Gandalf+the+Grey

SYNOPSIS: __The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring__ by J.R.R. Tolkien is the first book of a trilogy or the second book in a quartet if one considers __The Hobbit__ as a part of the series. __The Fellowship of the Ring__ begins with the discovery of the Ring in the Shire, a town of Hobbits, which are a sort of “small folk.” Frodo Baggins, the protagonist, receives the Ring from Bilbo Baggins who took Frodo in as a child and raised him. Gandalf, a member of the Council of the Wise and a wizard, warns Frodo that he should leave the Shire and that the Ring must be kept out of the dark lord Sauron’s hands. Frodo and his three hobbit companions meet Tom Bombadil who helps them get out of trouble when confronted with the forces of the nine dark riders, servants of the dark lord Sauron and other strange creatures in the woods while they are fleeing from the Shire. They meet a man name Strider/Aragorn who helps them get the rest of the way to Rivendell. Here in Rivendell, the Council of Elrond decides the fate of the One Ring: it must be destroyed at the Cracks of Doom, a place many miles away inside the dark lands of Mordor. Frodo, although he had already completed his task of bringing the One Ring to Rivendell, decides to take upon himself the task of destroying the One Ring. He is joined by eight other people to help him in his journey: an elf, a dwarf, two men, a wizard, and three other hobbits. With this the Fellowship is established and they embark on their journey. Gandalf, the guide of the Fellowship, meets his end on the Bridge of Khazad-dum in the mines of Moria defending the Fellowship from a Balrog. The group continues without him to the lands of Lorien, a forest of Elves. Here, Lady Galadriel offers them comfort, shelter, and wisdom before the group departs on their journey once again, laden with gifts from the Lady of the Elves. Frodo, growing in maturity throughout this journey, is tested once again by Boromir who tries to steal the ring. Seeing that the Ring is working evil even inside the company, he decides that he cannot endanger his friends any further and that he must continue the journey to Mordor alone. Samwise Gamgee, however, catches up to Frodo and refuses to do anything else but to follow him, and so Frodo and Sam continue off to Mordor together, thus ending book one of the trilogy.

ARCHETYPAL FUNCTION: Gandalf, although not the main protagonist, is a key character in the novel and fits into a key archetypal role. Gandalf fits the mentor archetype in __The Fellowship of the Ring__. Christopher Vogler describes a person who fits the Mentor archetype as someone, usually older than the protagonist, who gives the hero help in some way, giving them important advice and skills. Mentors are typically wise and experienced and tend to be the person that motivates the protagonist to partake in the quest that they embark on. Gandalf fits all the criteria that Vogler declares is needed for the Mentor. Gandalf is seen in __The Fellowship of the Ring__ as the old wizard that teaches and advises Frodo in his quest to bear the Ring. There are many indicators of Gandalf’s wisdom such as when he states the fact that “among the Wise [Gandalf is] the only one that goes in for hobbit-lore” (Tolkien, 53). He alludes to being a member of this group of the Wise and a part of the White Council which “would have been governed by Gandalf the Grey” if Galadriel’s design had not gone amiss when she first called the Council into being (Tolkien, 400). Gandalf is obviously fitting of the wise and old criteria that Vogler states characterizes the Mentor archetype. Gandalf is also the catalyst that begins Frodo’s journey. By giving Frodo the One Ring that Bilbo left for him and by imparting to Frodo the knowledge of what the One Ring can do, he gets Frodo started on his quest to take the One Ring to Rivendell and the relative safety of the Elves. Gandalf, as the mentor, does not force Frodo to take this burden upon him, but instead tells Frodo that “the decision lies with [him]” and leaves the choice to Frodo, motivating and instigating the beginning of Frodo’s quest (Tolkein, 68). Gandalf leaves the quest for Frodo but decides that he will “help [Frodo] bear this burden” (Tolkein, 68). Mentors do not take on the quest themselves, but instead will help the protagonist with their quests with their wisdom and experience. By imparting Frodo with gifts of wisdom and advice, as well as help, Gandalf fits another of Vogler’s criteria for the Mentor archetype. Not only does Gandalf advise Frodo on the path to take to Rivendell, he leaves a gift for Frodo at the Prancing Pony in Bree: a letter telling Frodo of Strider who “knows our business and will help you” (Tolkein, 193). Gandalf is constantly providing the Hero, Frodo, with knowledge, advice, and gifts that help him with his quest. Another criterion for the Mentor archetype that Vogler does not mention is the fact that the Mentor departs in some way during the progression of the novel before the quest is complete. The departure can be through moving away, permanent separation, or even death, but the Mentor leaves the Hero before instruction is complete and the Hero is forced to learn on his own to finish the quest. Without Gandalf, the company is lost and without instruction and what to do and wish “would that Gandalf were here” (Tolkein, 442). There are many examples of the Mentor archetype in novels, including Gandalf. For example, Athena from __The Odyssey__ and Headmaster Dumbledore from __Harry Potter__ both fit the mentor role. Yoda from __Star Wars__ also is considered the mentor of the series. In all cases, the mentors are older and wiser than the protagonist and fit the criteria stated above. Each mentor imparts wisdom, advice, and gifts unto their protégés whether it be training in the force, guidance, or gifts such as an invisibility cloak. Also, each mentor disappears midway through the story, leaving the Hero to finish his quest after imparting their knowledge and advice. Despite the differences in situations and setting in each story, the key mentor role can be seen in each story.

HOW TO SPEAK LIKE GANDALF: Ex. “The Ring will not be able to stay hidden in the Shire much longer; and for your own sake, as well as for others, you will have to go, and leave the name of Baggins behind you.” – pg. 69 Gandalf’s use of compound-complex sentences shows his knowledge. He chooses to use these long complex sentences because the knowledge that he wishes to impart is easier said in longer sentences. If Gandalf spoke with short sentences, his dialogue would be extremely choppy. The amount of wisdom Gandalf possesses is shown as he is able to organize his thoughts into sentences consisting of two independent clauses along with some dependent clauses mixed in. Ex. “ And if he often uses the Ring to make himself invisible, he fades: he becomes in the end invisible permanently, and walks in the twilight under the eye of the dark power that rules the Rings.” – pg. 51 Gandalf tends to begin many of his sentences with conjunctions. This shows the relation of much of the things he says to other important concepts and facts that he mentions earlier. Gandalf, being one of the wisest people on Middle-Earth, when giving advice or guidance has no information that is irrelevant. All of the information he imparts is connected to some important matter that he mentioned before and the conjunctions show the connection to those important facts. Ex. “The time has come.” – pg. 277 “He must do what he will.” – pg. 287 Gandalf knows when a situation is serious. He knows that at serious times, he needs to be to the point instead of talking in roundabout ways with long complex sentences, so Gandalf in serious occasions uses short declarative statements to get his point across. The use of short sentences by Gandalf also shows the gravity of the issue in that he only uses short sentences when in a serious situation. Ex. “Bring out the Ring, Frodo!” – pg. 277 “Come!” – pg. 338 When commanding people to do something, Gandalf speaks with short imperative sentences. Without any explanation of why he wants a deed done, he commands people showing that he expects obedience. Ex. “In the House of Elrond, and it is ten o’clock in the morning… it is the morning of October the twenty-fourth, if you want to know.” – pg. 245 Gandalf is extremely detailed when answering questions. If he can impart all the knowledge on the topic of an answer, he will. Most times, he does not because of the amount of time it would take to give all the knowledge he has on a topic, but if he can he will say all he knows on a topic.
 * 1) Talk mostly in long compound-complex sentences.
 * 1) Begin sentences with conjunctions often.
 * 1) When in serious situations, use short declarative statements.
 * 1) Use short statements when commanding people.
 * 1) Be extremely detailed with descriptions.

CONCLUSION: By speaking like Gandalf, one is able to exude an image of an extremely knowledgeable, wise person that is always seeking to help others. One should speak like Gandalf when trying to impart knowledge to someone less knowledgeable in a topic. After talking like Gandalf, commands are more easily accepted and followed, so when attempting to get someone to do certain deeds, taking the time to talk like Gandalf beforehand is recommended.

[] The famous scene that led to a myriad of memes and humorous quoting: the death of Gandalf the Grey [] Gandalf explained [] Archetypes