Hope in the Darkness by Robert

Hope in the Darkness by Robert - May 2017 Scholarship Essay

Ever since I was a young child, reading has always been one of my favorite activities. Whenever the challenges of my own life seemed too great an obstacle to be overcome, literature consistently served as a release of sorts, a portal through which I could escape, albeit temporarily, from reality into the world of another character free from the worries or doubts that I possessed. Because of the close relationship that I have had with literature thus far in my life, it has made significant contributions helping me through the darkest of times. Of all the books that I’ve read throughout the years, however, The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien, has had the most profound impact upon me as an individual, due to the inspiring messages of hope that Tolkien wove into the narrative.
My parents first exposed me to the work of Tolkien at a very young age, and it is because of this that it has impacted my life to such a great extent. If one were to make the mistake of judging Tolkien’s work based simply off a cursory glance, they may conclude that his story merely revolves around a Hobbit and his friends on a quest to destroy a ring. However, this individual would be greatly mistaken, as upon reading the book, they would come to find a great many powerful messages that could be related to our own lives. Throughout the course of the story, the main characters face any number of challenges, each of which seems more daunting than the last, ranging anywhere from the constant fear of being caught to the death of two of their friends. However, despite the seemingly endless stream of woes that plague them, the characters push forth, even more determined than they had been before to complete their quest. While most people would despair, and lose sight of all hope in the face of such insurmountable odds, the members of the Fellowship persisted, for they knew that there is always hope, even in the darkest of times. “It's like in the great stories, Mr. Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end… because how could the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it’s only a passing thing… this shadow. Even darkness must pass” (Tolkien). It is because of this message of hope in the face of adversity that The Two Towers has had such a profound effect on my life. Throughout the years, I too have faced my own challenges, ranging from the death of my grandfather to fighting an ongoing battle with anorexia. During these times of struggle, there were times when I felt lost, as if nothing in my life had meaning and all odds were stacked against me. It felt as though I had the weight of the world resting on my shoulders, and that nothing would ever go back to the way it had previously been. How could I be happy, after everything that had come to pass? It was at times like this when I sought refuge in the world of Tolkien, immersing myself in the story of Frodo and the Ring. The obstacles that they faced were far greater than my own and they too felt despair; and yet somehow, they always managed to find the will to go on. They understood that even in the darkest of times, when everything that could go wrong has, there is still a glimmer of hope pervading in the darkness. If the characters within the story could overcome such great odds, what was to say that I couldn’t? It was from this message that I was finally able to cast off doubt the shackles of doubt with a renewed strength, and face the challenges that life threw at me.
For many people, literature is nothing more than reading words from a piece of paper. They can find amusement in the pages of a book with a good story, but that is the extent of their experience; there is no actual effect that books have on them. In my case, however, reading has proven to have had a far more pronounced effect in my life. Being able to read has given me the ability to escape into the world of other characters, and temporarily forget about my own issues. During these times, it is also possible for the written words to spread from their source into my own life. This was very much the case with The Two Towers, by J.R.R. Tolkien, which taught me that hope is never truly lost, even when you find yourself beset by woes on all sides. It was because of this message that I was able to find the strength to never give up, and it may very well be the reason that I overcame my struggles.