, or whatever that opening paragraph of the Final Episode of The Assault specified--but now I think I have gleaned some glimmer of meaning. I suppose it's really what one makes of it, which opportunities are grasped, which stories continue and which stories are suspended. I think the last paragraph of my Extended Essay does a pretty good job of delineating the transition.
J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings novels create a vast social commentary over his tactile world concerning metaphysical and biological death, using preeminent Men Boromir, Faramir, and Denethor as venue. Boromir secures the Quest’s completion through bodily death, Faramir revives his ancestor’s long-deceased credence to rightfully serve and lead others, and Denethor gravely rules Minas Tirith. Of the three’s congregations-the Company, the Rangers, and Minas Tirith-only Faramir's survives intact, largely from the Judeo-Christian traits Tolkien introduced. Fatamir’s temperance outweighs Boromir’s excessive zeal, and Faramir’s equanimity outweighs Denethor’s excessive depression. People may not directly grasp the history behind Tolkien's nomenclature and story elements, but people can identify the demagogues, philanthropists, and partisans about which Tolkien wrote. Faramir, like Tolkien, sees beyond the petty guises his kin wears and witnesses constant decline, but, with modesty, he perceives the Fall’s goodness: lighter, more tranquil days. Despite a bittersweet dénouement, Tolkien’s implications are obvious. Men may doubt change, but it ultimately relieves any misgivings through unexpected hope. Again, the great and terrible stories never concisely conclude. “The road goes ever on,” as Bilbo writes, even after devastating decay (“Fellowship” 38). While the road cannot meander elsewhere, people can stray from the road or try to retrace steps, both dangerous acts. However, those with the highest quality will proceed vigilantly, wary of potholes but earnest to improve the path for those who follow.
IB didn't like my EE, but I think it certainly has a point. Change is inevitable, and people cope with it differently. I choose to follow the path tread by Faramir, the one of noble balance between past and present, ambition and humility, leadership and servitude. I have been inordinately blessed thus far in my existence with the various influences in my life, and the time has come to reciprocate what I've gained. Tribulations lie ahead, both of proximity, spirit, and resolve, and I would say Denethor presents a fine example of the method to not pursue in the midst of "devastating decay." I know that my usual ambivalent outlook on life may seemingly discredit all that I've said prior to this, but the "Third Age" has ended. "1541: In this year on March 1st came at last the passing of King Elessar [Aragorn II]. It is said that the beds of Meriadoc and Peregrin were set beside the bed of the great king. Then Legolas built a grey ship in Ithilien, and sailed down Anduin and so over the Sea; and with him, it is said, went Gimli the Dwarf. And when that ship passed an end was come in Middle-earth of the Fellowship of the Ring" (Appendix B). Perhaps that is a bit extreme, but all the same, we each have our roads to take. May whichever media, means, or vehicles bear us to great fortune, so that we may eventually say "the grey rain-curtain turned all to silver glass and was rolled back, and [we] beheld white shores and beyond them a far green country under a swift sunrise" ("Return", 339).