Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost

Not All Those Who sidetrack Are wooly-minded Steph Johnson ENG 155 January 23rd, 2012 Professor Jan cover Not All Those Who Wander Are Lost A long, white beard and curious eyeball peering from underneath a largely pointed hat frequently leave an imprinted image in mind. A learned grin and archaic tobacco pipe sub the picture formed. The faint imagery of what a booster is can only be complete when opinion of Gandalf the Grey. A magic staff and a learned mind atomic number 18 cause for the quest that Gandalf sets go forth on in the novel The Hobbit by J.R. R. Tolkien. He can overcome adversity and aid his sept of 14 unlikely creatures in their attempt to receive their long-lost home. Gandalf is a venerable protagonist and exemplifies a mythic cuneus throughout his entire create verbally history. Gandalf ever seems to be in the right gravel at the right time with a sort of saving grace about him, as if always waiting for the meliorate moment. His knowledge of Middl e reality is inexplicable he rarely misses a beat. Although he is not on a personal quest, he is quick to attend to those he sees fit.Several times over the high society ensnare themselves in a sticky situation, and Gandalf appeared only expert in time. Knowledge, a keen eye, the desire to do what is right, and also a grain of mystery are all featureistics residing in Gandalf the Grey. According to Tolkien-Online (2007), Tolkien was likely severely influenced by one of the tales found in the aged Edda which tells of the Norse god Odin traveling the Earth in the guise of a bearded former(a) man with a staff. Gandalf the Grey shares several similarities with the let God known as Odin. For instance, he is seen as the overseer of the group. He unintentionally becomes a draw figure within the fellowship. He is constantly tutelage them out of the trouble they so easily come themselves in on their adventure. Gandalf finds himself in a concentrated situation in The Fellowship o f the Rings and fundamentally dies. However, he is simply reincarnated from Gandalf the Grey into a more(prenominal) powerful and poignant Gandalf the White, which is similar to Odin. Odins death upon the tree is really more of a shamanic ritual descent to gain vigor magic runes than an actual death (Leeming, 1990, p. 162). Although there is animal(prenominal) death, it is not enough to keep these figures from life. Gandalf the Grey exemplifies a mythological hero in the sense that he defies the odds against him (which are a great deal) and overcomes the dimness attempting to pull him in. As a wizard, he is flaky and hard-headed. He is a demand character in the story of Middle Earth and without him, the chain of events written about by Tolkien would not have been possible.The intend of Gandalfs quest in The Hobbit is to take back the only(a) Mountain from the devious dragon known as Smaug, and regain the home for Thorin and his kind once more. Gandalf knows what opaque trou bles lie before them and feels a burglar is necessary to sexual union the fellowship. With this information, he invites a hobbit with the name of Bilbo to join the quest, and ultimately shapes the stories that follow with one simple scene. Bilbo encounters a ring and hastily shoves it into his pocket.He thinks little of this and is eventually safely back within the fellowship. Gandalf is curious and aware of what Bilbo may have taken ownership of, but does not mention it for several years (and the following story). The fellowship is successful in defeating Smaug and the dwarves take their original place within the Lonely Mountain. Gandalf is a classic character with simple qualities he is a strong-willed wizard with more knowledge, and cunning than meets the eye.His quest proves dangerous and he prevails by using several of the mythological characteristics he portrays. He attains striking similarities to the Norse god, Odin. Tolkien himself acknowledged the law of similarity in a 1946 letter, calling Gandalf an Odinic wanderer (Tolkien-Online, 2007). Gandalf is a venerable wizard and exemplifies a mythological hero throughout his entire written history. References Tolkien-Online. (2007). Retrieved from http//www. tolkien-online. com/gandalf. html Leeming, D. A. (1990). The orb of myth. New York, New York Oxford University Press.